Elks National Foundation Blog

by Anji Radakrishnan  Elks Scholar Advisory Board President My name is Anjithaa Radakrishnan and I am from Nashua, New Hampshire. I am in a 6 year accelerated medical program through Pennsylvania State University and Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I’m about to commence my second year. Additionally, this year, I am so proud to have been elected as President of the Elks National Foundation Scholar Advisory Board. Getting to know my #ElksFamily at the 2015 Elks National Convention in Indy. I first learned about the Elks in 2007 when I arrived at an Elks Lodge to participate in the Regional Spelling Bee. Subsequently, my family and I developed close friendships with Elks members, who supported both me and my older brother, Avvinash, as we went on to participate in the National Spelling Bee. My father joined the Elks six years ago as a way to cement our participation in our local Lodge. Three years ago, ...

by Brandon Dawson Freshman Scholar Advisory Board Member From the moment you step on campus, you are completely bombarded with information regarding student groups, community service, and on-campus events. The only problem? They all sound AMAZING. You have hundreds of options to choose from and only 24-hours a day (not to mention classes and getting adequate sleep!). This is the struggle of college freshmen all across the country and when I got to Duke University, I decided to take on the challenge head first.   One of the very first things that I got involved with was Duke Student Government, or DSG. Freshmen can run for senate positions on the various committees that it encompasses. I ran to be a senator on the committee for Facilities, Environment, and the Arts, and fortunately, I won!    As DSG Senators, we are tasked with creating projects that will enhance the campus that we have come to love. The project that I took on revolved around r...

by Brandon Dawson Freshman Scholar Advisory Board Member Brandon Dawson is a 2016 MVS scholar sponsored by Dover, Del., Lodge No. 1903. He will begin classes at Duke University in Fall 2016 as an Environmental Science and Policy major. In high school, Brandon was highly involved in musical theater, served as President of the National Honor Society, and started his own honey selling business: The Bee’s Knees Honey. As a high school senior frantically searching for the means to finance my education, I stumbled upon a seemingly normal scholarship from none other than the Elks National Foundation. Little did I know that turning in my application at the local Lodge would send me on a journey to Houston; a journey that is far from over. After being selected as one of the 500 national finalists for the Most Valuable Student Scholarship, I was eager to await the results of the Top 20 who would be attending the Leadership Weekend in Chicago. Unfortunately, I was not selected to...