During her first year as a teacher in Marietta High School, senior English teacher
Danielle Neble made an observation.
“I noticed that we have a lot of talented kids involved in the arts,” said Neble. “We have
robotics and aeronautics and STEM classes, and other schools I’ve been in didn’t have
those. But we’ve got this great group of kids who have abilities that really don’t fit those
molds, and I have friends at other schools who have BETA clubs. I asked our
administration, who is very supportive, about the possibility of starting a BETA club.”
BETA Club is an international honor society for students that promotes academic
excellence, character development, leadership, and service to others. Members must
meet academic and character requirements set by their school and the national
organization to be invited to join.
The high school already had a chapter of the National Honor Society, which is similar to
BETA club in that members are leaders and honor students. However, there’s a big
difference between the two. To be a member of BETA, students must also compete.
“There are all different kinds of competitions for kids, everything from academic to visual
and performing arts, you can do about anything, and we can find a project and a
competition for you it,” explained Neble.
Given the go-ahead by administrators, Neble began assembling the school’s BETA club
last year, and this year her students will begin competing.
BETA Club competitions are designed to boost college readiness, provide scholarship
opportunities, develop essential leadership and teamwork skills, foster social
responsibility through community service, and promote personal growth in character
and integrity, and Neble believes that the competitions do all of these things.
“We help the kids find a skill and a project, and they take that project and compete at
the state level, hopefully place there and advance to the national competition,” Neble
stated.
Some of Neble’s students are competing in areas that they’re already strong in, like
vocal or instrumental music or graphic design. Others may choose a project based on
an interest.
“One student wants to learn how to decorate cakes and felt like this would be a good
opportunity to do that,” said Neble. “We basically just try to help them find a strength
they already have or a skill they’re interested in acquiring.”
In addition to individual projects, the club adopts a group project, which will be
presented at a leadership conference in Fort Worth at the end of October. Elected
officers are Emma Chaney, President; Izabella Fernandez, Vice President; Liliana
Fernandez, Secretary/Treasurer; Allyson Beard, Reporter; Alyson Muller, Historian;
Aycee Dudley, Social Media; and Elaina Avirneni, Graphic Designer.
“They want to do some landscaping in front of the new building,” said Neble. “We will
present a proposal for it, then come back and complete the project as a group, and at
the end of the year we will present it at state with a scrapbook to show we completed
the project.”
Between now and then, the group will need to do some planning, fundraising, and
planting.
“They’re quickly finding out the cost of things in the real world,” smiled Neble. “They had
no idea until we started. We’ve been calling around to get some prices, and they are
working on a budget.”
According to Neble, the group has been focused on fundraising, not just for the project,
but also so they can take their members to state competition, which will be held in
March.
BETA club members are Logan Atkins, Elaina Avirneni, Brody Bazor, Allyson Beard,
Kamarah Bertrand, Madison Billy, Zade Bone, Emma Chaney, Vitoria Da Rosa, Aycee
Dudley, Izabella Fernandez, Liliana Fernandez, Savannah Geiger, Talon Gomez, Allison
Hice, Franchesca Lopez Veracierta, Tripp Lutkenhaus, Madison Magnus, Benito
Maldonado, Alyson Muller, Breqlynn Perryman, Audriana Rodriguez, Xiomari
Rosado-Rodriguez, William Rutledge, Daniel Salas, Samantha Silva, Karrington Staton,
Dillon Trail, Shawn Vasquez, and Muhammad Walli.
Membership is by invitation only and is based on maintenance of a 3.75 GPA, character
references, and demonstration of leadership and service. While members in BETA,
students are required to complete 30 hours of community service annually.
“BETA kids are well-rounded, involved students, who invest in their communities,” said
Neble. “We’ve already had a great response. The kids are excited, and that’s good for
them and for the school. BETA really provides something for everyone – it’s there for the
kid who wants to build, or read a list of classic novels, or a list of other things.
“There are all different kinds of ways that kids can learn and be recognized for their
own, unique skill sets. BETA rewards the kids who take the initiative to go above and
beyond, and it can be lifechanging for them.”