The newly created Computer Science Honor Society (CSHS) is a way for students who demonstrated academic excellence in their computer science classes to get involved in their community using their computer science knowledge, senior Lucas Raicu, CSHS President, said.

CSHS, which began in October, is one of only nine chapters in Illinois and 250 chapters in the country, Raicu said. In order to start CSHS, Raicu researched different computer science honors societies nationwide.

“I enjoy watching students coming together and putting their brains together to solve everyday problems, and these innovation projects are the perfect way of doing that,” Raicu said.

Before joining the honor society, a student is required to have taken at least one of the four computer science classes offered at South; have passed the class; and expressed interest in the many topics of computer science, Raicu said. Additionally, students must complete 10 service hours, five of them being computer based to join the society, Raicu said.

Brett Veitch, Math and Computer Science Teacher, agreed to sponsor CSHS, Raicu said. The club’s innovation project is exciting, Veitch said. The project gives students an opportunity to apply their computer science skills learned in class to a real world problem effecting South, bettering the lives of students, staff, or parents, Veitch said. The project may help expand the horizons of the club, and serve as a way for students to apply their learning, Veitch said.

“Students are solving problems with their expertise,” Veitch said. “I’m hoping that we can continue to innovate in that space and let that program evolve, and learn how to make some really cool systems.”

Students meet monthly to work on these innovation projects, which take computer science skills and use them to benefit the community of Glenview and South, Raicu said. The project include digitizing South’s Lost and Found, creating a digital directory for all of South’s school clubs, and creating a South sports algorithm website which would allow for teams to analyze their player statistics, Raicu added. Senior Kamraan Kadakia, CSHS Vice President, said his favorite part of the organization is getting to collaborate on large-scale projects with friends that share the common passion of computer science.

Kadakia plans meetings and other club activities that  encourage community service. Each member must complete 10 hours of community service, with five of them being computer science focused, Kadakia said.

“The primary goal of the society is to encourage computer science learning throughout our community,” Kadakia said. “We hope to encourage more students to get involved in computer science at South.”