The St. Louis High School’s branch of the National Honors Society performed their second Adopt-a-Highway event, on a stretch of highway just outside of town at 3:30 P.M., Wednesday, Sept. 28, in order to meet standards set by the NHS. Adopt-a-Highway events take place before school and during the fall, and the NHS participates in these in order to fulfill their part in helping out the community.

Adopt-a-Highways are pillar events in the NHS schedule, and it’s important for members to attend. NHS needs as many of its members as possible to participate in these events. Overall, 13 members attended the event and helped make a difference in their community. What exactly is an Adopt-a-Highway event? Bethany Kisser, one of the heads of NHS, describes it as, “A beautification service project.” The group will go alongside the road and pick up any trash and litter they find, in order to better serve the community. “We go along the highway and we pick up any trash we find,” remarked Kisser. “It’s a service project that we expect NHS members to participate in.”

Kisser’s co-advisor, Erin B.G., also attended the Adopt-a-Highway event. B.G. has often described the event as, “A state-wide highway cleanup project that NHS chapters of different schools often invest in.” She also added that it largely is a beautification project, and it’s done to serve and honor the community and their right to non-littered highways. 

Although lower turnout, due to Homecoming activities, was a problem, it ultimately wasn’t the biggest deal. “I think it went as well as expected,” commented B.G. “I mean, we don’t set the times for cleanup because the state does, so our window for cleanup was unfortunate due to it being during to Homecoming week. Even with other student responsibilities, I think about thirteen students showed up, which is about half the chapter.”

Even with the issues with Homecoming and attendances, the cleanup was a success! “It would be nice to have 100% participation next time, but we were there and we had a good old time,” concluded B.G.