On Monday, Jan. 12, the Oyster Bay High School chapter of the National Honor Society inducted new members in a beautiful candlelit ceremony in the high school performing arts center. The evening was organized by Honor Society faculty advisors Brittany Badean and Janna Ostroff. The officers of the OBHS Honor Society are Ryan Hauser, president; Josephine Pinnock, vice president; Nicole Hauser, secretary; Caileen O’Keefe, treasurer; Francis Kalombo-Ngoy, historian and publicity; and Mia DiMeo, executive coordinator.
Junior member Anna Lee Sadocha and sophomore inductee Laura Angelone played the processional and recessional in a clarinet duet.
Senior member and all-state singer Erica Hagusian joined senior member Jamie Stainkamp in a beautiful version of the “Star Spangled Banner.” DeMeo led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Laura Seinfeld welcomed the audience and congratulated the new inductees.
The officers of the Honor Society each lit a candle in turn and spoke of a trait that exemplifies a member of the National Honor Society. Candles were lit to signify the eternal light of scholarship, leadership, character, and service.
Hauser took to the podium to introduce each officer in turn.
Pinnock could not be there, so DeMeo lit the candle for scholarship, saying, “Scholarship denotes a commitment to learning. A student is willing to spend hours in reading and study, knowing the lasting benefits of a cultivated mind. Knowledge is one great element in life, which leads to the highest success, and it can be acquired in only one way: through diligence and effort. Learning furnishes the lamp by which we read the past, the torch guiding us to understand the present, and the light that illuminates the future. Candidates have the charge to continually expand their world through opportunities inherent in scholarship.”
Hauser lit the candle for service, saying, “Service can be established in the routine of the day’s work where many opportunities arise to help others both at school and in the community. A willingness to work for the benefit of those in need, without monetary compensation or public recognition, is the quality we seek in our membership and promote for the entire student body. We are committed to volunteering our time and talents to the creation of a better tomorrow.”
Kalombo-Ngoy lit the candle for character, saying, “Character is the force within the individual that distinguishes each person from others. It is the force of character that guides one through life and once developed, grows steadily within. Character is achieved and not received. It is the product of constant thought and action, the daily striving to make the right choices. The problem of character is the problem of self-control. By demonstrating such qualities as respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring and citizenship, we may hope to prove by example that we value character.”
O’Keefe lit the candle for leadership, saying, “In taking initiative in the classroom and in school activities, the real leader strives to train and aid others to reach their common goals of success. The price of leadership is sacrifice—the willingness to yield one’s personal interests for the interests of others. A leader has the self-confidence to go forward when others hesitate. No matter what the power and resources may exist in a school, community or the nation, they are ineffectual without the guidance of a wise leader. To lead, is a meaningful and substantive charge to each of our members.
Oyster Bay High School Principal Dr. Dennis O’Hara administered the pledge to the new inductees. The 2015 inductees of the National Honor Society from Oyster Bay High School are seniors Sienna Kuo, Theodore Morales, Matthew Palczewski, and Allison Thienel; juniors Peter Barone, Ashley Blanz, Madeleine Bolle, Sean Cronin, Stephen DeCarlo, Angela Fazzalari, Bryan Gallagher, Ashley Lizza, Ryan Santos, Alexander Tosi; and sophomores Lance Amarilio, Laura Angelone, Nicholas Baratta, Andrew Busch, Amanda Byrne, Jack Casey, Emily Cutajar, Aidan Doxey, Ashley Duggan, Kevin Duke, Alexandra Gagliardi, Alexander Gelabert, Maxwell Greenspan, Emma Ingoglia, Daniel Juhasz, Jed Kaiser, Kimia Khaledi, Kaela Kilfoil, Ashley Kowalczyk, Courtney Kowalsky, James Losee, Evan Mattel, Owen McEvoy, Emily Moore, Elaine Mylonas, Nicole Ojeda, Isabella Pace, Aaron Rudnet, Jessica Thienel, Katherine Thompson, Derek Vickers, Victoria Vigliotti, Michelle Yu, Owen Zahradnik, and Nicholas Zucconi.
The inductees join the current members, including seniors Cassie Archdeacon, Olivia Ballone, Meghan Butler, Linda Cameron, Michael Castrogiovanni, Sam D’Aversa, Emma Devereaux, Liam Doxey, Sonja Drabin, Alyse Gordon, Noa Guarini, Erica Hagusian, Nicole Hauser, Ryan Hauser, Harrison Hertlein, Jared Hirsch, Lia Kakoulidis, Francis Kalombo Ngoy, Kevin Kowalsky, David Lapidus, Devon Losee, Ryan Maloney, Christina Masiakos, Megan McGuckin, Ernie Muller, Michael Natale, Caileen O’Keefe, Marisa Petrillo, Josephine Pinnock, Jordan Ravins, Matthew Santos, Jack Sherbal, Brooke Sommi, Jamie Stainkamp, Jillian Tiberia, Andreas Tsoumpariotis, Rachel Wesley, Grace Wygand; and juniors Adriana Bifulco, Meghan Brown, Shannon Chand, Justine Colvin, Shelby Cook, Mia DiMeo, Dana Galgano, Andrew George, Alexis Gursky, Ava Hanlon, Frank Iemmiti, Liam Kerrigan, Dominique Matarese, Joseph Panella, Lucian Paone, Cristiana Reilly, Lauren Ruzzier, Anna Lee Sadocha, Kyle Schindler, Steven Shoemaker, Lia Stanco, Danielle Sugar, Julia Tax, Maria Urbina, Robin Yeh, and Vanessa Yu.
Every year, the students of the Honor Society choose a faculty member whom the students believe embodies the traits of an Honor Society member to award an honorary membership in the National Honor Society. The honorary inductee is revealed at the high school graduation. Last June, the students picked Oyster Bay High School Assistant Principal Tim McCarthy, who was an OBHS French teacher at the time McCarthy delivered an inspiring speech with wisdom and advice gleaned from the book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
