On Tuesday, March 18th, 28 students were inducted into the Quill & Scroll National Honor Society at 7:00 pm in the Beneke Theater.
“I plan on majoring in journalism in college and pursuing a career in it for the rest of my life, so being a part of The Quill and Scroll society is not only beneficial to teach me lifelong skills, but also something impressive to add to my resume,” said Maliah Miskiewicz, Co-Editor in Chief of the Park Press.
The Quill & Scroll National Honor Society is one of Park’s eight honor societies. It recognizes students for their outstanding work in journalism, including newspaper, radio, television, yearbook, and other media.
“A couple of years ago, when we started the journalism department, I had no expectation for it to grow to the place that it is now. So it’s really exciting, not only to see the Park Press and the work that goes into the journalism department, but for it to move forward to this honor society, just shows how strong it’s grown in the few years that we’ve had it at Wheeling Park. I think for our students that are part of that, they should certainly be acknowledged and awarded for the wonderful work that they do in that course, and should have that distinction when they graduate and when they are applying for college,” said Principal, Mrs. Dailer.
George H. Gallup organized the Quill & Scroll National Honor Society on April 10th, 1926, at the University of Iowa. Currently, there are about 14 active chapters in West Virginia. Wheeling High’s charter was organized on December 23rd, 1927. This was before the consolidation of Tridelphia, Warwood, and Wheeling, which did not happen until 1976.
“This is so important for students to see themselves, not only as journalists in our school, but also participating in a national level of things. This honor society is really an important way for students to get recognition of their incredible work, and also to be celebrated, especially at graduation. I want to see kids decked out in all of the cords, all of the pins, and be celebrated and standing constantly. So this is just another fantastic honor to really showcase what wonderful kids we have in this building,” said Mrs. Droginske, Park Press and the Quill & Scroll National Honor Society Advisors.
The Quill & Scroll National Honor Society has eight guiding principles: Truth, initiative, learning, integrity, leadership, judgment, loyalty, and friendship.
“We [Park Press] talk a lot about reporting the truth and we talk a lot about biases and our First Amendment rights and having integrity, and what’s like the ethical decision making. I think in this class that’s one of my favorite things to talk about. What is the most ethical way to report this? How do we get to the idea of truth? And those are really big foundations of the world. I think that it’s such a wonderful thing that we get to have those conversations in here, but then also there are national conversations of that, that’s what journalism stands for, and that’s what the media should be and represent. I think that’s just so important; it’s so cool that you guys have these big ideas and apply this every single day in the classroom,” said Mrs. Droginske.
Mrs. Dillion is the Radio and TV teacher, as well as one of the advisors for the Quill & Scroll National Honor Society. This society is a great recognition for her students.
“I’m really excited that we have brought this back, and I’m grateful to Maliah Miskiewicz and Mrs. Droginske for taking the initiative and the leadership to ensure that our students are recognized as they should be,” said Mrs. Dillion.
Lee Braden is a WPHP member and now, a Quill & Scroll National Honor Society member.
“It feels good to be a member, because you feel like you’re a part of something, and it’s good to kind of bring it back, because it hasn’t been like a super popular club. So it’s cool to bring it back, and it’s cool to have something that supports journalism, both with the TV format and written format,” said Lee.
