Another Young Eagle
Scout - Mensa Bulletin July 2011
At just twelve years
old, Brandon C. became one of the youngest Eagle Scouts in the history of the
Boy Scouts of America. As a member of Troop 23 in Manahawkin, NJ, Brandon earned 91
merit badges, the World Conversation Award, and two Catholic Scouting awards. Brandon,
a Mensa since he was seven yers old, is also a part
of the John Hopkins University Center for talented Youth, the Latin Honor
Society, the National Math Honor Society, and the National Home School Honor
Society. He won the Prudential Spirit of Community Award's 2011 Certificate of
Achievement for community service, the National Exchange Club Youth of the Year
Award, Youth of the Month Award, and Young Citizenship Award, among others.
Mensan becomes one of the youngest Eagle scouts ever
Thirteen-year-old
Mensan Anthony A. of Fairfax, Va., recently became
one of the youngest Eagle Scouts in Boy Scouts of America history. The eighth
grader participated in regular camping trips and earned merit badges in
subjects as varied as personal financial management to fishing, emergency
preparedness to archery. His journey culminated with his Eagle Scout Service
Project — the design and construction of a picnic area, including tables and
benches for a local church and school. In addition to the new picnic area, Anthony
was able to donate more than 10 bags of food to a local community shelter.
Anthony plans to
continue in his roles in scouting as a Den Chief for a local Cub Scout Pack, a
Troop Guide, and a mentor for younger scouts in his troop. He also wants to
continue his scouting development by earning the Bronze, Gold and Silver Eagle
Palms, and he plans on participating in Boy Scout High Adventure outings and
programs once he is old enough (you have to be at least 14).
Reprinted from the July 2009 Mensa Bulletin
Mensan Quadruplets All Venturer
Members-
Most teenage siblings
tend to share clothes and maybe even a family car, but one set of quadruplets
from Wylie, Texas, shares something much greater: serious smarts.
The quadruplets -- Moria, Alanna,
Thomas and Patrick -- are 17-year-old juniors at Lovejoy High School who just
happen to be extremely bright and gifted.
The foursome have just been accepted into the prestigious high-IQ club, American
Mensa, after scoring in the top 2 percent on a standardized test
that qualified them for membership.
In the process, the multiples have made history.
Courtesy of the quadruplets -- Moria, Alanna, Thomas and Patrick-- of Wylie, Texas, have been
accepted into American Mensa. The siblings are the first set of quadruplets to
join the organization in its 50-year history.
Monica H., marketing assistant for American Mensa, told AOL News that the siblings
are the very first set of quadruplets to be accepted into the organization in
its 50-year history.
"It's the first time quadruplets have qualified for membership at the
exact same time," Hatley said.
The teens are certainly in good company.
Hatley said there are more than 2,200 Mensans in the club who are under 18
years old, so the they will be able to meet
many peers of their age once they start attending Mensa meetings.
Hatley also noted that Mensa boasts more than 1,800
families with "two or more Mensa members," so the club does have its
fair share of family ties.
Still, it appears none are quite as unique as the Family' brainy bond.
The quadruplets share many similar interests and keep a busy schedule.
For starters, they're each proud members of the Boy Scout Venturing Crew,
a co-ed youth development program in Texas. The girls, Alanna
and Moria, have each been recipients of the Girl
Scout Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout age 14 to 18 can
earn.
The boys, Thomas and Patrick, are both decorated Eagle Scouts.
All four siblings are dedicated members of their high school cross-country
track team and practice tae kwon do, proving they also have a sporty side. They
don't just hit the books, they hit the ground running.
Meanwhile, Alanna and Thomas are both members of
their school's academic decathlon team. Moria and
Patrick both participate in the Mock Trial program at Lovejoy and are varsity band members.
Alanna, Thomas and Patrick have been studying Chinese
for three years, while Moria studies American Sign
Language.
Clearly, these aren't your typical distracted, glued-to-their-Xbox teenagers,
although the siblings beg to differ.
"We're pretty normal kids, by our standards," Moria
told AOL News in an interview after school. "We're your typical siblings.
We share some interests but are all very different."
