The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

Despite what was a rainy afternoon, there were smiles all around on Monday, March 24, as 17 students from the Bronx School of Law and Finance, located on the John F. Kennedy school campus in Marble Hill, were joined by fellow students, parents, friends, and faculty for their induction into the National Honor Society during a ceremony held at the school.

 

Dr. Jessica Goring, principal of The Bronx School of Law and Finance, located at 99 Terrace View Avenue, welcomed the attendees to the school for the occasion, which consisted of the pledge of allegiance, recitals and speeches, a candle-lighting ceremony, the swearing of an oath by new members, and certificate and pin presentations, followed by food and refreshments.

“I want to begin by emphasizing the first word in the title: national,” Goring said as she addressed the honorees. “This is not a recognition that is class-wide, or schoolwide, or even citywide,” she said. “This organization is one that spans across the country, and so to be formally inducted into the National Honor Society means to be formally recognized on a national level for your academic achievements, your leadership, and your degree of service.”

 

Goring, who appeared to know the name of every student she passed in the corridor as she made her way around the school, added, “Every student across the country who is inducted into the National Honor Society has met these standards, and it is important to place yourself and this achievement on that playing field.” she said.

Smiling proudly at the honorees, Goring said the school’s students had strengths in many areas, mentioning athletes, artists, performers, and comedians. “But the starting element that distinguishes someone as eligible to apply for NHS is scholarship,” she said.
She continued, “This is first and foremost an organization that believes in intellectual achievement, and it is not enough to be bright. You have to be committed to participating in class, to doing your work, to performing well on exams. This is the culmination of academic skills, as well as the drive to achieve.”

 

Goring added, “Still, without being good people, without character, and without the calling to serve your community and others, you would not be standing here today. We are happy that you have integrity, as well as intellect, and we are proud that you represent our school.”
The four pillars of the Society: scholarship, service, leadership and character were described by various students and “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost was also recited. Assistant Principal Tyrone Iton thanked all faculty members for supporting the students with their studies.

 

The ceremony program was put together by Goring, Iton, Lisa Coxson, AP, and Rosa Rodriguez, parent coordinator.
The new inductees are Lia Baez, Yeromi Dela Cruz, Torei Dembele, Mariana Devis, Eurin Hernandez Lopez, Ricardo Ives, Ermin Kolasinac, Rylan Martinez, Robinson Mata, Thomas Ozuna, Julyana Patricio, Jammar Rowe, Bruce Sanchez, Jayrie Sanchez, Jonel Shal-Aponte, Najaye Smith, and Mariel Tejada.

 

Goring concluded, “Congratulations to all of you on being chosen! It is truly a privilege and an honor to welcome you to our chapter of the National Honor Society!”

Afterwards, we spoke to Jammar, dressed in a smart black suit for the occasion, and accompanied by his proud mother, Griselda. “It feels good to have an achievement that’s mine, that no one helped me with,” he said. “Like I did this on my own.” He continued, “I’m a very independent young man. I like doing things on my own. I don’t like asking for help and for this, I did it all on my own. No one helped me. I did all the interviews. I did everything by myself. Only thing my mom helped me with was dressing me!”

 

Jammar said he was studying criminal law in school, and the honor was for his overall studies, including having an above average GPA. “I’m a very, I guess, above-average kid for my grade,” he said, adding that eventually he would like to study to become a psychiatrist.
We also spoke to Jammar’s buddy, Bruce, who told us he wants to ultimately study finance, as he’s good with numbers. “I really enjoy my math class, and I really enjoy working with money and numbers, so I think finance would be the best situation for me.”

 

Of the honors, Bruce said, “It’s a big achievement for me. I’m very happy, very glad to be here, very excited, and very glad to make my parents proud, and especially the friends that helped me to reach here. I’ve had a lot of support throughout the years. I’ve had a lot of people help me. It’s been a struggle, especially for the first few years, recovering from COVID and things like that.”

 

He continued, “I’m a really social person so COVID really brought me down, but recovering and now doing better, and feeling myself, and seeing myself grow as a person is really one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done, seeing all my friends from freshman to now junior year, seeing them grow, it really has been amazing, especially seeing myself grow.”

 

Bruce added, “At least, I’m able to do something great. Knowing that will really be an amazing accomplishment, and knowing that will also help me to grow in the future, and hopefully be amazing and great, and hopefully leave a footprint in this world.”

 

Asked if he had any words of advice for those who might be struggling in school, he said, “It’s all a mental game, honestly, so you have to be calm, calm-minded to think through the decisions you make, and whether the situations you’re going through are really solvable, and if they are, then try to change and be better. Try to promise yourself, to hold it within yourself to be accountable, and to do the things that you want to do, and to change and be better.”

Bruce continued, “Because you want to want it to change, because if you don’t want to, and you stay struggling, then it’s not going to change and it’s going to stay the same, because if you want change, and you’re really going to work towards it and put in the work, then you can accomplish anything.”

 

Bronx School of Law & Finance Induction Ceremony into the National Honor Society, March 24, 2025.

Video by Síle Moloney for Norwood News via YouTube

We also spoke with Eurin, also a friend of Jammar and Bruce, who said, “I’m honored to be a Honor Society [honoree]. It takes a lot of effort to get in here. You got to put in the hard work. You got to stay consistent, and for anyone who needs tips out there, I just say, ‘Focus on what you got to do, and really try to work on yourself and be a better you every single day.’”

 

View a short video of the ceremony above and some other additional short videos of the ceremony on our YouTube channel here.