Waltham student named to National Junior Honor Society at Austin Prep

Seventh grade student Naira Minassian of Waltham has been inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at Austin Preparatory School.

Membership in the NJHS is not an award for a single achievement or moment, according to the school. It’s recognition of a consistent pattern of choices made day after day. Students must demonstrate a commitment to the five pillars: scholarship, leadership, service, character and citizenship.

Minassian was selected by school leadership to write and deliver an original reflection on the NJHS pillar of scholarship at the induction ceremony. In her remarks she presented an original parable about a “land of doors,” using it to encourage fellow inductees to view scholarship as curiosity, persistence and intellectual risk-taking.

“Let’s ask why, test ideas, make mistakes and then try again. Limits only exist because no one has questioned them yet,” she said in her speech.

Michael McLaughlin, head of middle school at Austin Prep, cited the impact of Minassian’s remarks, calling it “one of the most original speeches I’ve heard from a middle school student.” Austin Preparatory School, located in Reading, Massachusetts, is an independent Catholic school serving students in grades 6 through 12.