After spending ages during her early high school years researching the college recruitment process for student athletes, a lightbulb suddenly went off in her head. After realizing how long and complicated the recruitment process may seem, junior Valerie Questell, president of the National Athlete Honor Society, began to grasp just how many talented athletes could benefit from simply being guided along the process of recruitment. 

   So, she founded PPCHS’s very first National Athlete Honor Society.

   The National Athlete Honor Society, also known as AHS, is a nationally recognized organization dedicated to representing students excelling in both athleticism and academic merit. Although starting a brand new honor society at PPCHS certainly is a daunting task, the heads of both Valerie and Adam Abougendia, senior vice president, are already practically spilling over with ideas and goals for this school year. “This school year, I want to set a foundational record of many events and activities, as well as increasing the percentage of college athletes produced from Charter,” says Valerie. As for Adam, “The biggest goal for me is having student athletes get recognized for their talent and as many athletes as we can get recruited.” However, although the pair definitely have heaps of ambitions for AHS, as athletes themselves, Valerie and Adam are certainly aware of how important it is for athletes to balance both their physical and mental health. “Not only do I want to just focus on recruitment, I also want to make a safe space for athletes to form a community and feel free to talk about mental health, as well as how they’re doing academically and athletically,” says Valerie.

“I also want to make a safe space for athletes to form a community and feel free to talk about mental health, as well as how they’re doing academically and athletically.”

   On August 23rd, AHS held their first informational meeting in Mr. Jablonka’s room. Typically, it’s expected that a brand new club would slowly increase in turnout, but that was definitely not the case. Word of the National Athlete Honor Society spread like wildfire on school grounds, and there were over 100 students who attended the first meeting. “We had a hundred people show up in a 30 person classroom, it was crazy,” says Adam. “The meeting was awesome! I didn’t expect over 100 attendees. In one day we had over 70 applications. The preparation was certainly nerve-wracking — I didn’t know what to expect. But as soon as everyone started filing in the room, I could practically feel the buzz of excitement bouncing off the walls,” adds Valerie. “Mr. Jablonka did an excellent job at securing the crowd, and the meeting finished with the most rewarding applause I’ve ever heard.”

   Although their first ever meeting was only held a few days ago, the potential displayed by AHS is astronomical, and for good reason. The college recruiting process for athletes isn’t easy, and AHS provides a huge window of opportunity for many student athletes at PPCHS. The bar is certainly set high for AHS, and we look forward to all its accomplishments in the future!