WHITEHALL — Whitehall High School inducted its newest class of Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society members Wednesday, May 27, and presented retired former Whitehall city manager Scott Huebler with a plaque honoring him as the namesake of the Whitehall chapter.
This year's inductees into the honor society were Ethan Sylvester, Isaac Davis, Delaney Shepherd, Peyton Schultz, Izzy Causie, Mayson Milliron and Jeremy Stepp, Jr.
The Scott Huebler chapter of the honor society launched in 2024 and was named for the former Whitehall city manager in recognition of his 24 years in the position. He retired last May. Dan Tavernier, the current city manager, was invited to give an introduction at the ceremony and joked that it was the first time he'd been invited to any kind of honor society.
During his speech, Tavernier argued that "there's never been a more important time to understand social studies and government. It's the study of people, why societies succeed or fail. Ultimately, it's the study of responsibility."
"One of the biggest misconceptions about democracy is that it's self-sustaining. It is not...People decide to fight for it," Tavernier added. "Democratic government only works if people participate in it - not just during presidential elections, when it affects us or when we're angry."
Whitehall social studies teacher Brian Milliron also invited Landon Spoon, a Whitehall alum and current Grand Valley State University student, to speak at the ceremony. Milliron said Spoon, who graduated in 2024, was never able to be part of the honor society since it began after he graduated, but was a driving force in getting it started at Whitehall. Fittingly, Spoon launched a campaign this spring for the GVSU student senate.
Huebler, who has coached softball at Whitehall and Reeths-Puffer and is now a volunteer assistant at Grand Rapids Community College, said seeing students inducted into the honor society each year is a great privilege.
"To see that the kids are interested and showing a lot of that is super encouraging," Huebler said. "(Brian Milliron) is doing great and the rest of the social studies teachers are (too). It's not always a glamorous profession to go into, and a lot of people just don't really even know about it. The fact that he can kick in six or seven students every year, that's phenomenal. It's always a great experience to come back."
Students apply to the honor society in order to join, and Davis said teacher recommendations are part of the application. He's been a member of the quiz bowl team that Milliron coaches and, like most of the inductees, is an honors history student, which sparked his interest in the honor society.
Davis said honor society members participate in several group projects, such as the annual basketball game paying tribute to local veterans, and also visit college campuses as a group.
"Earlier this year, the past group went to (Central Michigan University), so you get to do a lot of college visits," Davis said. "There's a couple museums that we might get to go to, a lot of historical places. If you have a lot of interest in history and social studies, you get to do all this fun stuff."
Davis said he's long been interested in history and the way it illustrates the past and equips its enthusiasts to get an idea of where the future is headed.
"You get to see that history sort of rhymes," Davis said. "There are common themes you see throughout. You get to kind of predict what's going to happen, and I've always just found it fun because it's always just telling stories."