For example, Moria said, she's involved with her
school's Future Farmers of America club and aspires to study veterinary
medicine in college somewhere far off, like Glasgow, Scotland.
Patrick, on the other hand, told AOL News that he's very interested in
athletics and his cross-country track team. His dream, he said, is to one day
become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, though he acknowledged that
getting there will be "extremely rigorous."
Their other siblings -- Alanna and Thomas -- who
couldn't make the interview because they were busy taking part in an academic
decathlon competition -- also have their own things going for them.
Moria and Patrick both agreed that Alanna is "the creative one" of the bunch, while
Thomas is athletic and could be considered the patient one.
"He's the only one with a dog," said Patrick.
"Thomas raised him all by himself," Moria
added proudly.
"Alanna is our resident musician. She plays the
guitar and sings a lot," Patrick explained.
"She's into knitting and making crafts. She knits scarves, shirts and
hats. She's donated her hats to homeless people in Dallas," Moria elaborated on her sister. "She's very
creative."
But what about sibling rivalry?
With so many talents under one roof, one would think the quadruplets would be intently
competitive.
Wrong.
"I don't feel much competition among us. It's not like we line up our
grades and compare them to see who's the smartest. It's not like that," Moria said.
"We tend to work together more often than not," Patrick added.
"It's better that way."
One more thing the multiples have in common is how they actually got into
Mensa.
Patrick said they were all tested at the same time for a gifted and talented
program at their school, and their high-IQ scores ended up qualifying them for
admission into Mensa.
"I heard our scores were incredibly close," Moria
said. "But it wasn't a competition. We hadn't even really though about joining Mensa before this."
Now, the teenagers are looking forward to exploring their new extracurricular
activity and are gearing up for their first Mensa gathering in Texas in
February.
They said they're most excited to check out Mensa's "Special
Interest Groups," smaller groups catered to members with very
specific interests, such as fishing, motorcycling, SCUBA and chess. There's
even a group for chocoholics with a sweet tooth.
The quadruplets' father, Patrick Sr., told AOL News that he and his
wife, Fern, couldn't be more proud of their kids making Mensa history.
Like a good parent, however, Patrick Sr. wants to make sure his kids don't get
develop swollen egos with all of this newfound attention.
"We're very proud of them, but they must remember that a high IQ is a measure of aptitude,
not a measure of accomplishments. We don't want any swelled heads here; we want
them to continue working hard and achieve their goals in life," he
explained.
Still, it's hard for a loving parent not to boast just a little, considering
the quadruplets had the odds stacked against them from the start.
"This is almost a miracle, really. They were born 13 weeks premature. Moria weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces, and the biggest, Thomas,
only weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces. They were in the intensive care unit for three
months. We honestly didn't even know if they were going to make it," their
dad said.
Well, the quadruplets
obviously persevered -- and racked up major brain power in the process, and a
coveted Mensa membership, to boot
NY Boy Scout Earns All
121 Merit Badges
Tuesday, December 30,
2008
NEW YORK — A Long
Island teenager has earned all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of
America. It's an accomplishment the local arm of the organization calls
"an almost unheard-of feat."
Oceanside resident
Shawn G. earned his final badge — for bugling — in time for his 18th birthday
in November. He far surpassed the 21 badges required to achieve the elite rank
of Eagle Scout.
He says he took about
five years to earn his first 62 badges and then nearly doubled that number in a
matter of months. He did it with the encouragement of his grandmother, who died
shortly before he reached his goal.
The Binghamton
University freshman was awarded his final badges on Dec. 19. He says he hopes
to become a businessman and politician.
Maryland Eagle
Scout earns all 121 merit badges
Cody E. confessed that Bugling was the toughest merit badge he had to earn, but unlike others in the recent past, he didn’t put it off to be the last one. Congratulations to another member of the 121 Merit Badge Club.From
the Frederick, Maryland, Gazette“That
was the hardest because I didn’t know how to play at all before,” Cody said.
Cody
had little words when asked how it felt to have such a big accomplishment.
“I
was overwhelmed,” he said. “Just happy that I was able to
reach my goal.”