National Honor Society is a group of students that come together to serve the community and enhance their image as an esteemed student; and now it is for Languages Other Than English. The high school has multiple LOTE NHS groups for French, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

“[The Spanish NHS] is a National organization that is targeted for Spanish speakers or Spanish learners,” Spanish teacher Mallin Hernandez said. “We are joined with the Portuguese Honor Society, so it is actually called the Spanish/Portuguese Honor Society.”

Each LOTE NHS is targeted for the students that speak the language as a first language or learning it as a second.  Each honor society is pointed towards helping the community like every other National Honor Society organization, but with some certain stipulations.

“You have to do hours like in the NHS, and they have to be something to do with the Latin American culture,” Hernandez said. “It has to be the opportunity to speak Spanish, to write Spanish, and to be involved with the Spanish speaking community.”

Each LOTE NHS has the goal of presenting the specific language to the LISD community.

“[The ASL NHS] gives students a good opportunity to work with students with the same interest, the same goals,” ASL teacher Edward Bart said. “They have the opportunity to get to know different aspects of the deaf community, and go more in depth with the language.”

The students believe that being a part of a group of students that care about learning and understanding the language, then it helps their dispersal of the language.

“SNHS has helped me become more well and organized,” Spanish NHS student Simon Herran said. “Also, I hope that through our community service projects, we can integrate Lovejoy HS with the Hispanic community.”

In addition to being a nice entry on the college application, LOTE NHS advisers believe the organizations offer much more than a resume builder.

 “I expect them to leave the legacy at this school,” Hernandez said. “{I expect them} to learn, to have fun, to take their knowledge somewhere else, home, into their communities, on to college.”

Many students joined to continue with their lifetime of learning of a language, but it also helps many students now in their classes.

“This is the first year for Spanish NHS, but we are really hoping that we are able to establish a tradition that the underclassmen can keep going,” Herran said. “I will use my Spanish through SNHS and then hopefully I will be able to merge it with my college studies.”