It has been over thirty years since VASJ Hall of Famer Clark Kellogg ’79 was walking the halls of VASJ as a student, but he was clearly excited to be back in the Viking Village on Thursday, March 7, as the featured speaker for the 2013 National Honor Society (NHS) induction ceremony.
“This place is really special to me,” Clark says. “My experience here was fantastic and had a tremendous impact on who I am today.”
The excitement of having him back in the Village was obviously reciprocated by the students who were lining up for autographs and pictures of the basketball legend.
The ceremony started with the lighting of the four pillars of NHS: Scholarship, service, leadership and character. A member of NHS himself, Clark focused his message to the students on the last pillar - character.
“It’s important that we all strive for excellence in whatever we do, but I think the most important foundation we can lay for ourselves is who we are from the inside out,” Clark says.
Clark Kellogg '79 presents Mckenna Walker '15 with her National Honor Society Medal.
Character, not success, Clark explained, is what will get you through difficult times.
“Who you’re becoming is something that needs to be a high priority. That is what carries you through no matter what life throws at you.”
The twelve VASJ students who were inducted into the National Honor Society on Thursday, are the complete package of both academic achievement and character.
VASJ's newly inducted National Honor Society members with Clark Kellogg '79.
Click here to read the News-Herald recap of Clark Kellogg's visit to VASJ (with video).