CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou National Honor Society held an induction ceremony on Monday, March 15, in which 20 new members were added, including two students who had died and were inducted as honorary members.
This year’s new members are Brevin Barnes, Sierra Beaulieu, Riley Connolly, Naomi Cote, Michael Cyr, Sawyer Deprey, Kerrigan Guerrette, Abbiegale McNeal, Cassidy Page, Amanda Poulin, Chloe Sleeper, Jessica Soucy, Mikaela Spooner, Gabrielle Sutherland, Mia Theriault, Jordan Thompson, Bianca Trenchard and Alden Wilcox.
Zachary Gagnon, who lost a three-year battle with Ewing sarcoma at age 13, and Kacie Haney, who died last year in an automobile accident at age 17, were inducted as honorary members during the ceremony.
New inductees now join the school’s current members: Carter Belanger, Felicia Blackstone, Sage Dubay, Jordan Duplessie, Madison Miller, Brooke Moir, Alex Picard, Alaina Quinlan, Edie Shea, Abigail St. Peter, Cody Waldemarson and Malachai Willey.
Following the induction, Chapter President Alaina Quinlan gave special thanks to school Principal Eric McGough and NHS adviser Valerie Waldemarson, who have both shown continuous support and encouragement for the students.
In an interview after the ceremony, McGough said it is apparent that the NHS has truly stepped up amid challenging times and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They’ve taken on the extra workload and the extra leadership,” McGough said. “Whatever the school committee needs, it’s a pretty safe bet you’re gonna find these NHS kids stepping up to take care of it.”
Some examples of this include volunteering for fundraising activities and assisting at sporting events.
They also worked with school officials to figure out a way to allow parents to participate in the ceremony while maintaining social distancing amid the pandemic. During the ceremony, parents of new members watched a livestream in the cafeteria and were able to enter the Caribou Performing Arts Center when their child was called to be pinned and draped. Parents of current members were able to watch the event from the school library.
“It’s incredible,” McGough said of this configuration, “especially with this being my first year as the principal of Caribou High School. We haven’t had nearly as many opportunities to interact with all the parents and community members in a large group setting. We’ve done a lot of video meetings, but for me it’s cool to meet the parents of the kids that I just respect so much.”
Looking ahead, McGough said that while the pandemic has resulted in significant changes, their long-term goal is not to get back to normal.
“Our goal is to get better than normal,” he said. “Now, we see all of these community leaders here, and all of these leaders in our school. We see a sense of the things we liked about normal, but this inspires us to go beyond that. We’ve learned lessons during this time. We’ve grown as a group and as individuals, and now we’re excited about what the future holds.”
He said ideally he wants to see the school continue to prepare students for leadership opportunities, both in and beyond Aroostook County.
“We’re changing the way we structure our school day and classes so we can give kids more of an opportunity to take electives, vocational programming and internships,” he said. “We’re really trying to create a wider pathway for students to come in and pursue the things they love, not just meet a bunch of graduation requirements.”
Waldemarson also commended her students for taking the initiative after the pandemic hit.
“It just shows how smart, and what amazing thinkers and innovators our students are,” she said of their idea to include parents in the ceremony while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. “It came to the question of how do we uphold tradition but still follow the rules that have been put in place to keep us safe? And as you can see, they figured it out.”
She said after the ceremony that she received some good feedback from parents who were able to attend.
“As an adviser, I want to celebrate my students non-stop, and it’s sad for me that sometimes we can’t,” she said. “But tonight was really important for me, because these students worked so hard and they deserve to be celebrated and honored. It was important to make this happen. A lot of work went into this, but it was worth it.”
She said the group has their work cut out for them in the coming months, as they’ve been helping to raise funds and awareness for the Zach and Kacie Viking Pantry of Hope, a food pantry created by the JMG in honor of the two students who died.
The NHS students also attended the statewide NHS convention via livestream on March 16, and are working toward applying for scholarships. Waldemarson said the NHS is planning another service event before the end of the school year.
McGough concluded that members of the Caribou NHS chapter have already proven themselves to be capable leaders.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these young men and women,” he said. “They’re a shining example of what we want all our kids to be.”
