It’s not easy being the president of two highly successful clubs while taking an array of challenging classes. But somehow, Senior Aldo Pizzoferrato manages to do it all with ease, making sure that his last year here is his best one yet.

He runs the Harold Julian Chapter of the National Honor Society – a nationally recognized club dedicated to service and scholarship. This year he has launched a new program of NHS called the “NHS Initiative” which he describes as an opportunity to, “get more juniors involved in leadership, which would lead to a smoother transition of officers.” He says that his main goals for this sect are to “try and develop everyone as a leader and to be a part of their journey while [he’s] still here.”

The initiative is quickly growing – more than fifteen students have signed up to be a part of this new installment. He wants them to mainly be able to receive the feedback that they need in order to grow as a leader, something that he wishes would be taught in class here at Lemont dedicated to strictly leadership, focusing on presentations and public speaking simulations because “you have to speak to people.”

He is quick to praise his officer team, saying that they are working very hard to make sure that this year in NHS is better than any year before. He hopes to do that by making sure that the NHS meetings are a fun and safe environment, filled with raffles and jokes alongside the normal biweekly news. He especially wants to make sure that he gets “as much feedback as possible,” whether that be through surveys or suggestion polls. Aldo wants to “set up a good future for incoming officers, definitely through getting involved with everyone else (the members).” He tries to make it “fun, but (he has) to draw the line somewhere,” still remaining professional.

Regarding the future, Aldo wants the club to thrive even more next year while he is off at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University studying to achieve a double major in accounting and finance with a hopeful minor in computer science and math. “But we’ll see,” he says with a laugh, still unsure of what his future holds.

For the club, he says that he wants the next president to “stay dedicated.” His advice is this: “Don’t get distracted because part of making NHS successful is half you and half the members. If you don’t make it successful, then the club can’t be successful. Obviously, the club is a good as the members, so stay dedicated and make it as great as you can. Have as much fun with it as possible while still being serious about it and always seek out changes.”

He also wants all of the members to know that if anybody out there needs “help with leadership or just talking about NHS or not”, they can come to him and talk about. “When there’s 202 people and we are all at the podium talking and everyone is just sitting, listening, there is almost a line where people think they can’t approach us, but people need to know that they can talk to me; they don’t need to impress me, we are there in the best interest for them. I always have an open ear.”

Aldo uses this same mentality to lead in his other role of presidency: FBLA, or Future Business Leaders of America. He has been in it for three years now and likes it because it combines two of his favorite things: business and talking.

Business also runs in his family, along with the talkative-”Italian” gene, for several of his relatives are involved in the business of business.  He says that his father is an entrepreneur, running his own company, that has largely influenced Aldo into pursuing a similar career path.

It is obvious as to why Aldo identifies with the NHS pillar of ‘leadership,’ but he also identifies with the service aspect because he loves “helping people; there’s nothing better than it.” He likes the activities that involve the elderly and kids, having a particular interest in the great program that is Feed my Starving Children because it is always “so exciting.”

He also is aligned with the pillar of scholarship because he has only received one B on his report card and that was in one of the most difficult classes offered: APUSH. Aldo’s favorite classes were all three of the Accounting courses; he says because “there are only five of us in the class, almost like an independent study, and we’ve gotten really close as a friend group, so it is enjoyable while still being serious about it (accounting), while making it really fun.”

He describes himself as interesting, dedicated, and ‘Italian’ because his “hands are always moving.” He also says that he upholds the stereotype of Italians lacking volume control: “If I’m happy and in the moment, then I’m loud.”

Aldo is an all around kid; you’ll either see him sipping some Vanilla Coke and dominating at ping pong or leading one of his clubs to greatness. From all of the members of NHS and the Tom-Tom, we wish Aldo the best of luck in his bright future and thank him for working to make our school a better place.