Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School puts great emphasis on ensuring that its students have access to classes and opportunities that may enhance learning in topics concerning history and government. This can be seen in the numerous extracurriculars and clubs involved in the social sciences, like Model UN and National History Day Club. But in recent years, the Thomas Jefferson History Honor Society has seen waning participation. The honor society, as stated by its treasurer Eddie Williams (‘23), “aims to embody the passion for social studies at Maggie Walker and to provide a club for those deeply interested in history who wish to further their service to the community.” 

Despite an immense amount of student interest in historic topics at Maggie Walker, TJHHS has found itself in need of revamping. Williams addresses some of the honor society’s struggles, explaining, “The club's constitution was outdated and had several clauses in need of rework and addition. More loosely speaking, though, the club simply didn't do anything to help fulfill its promise of promoting historical interest among the school.” These issues have ultimately led to the honor society’s decline. 

Nonetheless, leadership has been working hard to revitalize TJHHS. Its president, Jordyn Krajewski, notes some changes that have been made this past year, saying “This year, we rewrote the [TJHHS] constitution and became a chapter of Rho Kappa. This creates new requirements for the honor society, including the addition of volunteer hours.” Krajewski and Williams believe that joining Rho Kappa will give the club more structure that provides for a longevity that did not exist before.

In effort to increase outreach in the school community, the honor society has started a speaker series and a tutoring lab, which “is open on Thursdays in room 232 during lunch and helps students with anything related to history, whether that be writing, studying, or something else,” according to Krajewski.

Moving forward, TJHHS plans to continue their mission of increasing students’ passion for history. On Thursday, February 16, there was a presentation about historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) led by club members Darby French (‘24), Ryan Marks (‘23), Hareem Mubashar (‘24), and Skylar Schuetze (‘24) in the library for Black History Month, and more plans to bring speakers during lunch are underway.