SPANISH FORT, Ala. — A new national honor society, formerly known as the Spanish National Honor Society, has been formed at Spanish Fort High School, and is the first one so far in Baldwin County.

“It’s the only club I have heard of that recognizes Spanish achievement,” student Kelsey Smith said of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica chapter at SFHS.

“I am very proud Spanish Fort is the first school in the County that has this chapter of a national organization,” sponsor Marko Sebastiani said.

According to information supplied by Sebastiani, the purpose of the organization is to recognize high school student achievement in Spanish. Sebastiani, SFHS chapter sponsor, said this is an international honor society for sophomores, juniors and seniors. He had to gain approval of the chapter from the national organization before recruiting students. There are approximately 70 chapters in Alabama, he said.

Students must have a good discipline record, be able to attend monthly meetings and be involved in school or community service projects. Students must have an “A” average in both Spanish I and Spanish II, and must sustain at least a “B” average in Spanish III to be a member of the chapter, he said. Sebastiani hopes other students will join the chapter and will learn to value their achievements in Spanish.

“I hope the school will recognize the academic achievements of students, not only in the County, but in a national organization,” he said.

The idea to start the society at SFHS came after Sebastiani regularly attended Alabama Association of Foreign Language Teachers meetings. He has also attended Alabama Humanities Foundation meetings where professors from different universities deal with different topics, from Spanish grammar to Latin Spanish populations.

Mission trips to Spanish speaking countries have been a catalyst for Smith to further her knowledge of the Spanish language, she said. On some mission trips, Smith said she was only one of a few who could converse with residents. Spanish will also be part of her college curriculum, Smith said. She plans on graduating from medical school and specializing in radiology or pathology, so she can work in a Spanish speaking country with “Doctors without Borders.”

Smith said that people don’t often realize how many Spanish words they actually use and there is a lot of “crossover” in words because of the Latin bases. Learning Spanish has also helped Smith, who is also the chapter president, with her AP English classes since there is an overlap of meanings of parts of words.

“A lot of people don’t see the relevance Spanish has to their lives, so I think it is riding on our shoulders to get further membership,” Smith said of the chapter.

Fourteen students have joined the new chapter which will meet once a month. Sebastiani said the students will speak Spanish approximately one-half of the time during society meetings.

“The initiation is going to be in Spanish and directed by the president and secretary,” Sebastiani said.

The chapter submitted several possible names for their chapter. They recently received approval for the name “Unidad en Diversidad,” which means “unity and diversity.” The chapter will also have its own constitution but will closely follow the national constitution, Sebastiani said. The chapter can also apply for cash, scholarship and travel awards which are awarded by the national society.