On Sept. 13, 130 juniors and seniors were inducted into Jupiter High’s chapter of National Honor Society.

National Honor Society is a prestigious club based on the principals of scholarship, leadership, service and character. This year, the organization only accepted students with a 3.5 grade point average or above, at least 100 community service hours, two leadership positions and two teacher recommendations. The club participates in community service events and provides free tutoring.

“[National Honor Society] is important to our school because it rewards students for hard work and determination. Jupiter High School stands apart from many schools in our district due to the incredible students, their accomplishments, and the talented faculty and staff,” Jennifer Sparks, National Honor Society sponsor, said.

Along with the induction of the new members, the ceremony included speeches from Megan Harris, an environmental educator at the Loxahatchee River Center, principal Dr. Colleen Iannetti and National Honor Society officers.

“It was pretty tough planning the ceremony, as we didn’t have a sponsor until about three weeks before it was planned. We did as much as we could over the summer without a sponsor, but at that point we still didn’t know how much money we had in our account or how many people we were inducting. We pulled it together really starting beginning of September. Despite all that, I consider it a success and we’re all really proud of that we produced,” senior Ashley Sepulveres, National Honor Society co-president, said.

This year, National Honor Society has made the membership requirements stricter. Members are now required to attend one volunteer event every semester, instead of one for the year. This was done to preserve the prestige of the organization.

“It was such a big honor to have been inducted into such a prestigious organization. After watching my two older siblings get inducted it felt like such a rite of passage,” junior Maya Milstein said.