The final weeks of the school year are already a busy time for most of Middleton High School’s (MHS) staff, but the art department has faced an additional challenge this school year. Their effort finally came to fruition this spring with the opening of Middleton’s chapter of the National Art Honor Society (NAHS).

Founded in 1978 with more than 54,000 members, the National Art Honor Society is a program created by the National Art Education Association as a way to give credibility to stand-out students in the field of art and provide them with opportunities to have their work shown in NAHS exhibitions and publications. Membership also opens doors for future leadership and college preparation, along with eligibility for scholarships.

The idea of Middleton opening its own chapter came from Art Club advisor Sophia Pan, who said, “I’ve been looking for more opportunities at MHS to help artists kind of put themselves out there or be recognized for their art.” She claims that she found the organization through a Google search and thought it was a great match for what she was looking for.
“I was like, ‘Hey, this is going to be a really great way for artists to help out in the community using their hobbies [and] passions.’”

She started by talking to the art teachers directly before addressing other students through a presentation in an Art Club meeting in the late fall. The art department was ecstatic to hear about the opportunities and went right to work on becoming part of the society.
“I was excited to have something that would positively show our students in all of their hard work,” said Abby Otteson, the main instructor of most of the physical 2D art classes. “It’s a really great way to showcase the department in a very positive way that’s both academic and creative.”

Ceramics teacher Peter Ludt has other hopes for NAHS, which largely involve giving hardworking art students respect for their work. 

“With the rise of AP classes and NHS, there are a lot of opportunities for our students to be recognized for their academics, but not necessarily for art students,” Ludt said, “so [NAHS] provides a nationally accredited organization [which] gives us an opportunity to be a part of that.” 

When asked about how getting the chapter formed was on a technical level, Otteson said, “It was a little more work than anticipated.” 

As a pleasant side effect of their hard work, Otteson, along with Ludt and two other art teachers, Sarah Schultz and Jennifer Paris, went to Chicago in early March to attend the National Art Education Conference. The conference was a place for art teachers to share techniques and works with each other. The main reason they went, however, was for a first-time NAHS member meeting, where teachers trying to open their own chapters received tips and support on how to accelerate and finalize the process.

The requirements for joining the society included having at least a 3.5 Unweighted GPA in any Visual Arts classes and a 3.0 GPA in any other classes. Applicants are also expected to be in at least one Visual Arts class or club each semester of their membership. The application consisted of a Google form inquiring about applicants’ art journey throughout their life, their history of community service and a brief preview of their previous work.

Once accepted, members are to fulfill 8 hours of art-related volunteer work every year. This could include things such as painting public murals, assisting at an art fair in any capacity, helping create theater sets, designing posters for an event or any other task in which members can utilize their creativity. As an additional reward besides the recognition of being in the society itself, Senior members are also given rainbow-threaded cords to wear at graduation. 

This year’s Senior members were also given slightly more leniency with hours and applications, given that they were only officially inducted into the society on Friday, May 22nd, rather than much earlier in the year as inductions typically go. The induction took place early in the morning at 7:30 AM in the art gallery. 

All inductees agreed to the following pledge, which the MHS art department deemed fitting of the values they wanted to uphold:

“I will create with intention, share with generosity, and use my creativity to bring more beauty and meaning into my community and the world around me.”

The following seniors were inducted:

Alexander Byrd

Brynn Keifert

Buckit Graham

Emma Donovan

Isla Holmstrom

Kyleigh Fosdick

Olivia Delavega

Yan Yang

Zoe Sharaf

Future inductions will happen in September now that the department has started the chapter. The art department is excited to take part in such a program in the years to come and hopes it’ll bring great things to the art community at Middleton High School as a whole.

“I think it’s going to be really awesome because we’re gonna be able to have our members really be a part of the community, both within [and outside] our school.” Otteson said, “It’ll bring a lot of eyes to our art department, and I feel we’re kind of hidden sometimes, and so I think this will be good for us.”

When asked what his hopes are for NAHS, Peter Ludt said, “The Biggest goal is to provide an organization/club that is student-run, student-generated, student-led that really honors not just our art students, but our high-academic achieving art students who are also willing to dedicate their time and energy to volunteer work.”

The opening of NAHS is something many seem to have high expectations for, and it will hopefully lead to greater development in art-inclined students here at Middleton.