OCA student one of three winners of 10th Annual Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting Scholarship

The EOCS Scholarship program is offered to high school Boy and Girl Scouts seniors of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church. The committee evaluates the candidates on the following criteria; [1] be a registered active member of a Boy or Girl Scout unit, [2] have earned the Eagle Scout Award for boys or the Gold Award for girls, [3] be an active member of an Eastern Orthodox Church and have earned the Alpha Omega Scout Religious Award, [4] have demonstrated practical citizenship in their church, high school, Scout unit, and their community, [5] scholastic achievement and not financial need. The Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting Scholarship Endowment Fund supports the scholarship program.

The selection of the Tenth Annual EOCS Scholarship winners was delayed because the number of applicants from throughout the nation and also due to the fact there was a tie between three of the finalists. The scholarship provides a first place and a second place winner for $1,000 and $500 respectively. After much deliberation, the committee decided to recognize all three as winners and divide the total awards equally, thus each received a check for $500.

The 2002 EOCS Scholarship winners are:

• Colin Athanasios Chambers, of Kansas City, Missouri, and is attending William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He is a member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Kansas City, Missouri.

• Georgios Theophanous, of Lafayette, California and is attending Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a member of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, Concord, California.

• Michael P. Whitaker, (pictured at right) of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and is attending M.I.T. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a member of Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church, Maynard, Massachusetts.

All three have shown outstanding service and leadership to their parish, community, along with deep involvement and participation in high school activities. The individual scouting records along with their outstanding scholastic achievements make us proud of this future generation.

For information and applications for the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting Scholarships, contact EOCS Scholarship Chairman: George Boulukos, 862 Guy Lombardo Avenue, Freeport, New York 11520 or visit their website at www.eocs.org