This year at Woodgrove, Mr. Matthew Talboo, a social studies teacher, has shifted gears to take over Rho Kappa, the National Social Studies Honor Society. Rho Kappa is a national organization that fosters social studies interest for high school students. This honor society is for 10th to 12th grade students. Last year, Rho Kappa was held on blue club days. However, it was moved to green club days because of the advisor change.
Talboo is also the advisor of Global Ambassadors, a club that connects students to learn about international relations and experiences. Up until 2025, social studies teacher Mr. Alex Bennet held the Rho Kappa advisor torch. When Talboo heard the news that Bennet was stepping down from this role, he decided to take action. “Rather than have it not exist anymore, I’ve decided to take it over and kind of, integrate it in some of the other stuff that we were doing,” Talboo shared. “I thought, it would be easier for me to kind of jump and run with it than it might be for somebody that didn’t have those experiences,” he explained.
From the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. to the country of Estonia, many Rho Kappa students have expressed their anticipation for upcoming events and field trips. Senior Coco Mercker, the vice president of Rho Kappa, described Talboo as ambitious for deciding to implement new activities such as the Model European Union (EU) Summit and trips to the Smithsonian museums, also in D.C. “He wants us to do a lot more things this year, that are, yes, related to global ambassadors, but also have the club be more involved,” Mercker explained.
Many students, such as senior returning member Morgan Sher, claim that Mr. Talboo is “super friendly and jokes a lot.” Sher also shared, “I’ve kind of just started to get to know him, but everyone that knows him absolutely loves him and adores him.”
Rho Kappa is a way for students to value history, and see it through different lenses. As Talboo expresses, “To have a society that honors people for engaging in the world, politics, and other cultures, I feel like that’s of extreme importance. That’s something that our honor society is trying to [do]: represent the interests of those that do have an interest in social science.”
Talboo aims to preserve the excitement of students and integrate opportunities that Woodgrove students did not have the access to before. He embraces his love of teaching students global politics and international relations because he believes it is to appreciate social studies rather than being primarily focused on Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM). Talboo proclaimed, “There’s no better feeling as an adult to be interested in something and then you help somebody else become interested in the thing that you’re interested in…Watching young people engage with these important issues is very rewarding”.