The National Residence Hall Honorary is an honor society that is made up of people who advocate for the interests and welfare of students who live in residence halls and have used their energy to make the residential experience better for all.
The organization was founded on April 25th, 1964 at a conference by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH). The colors of the organization are blue and white; blue symbolizes loyalty to the purpose and the idea of NRHH; white represents a blank page which a student writes the successes and experiences that come with living in a residence hall. The four pillars of NRHH are leadership, recognition, scholastics, and service.
At Old Westbury, we have a number of student leaders who play roles in the advancing of residential student life. In April of 2011, the Excelsior Chapter of SUNY College at Old Westbury was established and seven students were inducted in the chapter in that same month.
On October 22, 2011, SUNY Old Westbury hosted their second induction of this year, honoring five new members of the honorary. These students were Ashley Baehrel, Regis Burton, Mechelle Grayson, Sharif King, and Biama Charles. They have shown that they have the four pillars of NRHH through various student leadership roles (SGA, Resident Assistants, Residence Hall Council, Executive Board Members of organizations), and still manage to focus on academics as well. The members of NRHH are excited to continue giving back to the residential community those who are of alumni status, those are currently on the executive board of the organization, and those who are new to the organization.
“We’re happy that people are really interested in NRHH and in growing the chapter and that we got a lot of Old Westbury’s top leaders to be involved in the organization. I’m happy that I can see the organization growing and it getting more competitive for students to be involved,” says Sequoia Lewis, the current president of NRHH.
Jina-Dae Byard, an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and member of the Excelsior Chapter says: “I see NRHH implementing more programs that embrace not only community but family, here on the campus. I think we’ll be able to build better foundations, great foundations. When people graduate from this school, they’ll have the tools to succeed on their own.”
Sharif King, a well known student leader on campus, is excited for the future of NRHH and in the growth of the student leadership on campus. “I want to continue to show students that within a year or two years, it doesn’t mean you can’t grow. I want people to understand what it means to be part of NRHH. We stand for the top 1%, so I hope that everybody can stand for the same.”
For more information about NRHH’s Excelsior Chapter at SUNY College at Old Westbury please contact them at ownrhh@gmail.com.