National Honor Society Application Research Paper

A girl, alone and afraid, stumbles through the front doors of where she will spend the majority of the next four years of her life. Surrounded by groups of unfamiliar faces, overwhelmed by the various halls all covered in advertisements for things she has yet to discover, and unable to find her classes the girl feels lost. Her anxiety builds with every passing second as she walks through the school wondering where this next chapter of her life is taking her. Four years later, gone is the girl with sweaty palms, no longer stuttering nervously through her sentences, her self confidence having grown immensely. The girl has evolved from a scared, withdrawn adolescent, unable to communicate with others without feelings of apprehension, into a young

The opportunity for me to fulfill this desire came one day when my friend recruited me to attend a meeting at the Swansboro Parks and Recreation Center, where I was exposed to a recently created community nonprofit organization. Started as an effort to involve teenagers in local government, event planning, and community service, the Swansboro Area Youth Development Foundation planned, attended, and hosted various events. At the end of each the year the association held a meeting where all of the members voted on what to utilize the money raised throughout the year on. Since the organization focused on improving the quality of the area, its profits were used to purchase items for donation to local schools, parks, and animal shelters. After joining SAYDF, I devoted numerous hours to volunteering, in which I discovered personally contributing to the growth and development of my hometown empowered me. By the following year, I secured an officer position, treasurer, allowing me to acquire leadership experience along with further participation. I was engaged in something with meaning greater than a single individual. Although I had previously been reluctant to vocalize my thoughts, feeling my contributions were not important, this organization gave me the strength to share my ideas. As a leader, I was tasked with inspiring a sense of community and highlighting the benefits of assisting others and the town which provided me with tremendous