NHS Election Speeches
Please READ CAREFULLY the following speeches and vote for who will be the best fit for NHS president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.
Votes will be accepted only if submitted to the NHS gmail account.
Votes are due by Sunday May 24, 2015.
Late votes will not be accepted.
President Candidates:
1) Neethu Pottackal
Hi Everyone!
My name is Neethu, and I am running for President of NHS. Today, I address you not as individual members or individual students of this prestigious club. But, I address you as a team. A unified team of the brightest, most dedicated, and determined students in this school. I am sure that each one of you has that inner desire to make the most out of your future, to become successful, and most of all, make a difference in your community and possibly the world. And, our goal as a team is to start making that difference now in our community at EHS.
Now, the question is, how do we achieve that?
Luckily, under the leadership of Jeet, Aaheli, Rohan and Mitali, we are off to a great start. Many of you have tutored, volunteered for different events such as Earth Day Celebration, and have attended most of the meetings. For next year, as President, I pledge to maintain these great opportunities. But more so, I pledge to offer even more new, exciting ones that we can attend as a team, and that will make the process of getting points easier, practical and enjoyable. There are several ideas I would like to share with you today, and I will start by describing one particular volunteering experience that I feel is a great way to make a difference in our community and should be offered more. Just last week and about one month ago, Kay, Rushil, Helena and I attended the teachers’ faculty meeting at the elementary schools to talk about the teaching strategies we liked most. It was an amazing experience since we were not only rewarded for our time, but also, we gained the confident feeling that we made a difference. This opportunity allows all of you to share your ideas and your experience as a student, and the best part is the fact that you can, for the first time, tell what the teachers should do instead of them telling what you should do. Another idea is to have a page on the NHS website that allows students to submit online quick questions on homework, and that allows you to answer them back with a message. This is an easy way to help more of your classmates and at same time, be rewarded with points. Other ideas could include writing to Veterans, thanking their dedication and service; involving in more charities and food drives; and offering specific tutoring days for the SAT or other types of standardized tests. And remember, these are only suggestions so feel free to add on with your ideas and opinions. After all, it’s your ideas and concerns that help move this club forward.
Now, as to why I am eligible for this position, I will share more about myself. I am someone who has a passion for music, art, business and science. I am a member of Wind Ensemble, and of clubs such as Rotary, FBLA and Model UN; therefore, I understand the importance of leadership and responsibility. But most of all, I am someone who is committed to contribute the most to this club. All of you know that this position requires dedication, involvement, and commitment, and I am ready to give just that. I am ready to lead and to be part of this unique team that makes a difference. So, Vote Neethu for President and as a team, we will show that NHS is what’s great about Edison High!
Thank You!
2) Vallab Nayak
· I am fit for an NHS positions because I have years of experience in leadership and management and because I have maintained good grades with all Honors or AP classes
o For the last three years, I have been the Executive Director of the Earth Youth Environmental Society, an international non-profit organization with around 1000 activists and a dozen branches worldwide.
o As ED, I have personally raised over $10,000 in two years and overseen budgets ranging from $3000 to $60,000
o I also have experience in getting things done efficiently and cost-effectively. I led a number of projects with EYES in Edison including the EHS Garden, the EHS Orchard, and the NJ Tree Giveaway.
o I am also good at getting students engaged and making things interesting. This will help when it comes to NHS tutoring.
· I can benefit NHS next year by improving current programs and introducing new ones
o I plan to improve NHS tutoring where many more people will be involved in a variety of subject areas. This will keep tutors busy instead of having multiple tutors overwhelming a single student
o I also plan to improve the tutor scheduling system. I hope to make the entire process electronic to prevent confusion and allow communication b/w NHS advisors, tutors, teachers, and students.
o I also hope to introduce some minor fundraising that will offset the cost of cords for the graduating class and things like that.
· I have a number of ideas, including the ones listed above, that NHS can implement next year
o We could have NHS members work more closely with clubs to help EHS students earn more community service hours
o On Teach Appreciation week, we could produce our own style of "mean tweets" based on posts found onratemyteacher.comto raise respect for EHS teachers.
o I have already designed the NHS website (nhsehs.weebly.com) and I will continue towards integrating more technology with NHS activities.
3) Alisha Sood
Hey everyone I hope you're having a great day and I'll try not to take too long because as they say it's best to leave your audience before your audience leaves you. But all jokes aside my name is Alisha Sood and I'm running for NHS president because I'm fit for this position. I know being an officer can take up a lot of my time and requires a lot of effort and as treasurer of a club this year I've learned how big of a responsibility an officer position can be, especially being a president but I'm ready to put in a lot of work because I know it's gonna help us next year. Also, I'm a pretty organized person and I feel like that can come in handy when you are running such a large club with so many members that need their points to be up to date. Along with being organized I tend to stay calm in stressful situations. My organization skills and my ability to stay calm can really help me next year if I do become president. I will be straightforward with you guys, I know most of you are worried about your points and want those 70 points for senior year, so as president, that is if I win, I hope to make sure there are enough events for everyone to participate in. This year NHS has been in the shadows and I want aA lot of you are preoccupied with sports, so I want to find events that would be convenient for all NHS Members. I will try to make our NHS events more appealing so people aren't going just to volunteer but also because they want to. The officers this year did a great job sending out emails on time and keeping the points up to date, but I want to make it even more convenient for us to communicate. I think it would be beneficial for us to use the remind app which sends text messages to your phone. Because honestly speaking I don't check my email very often. This years officers did a phenomenal Job and I aspire to do the same if not more. I hope you enjoyed my speech, and if not, I hope you had a good nap.
