Leah Scalo and Maddie DeWitt, eighth graders at Warwick Valley Middle School and the current President and Vice President of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), are embracing the holiday spirit and modeling the organization’s core values in meaningful ways this season.
The pair recently launched a special project that extends the WVMS community’s kindness well beyond school walls and into places where it’s needed most. For their initiative, Leah and Maddie invited all WVMS students to create handmade holiday cards, which will be delivered to local hospitals and nursing homes to share cheer, compassion and encouragement with patients, residents and healthcare workers.
“I just tried to put myself in their shoes, because if I was in the hospital around the holidays, I’d be pretty gloomy and I’d need something to cheer me up,” Leah said.
“We also hope it will cheer up their families, too,” Maddie added.
And the goodwill doesn’t stop there. This month, NJHS members will bring their voices and holiday spirit to a local nursing home, spreading joy through festive caroling. The idea came from the high number of chorus members involved in NJHS, inspiring the leaders to build projects around members’ strengths.
“I’ve learned that it’s important to collaborate with others because a lot of people have different skills, and it’s good to learn from everybody around you,” Leah said.
Both students said this philosophy was central to their campaign speeches, which were delivered to their peers last year during the NJHS election.
“I said in mine that when it comes to leadership, it’s important to make sure everyone has a say in what we do,” Maddie said. “I want the whole group to be involved, because sometimes you have people who end up in charge of everything.”
Leah also campaigned on strengthening community connections, drawing on what she learned during her time as Park Avenue Student Council President in 2022.
In addition to community outreach, the pair is focused on enhancing the student experience at WVMS. Currently, NJHS members are designing special merchandise for the school’s Student of the Month ceremonies.
“We have committee leaders who are really good at artistic stuff, so they’re designing everything,” Leah said.
Students create bracelets and magnets to accompany the certificates recipients receive, adding an extra layer of excitement. These items will be offered in exchange for donations to help fund a special field trip for eighth graders to see “The Outsiders” on Broadway later this year.
Leah and Maddie are also active leaders in their school community outside of NJHS. Both are Wildcat Ambassadors, students who are trained to welcome new students each year with guided building tours and insights and assurances that only older students can provide. Leah also plays varsity tennis, sings in chorus and plays viola in the orchestra. She isn’t sure what she wants to pursue in the future but is drawn to math and science.
Maddie plays volleyball, sings in honors chorus, participates in Girl Scouts and is a member of the Ukulele Club. She loves math and English, and hopes to continue developing her leadership skills, possibly toward a future in fashion marketing.
As they look ahead to high school, Leah and Maddie plan to continue their leadership journey in the WVHS National Honor Society chapter. But before this middle school chapter closes, both students are proud of their consistent high honor roll achievements and deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve as NJHS President and Vice President.
“I saw from my Spotlight in fourth grade that I said I wanted to do student council or something like it in eighth grade,” Leah shared. “I looked back at the article recently and thought it was really cool that I did it.”