To begin the 2025-2026 school year, Señora Vazquez, with the help of Students at Old Saybrook High School, introduced the Spanish National Honors Society to OSHS. Known as the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánic (SHH), this society, which revolves primarily around service, leadership, and academic achievement, is a prestigious organization nationwide.
Señora Vazquez, a Spanish teacher in the OSHS World Language department, is the advisor of the Old Saybrook chapter. Though this honors society was new to OSHS, it wasn’t new to Señora Vazquez as she states that, “since I started teaching, I’ve always had a Spanish society at the schools that I have taught at.” With more than 2,900 chapters of SHH nationwide, this society has a large presence and significance in America.
To Señora Vazquez, this society specifically offers students the, “benefit of being in a society, and also part of the culture, as you can do activities for the community, you can volunteer, you can do a lot to help with the culture.” Emphasizing the importance of community, nationwide students of this society are required to participate in a facet of Hispanic culture and support it within their community. Centered around the motto “¡Todos a una!” which means, “all for one” in English, much like the National Honors Society requires community service projects, the SHH requires community involvement specifically in support of the Hispanic community.
Señora Vazquez felt that the creation of a SHH chapter within OSHS was necessary, stating that, “I feel that students work really hard to learn a foreign language so they deserve recognition.” Not only does the SHH offer prestige to students involved, it also allows them to connect closer with the Spanish language and their community, according to Vazquez. With future ideas of tutoring lower level students, planning community fundraisers, and community service, Vazquez hopes that the introduction of SHH, will “allow more students to want to learn a language”, boosting the bilingual capabilities of students.
Students at OSHS who are members of this society are required to maintain an 87/100 GPA, complete 10 hours of community service (5 related to Spanish), and be in Spanish 4 or higher. If you are interested in this society, see Señora Vazquez, president Kimiya Solomon, or vice president Kyle Walton for more information.