4) Sarah Chelli
Hi! I’m Sarah Chelli and I am running to be your 2015-2016 NHS President. I am running for NHS President because I am a natural born leader and the most capable of making the upcoming year successful. As a leader, I know how to take charge and get things done. I am not looking to completely take over NHS so I understand the importance of working together with the rest of the NHS board as well as the other NHS members. Besides being able to take charge, I am outgoing and creative. I am really passionate about things I commit to and I can ensure that I can give 100%. By using these qualities, I hope to make events more fun and exciting. What I want to do for NHS is to become more connected with the Edison community in general. NHS is not only about grades but about service and character as well. People here in Edison Township are always looking for volunteers and help and love to see high school students involved. Many people in the community would be more than willing to allow us to help out with different projects. I also wanted to create a specific NHS event. NHS has tutoring and volunteering opportunities but we do not have an event or activity. I’m not sure of an exact idea for an event but by working with other members we can incorporate new and different ideas. As NHS President, I know I can bring new and positive energy and continue the legacy of making NHS what is great about Edison High. Thank you.
Vice President Candidates
1) Rushil Kumbhani
Good afternoon fellow students! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Rushil Kumbhani and I am running for National Honor Society Vice President. Now, many of you are probably thinking: “What makes him qualified to be our next NHS Vice President?” But, let me begin by telling you this: the realist, the optimist, and the pessimist may argue about the glass of water, but I am the opportunist. I would much rather drink the glass of water and take the opportunity to make NHS an even better organization for students to actively engage and better the community in which they serve. I mean just look around! With a society of over fifty members, just imagine the magnitude at which we can make a difference. After all the crux of this organization is not what NHS can do for you, but what you can do for NHS, and if you think I’ve been studying way too much history, then you’re probably right.
I am fully aware that this position demands time commitment, perseverance, and dedication to making next year an energetic and productive environment and that If I am elected, I will uphold the four pillars of NHS: Character, Scholarship, Leadership, and Service. These are the principles that guide my everyday life and motivate me to be a better person than I was the day before and I am not just making blank statements when I say that I vow to contribute my ideas, determination, and desire to expand the role that NHS plays in our society. I have always had the desire to lead and I am dedicated to help lead NHS towards a bright future, as exemplified by my participation and assistance in organizing events in many clubs and activities such as the Science Club, Student Council, and Model United Nations.
Like any election speech, I just had to throw in a quote here. Everyone knows and loves the impact that Steve Jobs has had on our world, but there is one quote by him that truly resonates with me. “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” If each and every one of us can individually have such an impact on our community, as a team, we are limitless. And so I can benefit NHS for the 2015-2016 year by advocating for democracy. While I have my own ideas for this club, I know that so does everyone in this room, and I envision a future where members can contribute their ideas about fundraising and ways we can further our service to our community. If we work as a collective whole rather than as select individuals, we can create a more comfortable atmosphere that encourages cooperation and commitment.
NHS has done an amazing job this year through the countless events and opportunities it has given us members to engage in, and there are many more ways in which we can give back and assist our society through our service. For example, I thought it would be a good idea for us members to participate in the Salvation Army’s annual Bell Ringing around Christmas time. Volunteers would ring bells in front of their local grocery stores, libraries, or sidewalks in order to promote the holiday spirit and collect donations for the Salvation Army. I would love to spread the cheerfulness and joy that comes with holidays and so even writing holiday cards with lighthearted messages for the elderly in nursing homes can brighten their days.
Even community clean-up days aside from just beach sweeps where volunteers pick up trash around their local neighborhoods in Edison can have far-reaching effects. This is the society we live in and will be living in for the next few years and so it is our responsibility to clean up our environment.
Recently, a few fellow members and I attended a teacher and faculty event called EdCamp at Ben Franklin Elementary School where we shared our ideas about effective teaching methods and how to get younger kids involved in their communities and motivated to learn. The problem the teachers were faced with was the lack of interest and drive that the children possessed and so they asked us how we could promote a fun and engaging learning environment, driven by a pursuit to succeed. It turns out that the teachers loved our ideas and were committed to creating a Big Sister and Big Brother organization at the elementary school as soon as possible. If we can implement these ideas in other schools as well, imagine the foundation we are setting for our youth who will one day be in our positions to positively impact our society.
Now I don’t want to bore you with an extremely drawn-out speech speech, so i will end with this. I dont want to say that I can make a difference. Its about us. We can make a difference in NHS. We can make a difference in Edison High School and we can make a difference for our community that has given so much for us. So I took the opportunity and drank the glass of water. Now its your guys’ turn to drink the water as well, take the next step, and vote for me as your next NHS Vice President.