Nine juniors and seven seniors joined Panther Valley High School's National Honor Society during the 39th induction ceremony, held at the high school on Wednesday evening.

Kelsey Van Horn, NHS president, welcomed everyone to the induction ceremony."These young men and women sitting before you exemplify scholarship, service, leadership, and most importantly, character," she said. "Each one of them share a quality of striving to be the best they can be. The purpose of National Honor Society is 'to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service; to promote leadership; and to develop character in the students of secondary schools.' "Following Van Horn's introduction, the descriptions of the four virtues of the National Honor Society were read by fellow senior NHS members.Nathan Miller spoke of scholarship, Huntre Keip read service, Megan Heckman read leadership and Jordan Reis read character.NHS adviser Rick Morgans then introduced the new inductees, while Van Horn and Joseph Gunnels, principal at PVHS, presented the awards and pins."National Honor Society membership is one of the highest honors a student can attain in his or her high school career," Morgans said before the induction of new members. "It is both an honor and a responsibility. Students selected for membership are expected to continue to demonstrate the qualities of scholarship, service, leadership and character."Not only are the students seated here before you stellar students, but they are also athletes, actors, artists, orators, singers, musicians, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, band members, church volunteers, dancers and poets," he said. "They are well-rounded, involved members of this school system and your communities."The new NHS inductees are:Seniors: Cassie Binder, Kyle Emmert, Hannah Hill, Alexandra Kennedy, Brianna L. Picht, Janet Pickering and Anthony Vavra.Juniors: Kiley Boswell, Danielle Hudicka, McKenzie Lazar, Jenny Lin, Chloe Markovich, Brendan Morgans, Christopher Santore Jr., Jocilyn Steigerwalt and Samantha Valderrama.Two-year members are: Brian Fisher, Megan Heckman, Matthew Hudicka, Huntre Keip, Mary Lazar, Jamey Mikovich, Nathan Miller, Jordan Reis, Samuel Stanko, Ryan Taras and Kelsey Van Horn."I urge each of you to retain your pride in your membership," Morgans said. "Encourage others to aspire to your scholarly habits, to enlist in worthy service, to lead in those things, which shall advance the welfare of our school, and to gain qualities of character. If you practice these standards for which you were selected, we can counter the many negative forces in our schools today."Following the induction of new members and recognition of senior members, Gunnels addressed the audience.He thanked the parents, teachers and everyone who supported the students and helped them succeed and become well-rounded individuals.Closing remarks were provided by Van Horn, who quoted Mahatma Gandhi."The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others," she read. "This portrays what it means to be a National Honor Society member."She congratulated the new inductees, as well as their parents who supported and loved the students throughout their educations.The National Honor Society was founded in 1921 by Dr. Edward Rynearson, a principal at Fifth Avenue High School in Pittsburgh. His goal was to recognize and award academic and social excellence in his students.