Elks National Foundation Blog

Sophia Scalise 2014 Legacy Awards Recipient University of Arkansas—Biological Engineering Major Sponsored by Fayetteville-Springdale, Ark., Lodge No. 1987 Elks scholars are known for their hard work and dedication to excellence. Sophia Scalise is no exception. In high school, Sophia was involved in numerous activities, including playing varsity tennis, participating in school musicals, working as a lifeguard, and volunteering at her church and the local animal shelter. Besides her commitment to her extracurricular involvement and community service, Sophia also achieved academically, taking AP classes, becoming a member of the National Honor Society, and graduating first in her class. Now in college, Sophia studies hard for her biology courses and has also found time to become involved on campus. Her new involvements include club tennis, joining Phi Mu, and Residents Interhall Congress Judiciary, a branch of the university’s student government. While her eyes are set on

by Programs Assistant Sarah Louderman Due to my brother’s poor timing picking a wedding date, I unfortunately did not have the chance to attend the Elks National Convention in New Orleans this past summer. Thankfully though, the Elks National Foundation was invited to attend the Illinois Elks Convention. The IEA wants to encourage more Lodges to apply for Community Investments Program grants, so our two-person grant department of Programs Associate, Mary Morgan , and I traveled to Springfield for the weekend. Mary and I arrived in Springfield late Friday morning and were greeted by many friendly Elks who helped us set up a conference room for office hours. We held office hours and assisted visitors with general information about the Community Investments Program. Afterwards, we walked to the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library and spent the end of the afternoon touring the spectacular exhibits and perusing the gift shop. Once we returned from our museum visit, we went to the top f