A Becton chapter of the National English Honor Society, Epilogue, was formed just this year, and it is already hitting the ground running. The club aims to promote enthusiasm for scholarship, specifically pertaining to literacy and English education. Similar to other honor societies like the NHS, the English Honor Society believes in giving back to the community and in this spirit, the members have launched a new program intended as a way to give thanks to those who have served our country in the past.
Spearheaded by Dr. DeSousa and NEHS representative Noella Turla, the society’s members have written letters to veterans who are alumni of Becton to initiate a correspondence with them. When discussing her inspiration for suggesting this project, Turla explained, “The idea of writing to veterans resonated with me. I think writing, in an approach that is not just literature-based, is a very important focus of the NEHS.” Evidently, as a society based on the fundamental principles of English, writing is a big part of the NEHS. However, as Turla indicates here, it is not simply the matter of academic writing and well-structured essays and analysis, but writing in a more natural way, as a form of communication.
This program is focused on writing to share experiences and interact with others in a meaningful way, or as said by Turla, “give veterans and NEHS members an outlet to connect with another person, even if it is not meeting in person.” The first letters to kick off the program are set to be sent out this week, written by NEHS members for a list of veterans provided by Mrs. Michelle Ferris, the coordinator of another new addition to Becton’s extracurriculars, the Military Appreciation Club. This project is still in its formative stages, however, and Turla notes that, “If all goes to plan, I can see this becoming a permanent program within NEHS.”
So far, the pen pal program has been limited to just the members writing letters to test the waters, but in the future, there are thoughts of engaging more people in the program via collaborations with other clubs, or even other honor societies on occasions such as Veterans’ Day, and expanding the current list of veterans to include active military as well. This project will be ongoing throughout the whole year in conjunction with the other activities that are planned for the English Honor Society, including the upcoming Double Good Popcorn fundraiser starting on Feb. 26. All purchases will be made online, with the proceeds going to fund future activities for the National English Honor Society, including materials for the pen pal project. The NEHS will also be attending events such as the Pace University Poetry and Prose Festival on April 11.
More details on the pen pal project or any of the other upcoming activties can also be found on the official Epilogue website HERE and social media X HERE.
