Two students from Bishop O'Connell High School were recently recognized for their outstanding performance on essay contests sponsored by the West Point Society of DC.
Junior Jack Gradle (pictured on the left) attended the 2018 West Point Leadership and Ethics Conference and came home a winner! Jack, along with three other O'Connell students and Ms. Alicia Patak (counselor), participated in a day-long workshop held at George Mason University's Arlington campus on March 15. Approximately 250 11th grade students from 60 high schools across Virginia, Maryland and DC attended the event.
"Jack distinguished himself during the full day of keynote speakers assemblies, classroom instruction and interaction and skit/vignette role play," said COL Charles T. "Chip" Sniffin (US Army, Retired) in a letter to the school. "As a result, he was one of 24 students selected to compete for the WPLEC scholarship via a post-conference essay contest."
In late April, it was announced that Jack was one of six essay contest winners, and was awarded a scholarship prize.
Sophomore Jackson Burnside (pictured on the right) participated in the 2018 West Point Leadership, Ethics and Diversity in STEM (LEADS) Workshop where he won first prize in the Honorable Living Essay Contest. Jackson was one of five O'Connell students who joined chaperones, Ms. Kathleen Riley (computer teacher) and Ms. Cynthia Germann (counselor), for the day-long seminar which was aimed at 6th through 10th grade students and was held at the MITRE Corporation in McLean. Jackson's winning essay, entitled, "To Summit or Not to Summit," was a personal reflection on a leadership dilemma he faced while on a scouting trip. U.S. Congressman Gerald Connolly was on hand at the workshop to help present the award.
"We participated in a series of small group activities at the workshop," said Jackson. "Through these sessions, I had the opportunity to hear from West Point cadets, as well as active and retired military officers, to get a real sense of what leadership training is all about."
Congratulations to both of these O'Connell Knights!