On Thursday, March 28, Winslow Township Middle School 8th grade student, and NJHS Vice President, Shelby Norlin, was awarded the National Junior Honor Society Outstanding Achievement Award for the 2023-2024 school year. This is the first time in WTMS history that one of our students has been chosen for this prestigious award.

The National Junior Honor Society Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes middle-level students for their commitment to the five pillars of NJHS. The five pillars are: scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. The 500 NJHS students selected for the Outstanding Achievement Award receive a $500 college savings plan.

In order to apply for this award you must be an active and current member in good standing of a National Junior Honor Society chapter, meeting all membership requirements and obligations of the local chapter. This was the first time a Winslow Township Middle School student was ever awarded the honor. Shelby Norlin, 8th grader was awarded the honor.

When you apply for an award of this magnitude, there are a lot of steps you have to take in order to qualify. An estimated 4,700 students applied for the award this year.

“To apply for this award, I had to fill out an application with a teacher recommendation, advisor approval, and parents consent form. I chose Mrs. Irvin for my teacher recommendation because I wanted to choose a teacher that I had the best relationship with and Mrs. Irvin has really been there for me and helped me through my middle school experience so I chose her. She basically just wrote a little bit about my achievements, the type of student I am, and my community service and extracurricular activities I participate in,” explains Shelby Norlin, 8th grade recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award.

In order to apply for the award, students were required to write an essay, focusing on what pillar of NJHS the student most connected to. Shelby went on to describe the details of her application process.

“I chose to write about how I connect to character best because I’ve always believed that character is the most important part of a person. I believe that it doesn’t matter where you live, or what your background is because having a good character comes from your heart and shows the kind of person you want to be in the world. I’ve always tried my best to demonstrate good character in and out of school. Parts of a good character that matter most to me are honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty and respect. I am always trying my best to be a good friend to others and respect my classmates and teachers. To me, that shows good character in the most important ways and I knew that was a really important pillar that I could most definitely connect to and write about.”

After winning such an honorable award, there may be a lot of rushing emotions.

“When I got the email that I had won the award, I was in shock and almost didn’t believe it. I took a chance and submitted my application not really expecting much to come from it, considering in previous years WTMS had not had students picked to win before. Almost 5,000 NJHS students across the country applied for this award and I was so honored that I was one of the 500 students chosen to win,” continued Shelby.

NJHS is an incredible organization that focuses on academic excellence and community service. The organization can open doors for students and provide many great opportunities and positive impacts in our students’ educational journey.

“Being in NJHS has had a wonderful impact on my educational journey because I get to be in an environment with so many talented and driven students who value education just as much as I do. I get to be a part of different activities and do different projects that motivate me to be the best student that I can be. NJHS really does make me excited to come to school and continues to encourage me to try my best,” added Shelby.

Ms. Portia Kiett has been the NJHS advisor for many years, she has seen many amazing students come and go and has seen them go on to do great things.

“This remarkable accomplishment is a testament to Shelby’s commitment to academic excellence, leadership, and service to our school and community. As her advisor, I am so incredibly proud of Shelby and her well-deserved recognition,” boasted Ms. Kiett.

With anything, hardwork and determination are just the beginning. Having a great support system is always an added bonus when striving for your goals.

“I also want to give credit to Ms. Kiett, Mrs. Irvin, Ms. Fernicola, Mrs. Miller, and Mr. Bishop because they have really helped me and supported me with NJHS and my achievements. I really appreciate them,” explained Shelby.