Eighth grader Raveena Vij has received the National Junior Honor Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Raveena is the first Dunham student to receive this national award. She has been an NJHS member since the sixth grade, currently serving as president of the Dunham chapter.
This annual award recognizes 500 exceptional NJHS members nationwide. Local chapter advisers nominate current NJHS members who have demonstrated excellence in the five pillars of NJHS: scholarship, service, leadership, character and citizenship.
“Raveena Vij is the epitome of each of these pillars. She is a true leader in every sense of the word, one who puts others before self while consistently earning academic accolades in all areas. We could not be more proud of Raveena. Her future is bright!” said Mary Theriot, Head of Middle School.
NJHS sponsor Gerri Bove, who nominated Raveena for the award, couldn’t be prouder of her student’s accomplishment.
“Raveena reflects the meaning of this award and serves as an exemplary National Junior Honor Society member and officer. From helping to facilitate meetings to aiding in our yearly service projects, Raveena has a glowing reputation when it comes to service while also keeping academics as her top priority,” Bove said.
Raveena most enjoys the service aspect of NJHS.
“My favorite part of NJHS is doing things for the benefit of others and not myself. I love helping my community in any way I can, even if the impact is small,” she said. “For example, we make note cards with positive messages for students during exam week and tape them to their lockers. Seeing all the smiles in students' faces makes my day.”
Laundry Love is another of Raveena’s favorite NJHS projects. “We collected pennies at fun night. Then we purchased and packaged individual bags of laundry detergent to give to people in need who wanted to wash their clothes,” she said.
The NJHS offers this annual Outstanding Achievement Award to help middle school students “jump-start their quest toward higher education. Raveena will receive a $500 award, to be placed in a college savings account managed by OppenheimerFunds (OFI Private Investments) as part of the New Mexico Education Trust Board's 529 college savings plan—The Education Plan.
