Easton continues its NHS presidential legacy
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
EASTON — Easton Junior-Senior High School has a way of turning out effective National Honor Society leaders. In fact, for the last five consecutive years, a state officer has come from the small Aroostook County school.
Photos courtesy of Easton Junior-Senior High School
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY members from Easton Junior-Senior High School are, from left, front row: Lauren West, Carla Halvorson, Harvey Brown, Mindy Desmond and Kennedy Young. Second row: Kerrigan Arnett, Ashley Hersey, Madison Leach and Cassandra Buck. Third row: Haley Ambrose, Kylee Carter, Nichole Dudley, Abigail Thompson, Hannah Ferris, Kristen West, Alexandra Allen, Kelsey Frank, Ian Sotomayor and Joshuah Salkind. Back row: Cody Halvorson, Connor Burtt, Jared Hafford, Hunter Turner, Cameron Young and Nicholas Clark.
RECEIVES AWARD — Carla Halvorson, a senior at Easton Junior-Senior High School and the 2013 state National Honor Society president, receives the Maine Principals’ Association NHS State Officers Award from Christopher Decker, chair of the MPA NHS committee.
JOSHUAH SALKIND, a junior at Easton Junior-Senior High School and the 2014 state president, takes the Oath of Office at the recent state convention.
EASTON NHS CHAPTER officers/regional officers are, from left: Harvey Brown, chapter secretary; Lauren West, regional secretary/treasurer; Kennedy Young, chapter president; Carla Halvorson, 2013 state president; and Mindy Desmond, regional president.
“I think it’s due to a combination of things,” said Pamela Murchison, Easton’s NHS adviser. “We have a lot of help to get there. We have a person who helps them write their speech, and the students will actually go to different classrooms to practice their speech. Everyone has an open-door policy and is willing to help us.
“The northern region is very supportive, as well. We have chapters from Fort Kent to Katahdin and we support each other, plus we get a tremendous amount of support from the school, the school board, administration and the community,” she said. “Plus the caliber of students I have certainly plays a part in it.”
Murchison said there are some definite characteristics a good president must possess.
“To be a good president, you need to be willing to meet other people, talk to people and take that chance,” she said. “They have to step up and go outside their comfort zone and experience new things. That’s what NHS is all about.”
Carla Halvorson is the 2013 Maine National Honor Society state president, a position she found challenging yet rewarding.
“I had to step out of my comfort zone which is kind of the reason I did it,” she said. “Speaking in front of 450 students was definitely new to me, and it was an eye-opener. It made me realize what I was capable of doing. At the beginning I didn’t think I’d be able to do it, but I ended up surprising myself. Being state president, to me, gave me the opportunity to lead a group of kids and make a difference.”
Halvorson said she was particularly proud of this year’s state service project, “Feed the community, Feed the world.”
“Our goal this year was to make a difference in the lives of people in our community and the lives of people around the world. We did that through our state service project. We hosted dinners for our communities in Aroostook County and partnered with Catholic Charities and did a clothing drive,” she said. “All the NHS chapters in the county collected clothing and then Catholic Charities sells the clothes and uses the money to buy food for the food banks up here. Other chapters downstate did food drives and things like that.”
And the leadership trend continues next year as Joshuah Salkind, a junior at Easton Junior-Senior High School, was recently elected the 2014 state president.
“Our adviser asked if I wanted to run for state office, so I decided I wanted to run for state president. It entailed writing a brief summary of myself, writing a speech to give at the convention, and sending in a packet,” he said. “I had one opponent, and was voted by my peers to be the new president. I think only two of us ran because a lot of people weren’t really willing to step outside their comfort zone and take on such a large role.
“I ran for president because I wanted to apply my abilities to the head role and be the person who has the most direct impact,” said Salkind. “My goals are to have successful state events with the main event being next year’s state convention. I hope to help organize an event that will be beneficial for everyone.”
Salkind said he’s excited about being the new state president.
“I’m not too nervous, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity to have an impact on members of NHS and members of the community,” he said.
Both Salkind and Halvorson recognize that past Easton state presidents have set the bar high despite coming from “a small school.”
“I think the reason so many officers have come from this school is because we’re a smaller school and teachers have more direct impact on students. I think it’s more beneficial to have a smaller student-to-teacher ratio,” said Salkind. “I think we get a lot more out of our experiences at school, which makes us more well-rounded.”
“I think this school and other surrounding schools have a lot of support from our northern region and a lot of encouragement,” Halvorson said. “We’re all encouraged to be the best that we can be and try to reach our goals.”
Other past presidents/vice presidents include Jonah Bacon (2012), who is attending the Air Force Academy; Sydney Trask (2011), a student at the University of Maine; Lisa Dayringer (2010), who is attending college in New York; and Sam Bacon (2009), who is in his last year at the Coast Guard Academy.
