Elijah Bartholomew received his Eagle Scout award, the highest honor from Scouting America, in a ceremony March 6 at Saint James’s Episcopal Church.
Bartholomew, 18, is a senior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) and has been involved with Scouting for 10 years. He joined as a Webelo, the last stage of Cub Scouts, at age 8 with his good friend Lucas Economou.
To complete the Eagle Scout requires a project meant to improve the community. Bartholomew organized a High School Transition Workshop connecting students from CRLS with 8th graders at Putnam Avenue Upper School. High school volunteers led sessions on academics, extracurricular activities, school logistics, and social transitions. The program helped middle school students by reducing anxiety about entering high school while creating friendly peer connections in high school. The workshop’s success was measured through a Google survey completed by the Putnam Avenue school students after the workshop. And the high school volunteers received community service hours from CRLS, supporting graduation requirements.
Credit: Courtesy of Edward Bartholomew
Along with the presentation of his award, Bartholomew received an in-person acknowledgement from State Rep. Marjorie Decker. Also sending letters of recognition were U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, State Sen. Sal N. DiDomenico and City Councillor E. Denise Simmons.
Bartholomew said he was grateful for friends and family in attendance, including his Scouting family. He said “I want to especially acknowledge my father, who encouraged me to continue in scouting and to achieve the ultimate rank of Eagle Scout.”
In addition to Scouting, Bartholomew is Student Body President at CRLS, competes in Model United Nations, is vice president of the Black Student Union, plays on the CRLS lacrosse team, and is the arts and culture editor at the Register-Forum. In addition, he started a radio program with friends called “Falcon Frequency,” which highlights students and their Cambridge community.
After graduation, he plans to attend college to study either political science or sociology.
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