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age:17 At only 17 years old, Brendan Old has received two of the most prestigious ranks in two of the Boy Scouts of America programs. According to Boy Scout Magaz ine, only 5% of Boy Scouts earn E agle Scout ranking, and only 0.05% of Sea Scouts earn Q uartermaster ranking. Brendan has achieved both. Brendan is now 18 years old and a senior at Nansemond R iver High School. He joined Sea Scouts after a skipper visited his Boy Scout troop. “I have always wanted to do a water-related career, so I was very interested,” said Brendan. “It’s a much smaller program that you can bond with the friends in your ship. It has a strong community vibe. It’s a fun program, and I would recommend it to anyone.” According to Brendan, Sea Scouts is like Boy Scouts on the water. The program is for boys and girls ages 14 to 20 that go on trips from overnight sails all the way up to 10- day cruises. They learn about weather patterns, knots, boating, survival skills and camping, to name a few. Brendan earned his Q uartermaster rank in December 20 . He is the second in his ship’s history to receive it — the previous one was 12 years ago. “What makes this rank so hard is that the others you earn by learning new skills; this one you earn by teaching skills to others,” said Brendan. He taught basic skills to the lower-ranked Sea Scouts, called
‘What makes this rank so hard is that the others you earn by learning new skills; this one you earn by teaching skills to others.’ apprentices. To finish the long list of requi rements, Brendan conducted a service project at the V iBe Creative District in V irginia Beach with a team of seven other volunteers. The service project involved the cleanup of 18t h Street P arklet. Now that he has completed ranks, Brendan goes to meetings to teach and help. He is still a Sea Scout until he turns 21; then, he’ll have to register as a leader. He wants to continue as a leader when the time comes if he is still in the area. Brendan doesn’t yet have any set plans for after graduation but has applied to numerous schools across the country. P ossible plans include Texas A&M, Old Dominion U niversity and the Coast Guard Academy. “I haven’t decided what I am going to do yet,” said Brendan. “It will just depend on who I end up hearing back from.” — Rac he l W ar t ian
Brendan Old
What is one of your favorite hobbies? Weightlifting What is your favorite food? Sushi
