Brendan Old

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 Magazine, only 5% of Boy Scouts earn Eagle Scout ranking, and only 0.05% of Sea Scouts earn Quartermaster ranking. Brendan has achieved both.

Brendan is now 18 years old and a senior at Nansemond River 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 Quartermaster rank in December 2020 . 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 apprentices. To finish the long list of requirements, Brendan conducted a service project at the ViBe Creative District in Virginia Beach with a team of seven other volunteers. The service project involved the cleanup of 18th Street Parklet.

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. Possible plans include Texas A&M, Old Dominion University 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.”

‘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.’

— Rachel W artian

What is one of your favorite hobbies? Weightlifting

What is your favorite food? Sushi