This year the Orono High School chapter of National Art Honor Society held their induction ceremony on the evening of April 27. Students who are selected for the National Art Honor Society must exhibit an excellence in art as well as in scholarship, character and service.

Advisor Jessica Barnes said this is the largest group of students that Orono High School has inducted.

“It is really important for students to get recognition for the arts,” said Barnes. “Visual art has so many connections to these students daily lives, from creative problem solving to design thinking. While many of these students may not go on to formally study art, they will take the concepts and skills they have learned from their art classes and apply them to other facets of their life”.

Students who were inducted this spring were sophomores Leah Costello, Emily Dunn, Bailey Gifford, Camille Kohtala, Lauren Melanson; juniors Rebecca Gallandt, Katherine O’Brien; and seniors Karoline Bass, Audrey Carroll, Madelyn Dichard, Kassidy Dill, Margaret Pandiscio, Ashley Smith, Hannah Steelman, Lindsay Wells. The new inductees join current NAHS members Riley Bowie, Brinsley Chasse, Elizabeth Fortier, Meghan Franklin, Auralee Mayfield, Daphne Murphy, Lowell Ruck, Elizabeth White, and Michelle Haverlock.

These students represent a contingent of individuals who are passionate about art and extend that love of art in to all avenues of their lives. The purpose of National Art Honor Society is to inspire and recognize these students who have shown an outstanding ability in art. Art is important to every student’s life because they come in contact with art on a daily basis through their visual culture and it is important for them to understand and have the skills to navigate through it. These students will pursue art in their future either formally or continue to integrate it into their daily lives in other ways.

Nancy Connor was the guest speaker at the event.