Eagle Scouts Eligible for $1,500 Scholarship to WC
Wilmington College seeks to reward Eagle Scouts from the Boy Scouts of America’s Tecumseh and Simon Kenton councils with $1,500 scholarships that recognize the leadership skills inherent with that prestigious certification.
PICTURED: Discussing the Eagle Scout Scholarship are, from the left, Robert Lavoie, Brook Edwards, Tracey Rankin-Coe, Glen Rankin and Dennis Kelly.
The College is offering, as part of its aid package for entering students, a bonus to any member of the Boy Scouts who has attained that highest of honors. This is in addition to any scholarships, grants and other financial aid for which they may qualify.
The non-renewable financial awards are available to any number of qualified Eagle Scout recipients each year. Typically, only 4 percent of Boy Scouts attain Eagle Scout status.
Dennis Kelly, senior vice president/chief enrollment officer, said the new award becomes available for students entering WC beginning the fall 2019 semester. It amounts to $1,000 for any member of the Boy Scouts across the nation who attains the Eagle Scout designation and $1,500 for those recipients in Ohio’s Tecumseh and Simon Kenton councils.
“The values embraced by the Boy Scouts and especially by those who attain Eagle Scout closely match many of Wilmington College’s core values,” Kelly said. “We want to recognize those that espouse such characteristics as excellence, integrity, leadership and service/civic engagement.”
Kelly formally announced the establishment of the award when the College hosted a recent gathering on campus of officials from the Simon Kenton Council, which serves boys in a district encompassing 17 counties from the Ohio River to north of Columbus, and the Tecumseh Council, which represents Clinton, Greene, Clark, Champaign and Logan counties.
They included, from the Tecumseh Council, Robert Lavoie, scout executive/CEO; and Brook Edwards, the district unit commissioner and den leader for Pack 777 in Wilmington; and, representing the Simon Kenton Council, Glen Rankin, Jeffersonville Troop 67 scoutmaster who attained Eagle Scout rank in 1962; and Tracey Rankin-Coe, Troop 67’s charter organizational representative.
Edwards, a Wilmington College alumnus who serves as WC’s manager of the Student Resource Center, is pleased the College is reaching out to the Boy Scouts.
“Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned — fairness, equality, getting the job done — I’ve learned or had reinforced through Scouting,” he said. “I know of no other organization that instills these core values and skills that have such an impact on quality of life and future involvement in the community.”
Lavoie lauded the young men that achieve Eagle Scout rank as successfully displaying leadership qualities and overcoming obstacles.
“Eagle Scouts are all about giving back to the community,” he said, in explaining how they identify an issue or a problem and develop and implement a solution through a major project benefiting the community. “We’re trying to teach life skills, from first aid and communication to family values and leadership.”
