In celebration of their overall achievements, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School students were honored at the National Honor Society induction ceremony on March 25 in the school’s auditorium. Surrounded by family, friends, district administrators and Board of Education members, 32 new members were welcomed into the Isabella M. Driscoll Chapter of the organization. 

After current members walked into the ceremony holding their candles, the four officers spoke about the pillars of the National Honor Society – scholarship, character, leadership and service – before lighting a candle to signify each pillar. 

Each inductee was called to the stage by an existing member to be honored for their successes and to receive their candle and certificate. Before reciting the oath for new members to repeat, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Principal Joseph Agosta addressed the inductees and commended them for their positivity. “Tonight is a celebration of hard work, of values, and of the choices made quietly,” he said. “To our new members of the National Honor Society, this moment is a result of the countless small decisions to study instead of scroll, to lead when they would have been easier to follow, to help without being asked and to speak up when it mattered. The four pillars of the National Honor Society – scholarship, leadership, service and character – just don't appear; they are earned one action at a time, one choice at a time, one moment of integrity at a time.” 

Congratulations to the following new members: 10th grade – Christie Arce, Allison Hernandez Ramos, Alexandra Kaleka, Veronica Karwowska, Alicia Navarro, Tiffany Ortiz, Stephanie Rekas, Carissa Spencer, Kasper Sztabinski, Alyson Vargas and Emely Zuniga; 11th grade – Samari Cooper, Anne Maria De Oleo, Shayaan Hussain, Bielka Perez, Darein Reyes, Iliana Rivera, Anisa Sattaur, Kamila Tineo, Catherine Yanase and Daniel Zheng; 12th grade – Angelie Acosta, Esmeralda Claros, Marisa-Ann Fidanza, Daniel Kister, Sebastian Leonardo, Wilatchie Maxi, Esther Morel, Evelin Sarmiento, Hannah Szigethy, Catalina Torres and Mykhailo Yatsuk.