Beginning last year, a new project by National Honors Society was formed- the fabulous Miss(ter) Union! I decided to interview the current leader, Walker Law, for more information on it, and here’s what he’s shared:

What is Miss(ter) Union about?

“Miss(ter) Union is a big fundraising program, essentially ran primarily by NHS, but it’s available for any junior to join, and you essentially just fundraise all year long to try and raise money for the PeaceHealth Southwest neonatal intensive care unit. At the end of the year, we have a big pageant to celebrate everything- tons of parents, students, and teachers all show up, and we have a fun time.”

What was Miss(ter) Union like last year?

“Last year, it was kind of a mess, to be frank. I mean, not to get it confused with not being fun, but it was just kind of hard to get it up and running again, because of Covid. I feel like we had a lot of motivation to do it, it was just hard to find opportunities outside of class, or to organize with businesses because it was hard to cooperate with Covid restrictions- and that happened with sports tournaments as well. So it was kind of hard, due to Covid, but now that’s over, so hopefully it’ll open back up this year.”

Who can sign up, and when do they need to sign up by?

“Only juniors are available to do it -unfortunately- but that kind of adds to the exclusivity and the ‘coolness’, I think. But, we just did interviews last week -the first week of October- but, if anyone reaches out to NHS, or me, we can get you signed up pretty easily.”

That’s the basic information, but to go into more depth, here’s what he replied to the bonus questions I asked as well:

What plans do you have to make Miss(ter) Union successful this year?

“One of our biggest things this year is that we’ve tried to get a head start on everything. We’ve set up interviews, we’re getting those out of the way, and we’ve just had our first meeting at the time of this recording. We’re just trying to get a head start on getting money early, as well as later -obviously- but last year we didn’t really have that chance  because we were coming out of Covid, and it was slow to get started.”

Why did you choose to fundraise money for PeaceHealth neonatal care?

“Well the whole tradition -sort of- of Miss(ter) Union is to fundraise for the NICU. It’s been that way for a long time now- I’m not exactly sure why, but it’s just kind of always been like that, so we’re gonna continue it. It goes to a good cause, and so, why not?”

What initially made you want to join Miss(ter) Union?

“Last year I originally just did it as NHS, because I was part of NHS, and I knew NHS was gonna sort of, run the whole thing- but I can’t really remember why, I just thought like, ‘Eh, why not? I feel like it might be fun.’ And originally I was pretty cavalier about the whole thing too, like I wasn’t super dedicated, but as the year went on, I decided it was more and more interesting, and I enjoyed it more and more, up until the pageant, where it felt super cool and I was super passionate about it.”

What’s your favorite thing about being in Miss(ter) Union?

“My favorite thing is probably the networking aspect of it. I’m typically not as good with people as I am with other aspects of life- I’m more of a numbers person, than a sociable person. So, this kind of brought out a new side of me that I’m not really familiar with, and it’s pretty unique because of that.”

What makes Miss(ter) Union important to you?

“A lot of it has to do with the friendships I’ve gained through Miss(ter) Union. I know the pageant was REALLY a blast- it was one of the best experiences of my entire college career. It just really taught me how to network myself and grow, so if I can help anyone else do that too, that would definitely be an accomplishment I’d be proud of.”

It’s clear to see that the benefits of Miss(ter) Union are plentiful, so if you’re interested, don’t be afraid to reach out! Thank you so much to Walker Law, for his part in the creation of this Titan Tribune article, and for his action to make this world a better place!

CORRECTION: In a previous form of the article, Walker Law was mentioned as the previous leader, when he is actually the current leader. Thank you to our readers for spotting this.