Alamogordo NM
11-27-2023 2:48pm

Tularosa High School National Honor Society Trip Planned

Tularosa National Honor Society Students Going to National Conference in January

Tularosa High School has a very active National Honor Society program that helps develop student academic excellence. This holiday season of giving; please consider assisting these 4 students from Tularosa High School in their journey to the National Honor Society national conference in Arlington Virginia held in January. 

To Donate Click Here
These students of academic excellence are under the leadership of Ms. Melanie Bussiere at THS.  

AlamogordoTownNews.com and KALH Radio often highlights student activities and achievements in sports. We also like to bring attention to those students who excel in academics

The National Honor Society chapters mentor and recognize students of high academic achievement. It was founded as an organization that would balance academics and athletics while emphasizing the role of high schools as a foundation for democracy. Past alumni to gain national fame include Carrie Underwood, Elizabeth Dole, Alan Alda, and NBC Newscaster Katie Couric. The organization has issued $23 million in scholarships to outstanding NHS seniors nationwide. 

We asked Ms. Bussiere to share with us about her experience with these students, with the National Honor Society of Tularosa High School and how our readers and listeners can help.

ATN Question: Explain to our readers and friends the NHS chapter history at Tularosa High School and why this trip is important, please? 

Ms. Melanie Bussiere Response:  “I was hired to Tularosa High School in 2016 and taking on NHS was one of the responsibilities I agreed to in the hiring process. I don’t know much about what the chapter did prior to my taking it over. I’ve advised chapters of NHS at other schools where I’ve worked and my goal is to instill in our students the four pillars of service, leadership, scholarship and character that NHS promotes. To that end, we have held an annual Thanksgiving food drive to support St. Francis de Paula parish, we hold multiple blood drives annually, and our donation percentage is one of the highest in Otero County, we assist Tularosa Rotary with setting up luminarias in December and we were instrumental in getting the Big Brother Big Sister program started in Tularosa Schools.

This trip is important because it’s a chance for our students to interact with other students on an international level, learn what it means to be an effective leader, how to better both the school and community, and ultimately realize that even though they may just be one person, they can have a huge impact. This is our first time getting permission to attend this event, so it will be a new experience for everyone involved. We are hoping, based on the success of this year, to continue to attend and bring a larger group of students in following years.

Fundraising link

https://raise.snap.app/donors/tularosa-national-honor-society-trip-2023”

ATN Question: how are students selected and why? 

Ms. Melanie Bussiere Response: ”To attend, students have to be part of our chapter of National Honor Society and have exhibited exceptional leadership skills and a desire to improve themselves as well as the school climate and the overall community. The four students chosen this year are active in multiple activities both on and off campus and have expressed an active interest in going. They are working hard to get sponsorships to secure the cost of the trip.”

ATN Question:  For academic success why is this trip important?

Ms. Melanie Bussiere Response: ”I am not a New Mexico native. I have had the blessing of being able to travel all over the country, working with all kinds of people. When people think of academic success, the go-to’s are grades and coursework, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about learning how to think, and realizing the impact one person can have. I am hoping to take these students to this event and have them take away an understanding of their ability to enact positive change within their community, and see how others around the world are trying to impact their communities for the better.”

ATN Question:  What actions or activities has NHS Tularosa done this year or planning?

Ms. Melanie Bussiere Response: ” We have been an amazingly active chapter this year. So far, we have done the following:

  • Assisted Keep Tularosa Beautiful with the planting and watering of the roses on the medians,

  • Hosted a blood drive in October,
  • Held a Thanksgiving food drive,
  • Assisted in the Veterans’ Day program,
  • Assisted with Freshman Orientation,

  • Helped the cafeteria staff serve Thanksgiving dinner in the lower schools, as well as the senior center in town, and

  • Passed out candy at the Fall Festival and Granado Street.

We hope to:

  • Continue working with Keep Tularosa Beautiful,
  • Host another blood drive,
  • Assist Rotary with this year’s luminarias,
  • Assist at this year’s graduation ceremony, and
  • Read to the elementary students for Dr. Seuss week.”

ATN Question: Can you tell us a little about the conference and what to expect?

Ms. Melanie Bussiere Response: ”You can read more about the conference here. This year’s focus is developing your voice, and the workshops and activities are geared toward helping students to express themselves in a constructive way. I don’t want to put expectations on the conference as it’s their first time going. My biggest hope is that they come away with a positive experience, motivated to plan for next year.”

ATN Question: Why is this trip for these students important to Tularosa High School?

Ms. Melanie Bussiere Response: ”For the longest time, THS students were not allowed to go to out of state events. Thanks to our amazing administrators, we’ve been blessed with this opportunity to interact with students outside of our small community. This event is so important because it lays the foundation for us to continue to broaden our horizons by going to other events like these. This creates opportunity not only for NHS, but other clubs at THS.”

At AlamogordoTownNews.com and KALH Radio we congratulate Tularosa High School and the 4 students that will be attending this national conference. We celebrate the courage and leadership of teaching by Ms. Melanie Bussiere. 

On a personal note: during my high school years, in Tennessee, I was a member of the National Honor Society and the National Forensics League thus have the utmost respect for these organizations. Together and through the mentoring of those academic programs with excellent teacher advisers, I received a full ride scholarship, to my choice of major universities. Academics through extracurricular organizations matter to positive student outcomes.

We are a caring and generous community, so this holiday season, please help make a small contribution to these students academic success https://raise.snap.app/donors/tularosa-national-honor-society-trip-2023…

Learn more listen to the interview on KALH Radio or via the podcast on YouTube 

Melanie Bussiere On LEAD Spark Conference in Arlington, VA
https://youtu.be/ZmMcrfSm2lk

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