Achieving with Grace

DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) is a program with a scholarship opportunity that our LCS students have participated in for many years.

DAR.org explains: “The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship.

This award recognizes and rewards individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. These students are selected by their teachers and peers because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree.

• This program is only open to high-school seniors whose schools are accredited by their state board of education.
• Only one student per year may be honored as a school’s DAR Good Citizen.
• United States citizenship is not required.
• Additional rules and guidelines can be acquired by contacting your local DAR chapter.

Once a student is chosen as the DAR Good Citizen the student is invited to participate in the scholarship portion of the program. This consists of a personal statement and an essay.” Read more details about this program HERE.

Grace Aqui, a LCS 2021 graduating senior, won 2^nd place and $100!

How did Grace do it?

Students that express interest in representing LCS as our DAR nominee are voted on by our high school faculty.  The top 3 students are put on a ballot which are then voted on by the senior class.  So, the nominee is chosen by faculty and peers.  Here are the characteristics we look for in a nominee:

Leadership:                        Demonstrates personality, self-control, an ability to assume responsibility.

Dependability:                 Demonstrates truthfulness, loyalty, and punctuality.

Service:                                Demonstrated cooperation, courtesy, and consideration for others.

Patriotism:                         Demonstrated unselfish interest in family, school, community, and nation.

The DAR Good Citizens scholarship contest consists of two parts:  

Part I (Personal) consists of the student describing how he/she has tried to manifest the qualities of a good citizen.  This part may be completed at home and is to be submitted together with a copy of an official grade transcript and two letters of recommendation:  one from a close adult associate (other than family) such as a minister, an employer, a scout or 4-H leader, etc.; and the other from a school faculty member such as a teacher, coach, music instructor, guidance counselor, etc.

Part II (US History Essay) is to be administered under the supervision of a faculty or DAR member.  It must be completed at one sitting, within a two-hour time limit, and without assistance or reference materials.  Parts I and II each represent 50% of the total contest entry score.  Each contest entry is evaluated by independent, non-DAR judges.  The winning entry is advanced through the state and national levels of judging.

This year’s essay topic was “Our American heritage and our responsibility for preserving it.”  There is a 550 word limit.

An Interview with Grace:

(1) How did you hear about this scholarship?

I heard about the scholarship through our Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Allen and she helped all interested students to apply for the DAR.

(2) Why did you want to participate? Were you worried it would be difficult?

I wanted to participate because I felt it would be a good opportunity to win the scholarship and be part of the Daughters of the American Revolution community. I was a little worried it would be difficult because history is not my strong suit, but Mrs. Allen helped me a lot with preparing for the essay.

(3) Did you think you would win the award? What was your reaction?

I did not think I would win the award, simply because it is cast over such a large group of students. I was shocked (to say the least) that I had won third place overall!

(4) What did you learn from this experience? Would you recommend it to others?

I learned the importance of being enthusiastic about our nation and how my generation needs to remember the sacrifices past military personnel have made for our nation to remain free. I would recommend it to others because it was a great experience overall!

(5) Anything else I should know about your experience or take-away(s) from the experience?

During my preparation for the essay portion of the scholarship, I had to fill out a resume about myself and I discovered that I am actually a Daughter of the American Revolution because a direct grandfather of mine was a prisoner of war during the American Revolution!

Fun Fact:  Darren Copleand received the DAR award in 1990.