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Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

scholarship

Alexandria Eagle Scout Wins Scholarship

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Joseph Lepak, from Alexandria, VA, a member of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Catholic Community, Archdioceses for the Military Services, USA is one of seven recipients of a service scholarship awarded in 2019 by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) through the Emmett J. Doerr Memorial Scout Scholarship Fund.

Joseph received a $2,000 scholarship. As a military kid, Joseph moved around a lot but the two things that were consistent in his life were Catholic chapels on military posts and Scouts, so they both became very important to him. He says, “as a result of my faith and upbringing, I also have an extreme desire to serve others…It is very important to me that my legacy and my accomplishments in work, affect others for the better. I want the people of this country-and the world-to be better off due to my actions.”

After his dad retired, Joseph was able to stay in Northern Virginia throughout his high school years. He has held numerous leadership positions in Scouting including Senior Patrol Leader, Order of the Arrow (OA) Vice Chief of Finances, Ordeal Master and Area Chief, leading almost 1,000 Scouts in five chapters (Order of the Arrow is Scouting’s National Honor Society). Joseph has also STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activity leader, secretary, and president of his Venturing Crew.

Joseph is currently Junior Assistant Scout Master of Troop 129 in Alexandria, VA. His Eagle Scout Project involved designing and constructing a new tool shed and improving the gardens for a middle school. He has been a participant in the 2015 World Scout Jamboree and the Inter-American Scout Jamboree in Ecuador. With his Venturing Crew he attended the National Jamboree in West Virginia, Sea Base Bahamas, and Northern Tier High Adventure. Joseph received several awards including the Dr. Bernard Harris Bronze Supernova Award, designed to introduce and encourage further study of STEM.

Through his archdiocese, Joseph has earned all four of the religious awards and has served as an altar server, lector, teen leader for vacation Bible School, assisted with clothing and food drives and with the Adult Education Program.

Always wanting to serve, Joseph has worked with many community organizations, including Wreaths Across America, Alexandrians Living Ecumenically, helping to set up and distribute food to low-income families, Scouting for Food, Park Clean-Up, National Cherry Blossom Festival, Meals on Wheels and Metavivor, a cancer survivor fundraiser swim-a-thon.

Academically, Joseph was selected for admission to T.C. Williams STEM Academy and to participate in their Cyber Security Camp. He has received numerous academic awards and represented his school through his science research. He has been active in “The High School Project Plan”, which aims to resolve issues around growing student enrollment and space at his high school. He also recently joined Community for Renewable Energy (CURE). Their mission is to train school staff and inform students about creating eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable schools. Joseph has been accepted at George Mason University and is interested in studying political science.

To be eligible to apply for the Emmett J. Doerr Memorial Scout Scholarship, the Scout must be Catholic, earned the Ad Altare Dei and/ or Pope Pius XII Awards, and received the Eagle Scout, Summit, or Quartermaster Award. Visit the website for a complete list of award recipients, eligibility requirements and applications.

Local Eagle Scout Wins $1,000 Eagles-Only Award In Leadership / American History Competition

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Northern Virginia Eagle Scout Matthew Lawley of Herndon (Troop 157) was awarded $1,000 in a Leadership / American History statewide competition held in Richmond February 9th sponsored by the Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (VASSAR). All current Eagles and aspiring Eagles should pay attention to this program for the coming year as this is a program limited to Eagle Scouts.

Matthew had first won the competition at the local chapter level competition sponsored by the Fairfax Resolves Chapter (http://fairfaxresolvessar.org/) (Fairfax and Loudoun county areas VA) of the Sons of the American Revolution. There are 28 Virginia SAR chapters eligible to participate in this annual competition. Matthew will now move forward to the national competition to be held this summer in Costa Mesa, CA which provides a top award of $10,000 and lesser amounts for second ($6,000) and third ($4,000) place.

Eagle Scout Matthew Lawley won the Arthur M. and Berdena King Eagle Scout competition by submitting an impressive application documenting the leadership he has already shown in his young life through scouting, in the community and through his church. The Eagle Scout competition consists of an application reflecting accomplishment, a four generation genealogy chart of the Scout’s family and a 500 word patriotic themed essay related to the revolutionary war. The competition is open to all Eagle Scouts under the age of 19. The SAR gives extra credit to those applicants that have secured the American Heritage, Law and Genealogy merit badges. Matthew had all three of these badges. For his essay, Matthew wrote a persuasive argument as to the need to have a monument to John Adams in Washington, D.C. John Adams is one of the few founding presidents not so memorialized.

The SAR sponsors a range of competitive educational programs for youth (4th through 12th grades) to enhance their understanding of the founding principles of our nation and the role the Revolutionary War played in establishing our freedom (https://www.sar.org/education/youth-contests-and-awards). There is no requirement for Revolutionary War ancestry in order to compete.