Life High School Waxahachie National Honor Society Gives Back
Written by Chelsea Groomer
During a time of social distancing, sometimes the solution to give back to a community can be as simple as washing a bus. Last Thursday, Life High School Waxahachie’s (LHSW) National Honor Society (NHS) kicked-off its campus initiative with a good ‘ole fashion bus-wash.
“Normally we do a lot of community service projects, but because of COVID, we’re not allowed to go on field trips or things like that,” explained Kierstein Andrews, LHSW NHS Co-Sponsor.
“So we’re focusing more on campus initiatives and ways to help out in different departments. So they’re [NHS students] going to wash the athletic buses and get them all good for basketball season,” she added.
With music playing in the background, buckets filled with soapy water, and a line of buses – the NHS students got to scrubbing.
“With everything going on, with COVID, it’s always hard for us to do things to give back to our community,” began Leah Sneed, LHSW NHS President. “To me, this is something little we can do to give back together and do something to help other people.”
The buses are routinely sanitized between each use by the LHSW Facilities Team and coaches. But, Andrews emphasized that the bus-wash is more than an act of service. It’s a selfless expression of leadership in action.
“A lot of them are excited about it since they’ve been stuck at home,” said Taylor Weeks, LHSW NHS Co-Sponsor. “But this is outside, socially distanced, wearing masks, and we keep it as safe as possible for them to be here.”
Life School’s mission has a strong commitment to leadership development. By teaching attributes like humility and citizenship through its LifeLeader curriculum, the program trains students to be servant-leaders no matter the circumstance.
“It teaches them [NHS students] a sense of accountability and responsibility,” Andrews emphasized. “A lot of the NHS students are athletes and now they see how they have to clean up behind themselves. So it teaches them service of community, service to their campus, and humility to do things for other people.”
As the day came to a close, Life School’s Athletic Director, Scott Thrush, gave a shout out to the class, tweeting, “Thank you so much NHS for this special treat […] You are appreciated.”
“For NHS, we’re held to a higher standard, both academically and behaviorally,” Sneed added. “I think that we set an example of what all students should be. We model what behavior should be around the school.”
