A total of 85 students at Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford were inducted into the National Honor Society on Dec. 10.

Front row (l-r): New inductees Shane Walsh ’17, Theadora Petropoulos ’17, Katelyn Konigsberg ’17, Valeria Seymour ’17, Angel Zohrabian ’17, Christina Gluch ’17, Jenna Creighton ’17, Elleana Paradise ’17, Maeve Kearns ’17, Rachel Krawiecki ’17, Kelly Galeota ’17, Olive Shang ’16, and Rain Yuan ’17. Back row (l-r): New inductees Jack Ruddat ’17, David Ogbonna ’17, Sean Keating ’17, Julia Klein ’17, Natalie Smith ’17, Tucker Alissi ’17, Lauren Murphy ’17, Stephen Gosselin ’16, and Connor Murphy ’16. Not pictured: Louis De Benoist ’17 and Anderson Murphy ’17

Submitted  by Kimberly Sanders Spera, Northwest Catholic High School

West Hartford residents Tucker Alissi ’17, Jenna Creighton ’17, Louis De Benoist ’17, Kelly Galeota ’17, Christina Gluch ’17, Stephen Gosselin ’16, Maeve Kearns ’17, Sean Keating ’17, Julia Klein ’17, Katelyn Konigsberg ’17, Rachel Krawiecki ’17, Anderson Murphy ’17, Connor Murphy ’16, Lauren Murphy ’17, David Ogbonna ’17, Elleana Paradise ’17, Theadora Petropoulos ’17, Jack Ruddat ’17, Valeria Seymour ’17, Olive Shang ’16, Natalie Smith ’17, Shane Walsh ’17, Rain Yuan ’17, and Angel Zohrabian ’17 were among the 85 Northwest Catholic students inducted into the Aquinas Chapter of the National Honor Society on Dec. 10, 2015, during a beautiful ceremony in the Rice Auditorium.

Northwest Catholic religion teacher Fran Laffin was the guest speaker. He told the students that the one word he thought best described them as a group was awesome, which he turned into an acronym for Achievement, Winners, Excellence, Service, Other People, Mom and Dad, and Empathy. He also encouraged them to continue be “AWESOME” in all that they do.

The inductees – who were recognized for outstanding scholarship, admirable character and leadership, and generous service to NWC and their communities – came from over two dozen towns and included seven seniors and 78 juniors. The complete list appears on the school web site: www.northwestcatholic.org.

To be invited into membership in NHS, students must maintain a 3.5 gradepoint average and must demonstrate exemplary character, leadership, and service to their school, their parish, or their town. A selection committee of five teachers reviews the applications and qualifications of all eligible students.

“These students represent the highest in academic achievement and leadership,” said Terri Turley, a member of the school’s Math Department and the National Honor Society moderator. “They serve as role models for the entire student body and their communities.”

Since 1961, Northwest Catholic’s mission has been to educate the whole person: mind, body, spirit, and soul. Enrollment for the Class of ’20 is now under way, and prospective students are invited to the take the Entrance Exam at Northwest Catholic on January 25, 2016. For more information, contact Andrew Selig (860-236-4221, x140 or [email protected]).