Fort Bend Lifestyles and Homes Magazine Nov 2009: Campus1

Crosby Johnson

Crosby Johnson Earns Rank of Eagle Scout - Crosby Johnson from Boy Scout Troop 616 was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America during an Eagle Court of Honor ceremony.

Starting in second grade as a Cub Scout in Pack 616, Crosby’s first experience in scouting was the beginning of 11 years filled with campouts, hiking, swimming, exploring and development of an appreciation and respect for the environment.

Because of Crosby’s life-long residency in New Territory, he wanted his Eagle project to benefit the community and the people it serves. He led a crew that restored the old abandoned Watkins Cemetery located in New Territory. The project involved enlisting ground penetrating radar experts from the University of Houston to help locate most of the graves. The many hours of research, documentation and hard work that went into the project culminated in the Texas Historical Commission recently certifying Watkins Cemetery as a historic cemetery.

Crosby was recognized by the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution for his work on the Watkins Cemetery Preservation project where he was awarded the Bronze Good Citizenship Medal in recognition of notable services in behalf of American principles. He is a senior at Logos Preparatory Academy in Sugar Land.

A Poet in the Midst at Sartartia MS - Sartartia Middle School student and young poet Claire Wood completed her first series of poems on the four seasons. The series, which is divided into four booklets entitled: “Autumn Anthology,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Soul of Spring” and “Summer” remind the reader of the little things in life that make each day worthwhile.

Pursuing poetry for nearly six years, Claire has promoted and distributed her work to family and friends in the community for years. Among her most powerful influences are educators Kelly Falleroni and Michelle Sebesta. For Claire, the four seasons series is only the beginning of a writing career in the making.

Fort Bend Baptist Academy Student Named National Hispanic Scholar - Crystal Buraruk, a senior at Fort Bend Baptist Academy, was selected as a 2009-10 National Hispanic Scholar. This honor is given to approximately 5,000 students selected from a pool of over 200,000 who took the 2008 PSAT/NMSQT and identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino.

Students must have a GPA above 3.5, and also have achieved a minimum score on the PSAT. The National Hispanic Recognition Program was initiated in 1983 to identify outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students.

Crystal is a member of the Eagles Academic Team, French Club, Drama Club, Art Club, Spanish Club, National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta.

Fluor Corporation Supports Fort Bend ISD in Back-to-School Efforts - All 762 students at E. A. Jones Elementary School received new backpacks filled with school supplies from the Fluor Corporation as part of its Houston Backpack Basics Program.

Members of Fluor’s Community Involvement Team donated funds to purchase new backpacks for all students at Jones Elementary. On the first day of school, Fluor employees were at Jones Elementary to personally hand the backpacks to students and offer an encouraging back-to-school greeting to help students kick off the new school year.

Willowridge High School Partners with Nonprofit Group to Produce Teen Talk Show - Willowridge High School broadcast students produced their first teen talk show, It Can Be Done. Dr. Joe Coleman, principal at Willowridge, approved a partnership between the school and the new nonprofit organization also named It Can Be Done to provide students with hands-on experiences in television broadcasting. The organization provided the necessary broadcast equipment and expertise for the project, and the students served in technical roles, as script writers, audio technicians and even co-hosts.

Not only will members of It Can Be Done support the broadcast class, but they will also support the school through its mentoring program.

“We want to provide teens with positive experiences and a healthy environment that will benefit them throughout their high school years and beyond, ” said Catherine Brown, founder of It Can Be Done.

Six Scouts From Den 2 Earn Rank of Eagle Scout - Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a rare achievement among young men. Six Scouts who started Cub Scouts together as Tiger Scouts have now earned the rank of Eagle together. These boys began their scouting journey 11 years ago as they went through the Cub Scout program together and then the boys joined two different Boy Scout troops and all achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

Keith Wedelich of Boy Scout Troop 1631, and Vincent Lau, Bryan Parker, Vijay Rajan, David Sackllah and Edward Zhou of Boy Scout Troop 441 were honored at a special ceremony to recognize their achievements.

For his Eagle Scout Service project, Keith designed and led a crew to build a horse barn for Morning Glory Ranch, an organization that provides equine therapy for mentally and physically handicapped youth. David incorporated his love of reading for his Eagle Scout project and designed, built and painted 12 flower-shaped tables for the Settler ’s Way Elementary library. Vincent designed and constructed four shelves and a lockable cabinet for Colony Bend Elementary School to hold various props and musical equipment. Vijay planned and supervised landscaping for a garden courtyard and cleaning a pond for Kids Unlimited. Edward designed and built a pair of storage shelves for the Chinese Civic Center, and Bryan designed and constructed a storage cabinet for Colony Bend Elementary School to hold science equipment for various grades in a central, secure location.

Chelsea Nelson

Chelsea Nelson Awarded Jim Cooper Memorial Scholarship - Chelsea Nelson is the 2009 winner of the $1,000 Jim Cooper Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to the Sugar Land Sharks swimmer, coach or active alumni who demonstrates leadership, a positive attitude, community spirit and volunteerism, integrity and dedication to the Sharks swim team.

A member of the swim team for 12 years, Chelsea assisted with coaching the Sharks last summer. She also served the community as an Upward Volleyball coach for two years, a peer mentor all four years of high school, and a community lifeguard for four years.

Chelsea is a 2009 graduate of Kempner High School where she received Academic Excellence Awards all four years and was a Commended National Merit finalist. She participated on the Kempner swim team, in cheerleading and as Kempner ’s mascot, cross country, band, Student Council, National and Spanish Honor Societies, and the Psychology and Interact Clubs.

She is now attending Texas A&M and is interested in Pre-Med and mathematics.