LAKEPORT, Calif. – A standout Clear Lake High School senior will head to Chicago later this month to take part in the final leg of a competition for a $50,000 Elks National Foundation scholarship.
Christopher Vincent, 17, will make his first trip to the windy city from April 24 to 26.
“It's pretty exciting,” he told Lake County News.
He's among the top 20 of 500 Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student national finalists who will travel to Chicago, home of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks headquarters, for the second annual Most Valuable Student Leadership Weekend.
Vincent is sponsored in the competition by Lakeport Elks Lodge No. 2704.
The Elks National Foundation said the 500 Most Valuable Student scholars are an impressive group that boasts an average grade point average of 4.283 GPA on a 4.0 scale, collectively volunteered for 278,591 hours throughout high school and are all leaders in their communities.
Vincent already is a winner in the competition, having gotten into the final 20 from among a total of 19,257 high school seniors nationwide who applied for an Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student scholarship this year.
Thanks to his placement so far, Vincent already has been guaranteed a $20,000 scholarship.
Based on how things go in Chicago, he could find himself among the top six finalists, who will receive scholarships ranging from $30,000 to $50,000.
In addition to the top 20 students competing for the biggest scholarships this month in Chicago, the remaining 480 runners-up each will receive a $4,000 scholarship.
The Elks National Foundation reported that it provides $3.74 million in college scholarships each year through its three scholarship programs.
Even in the group of super-achievers in the Elks competition, Vincent is a standout.
The only child of Clyde and Lily Vincent, he's active in sports and the arts, and gets high marks in academics.
He was the Clear Lake High School Academic Decathlon team's top medal-winner at the county competition earlier this year – he took home 11 medals – plus he won a medal in essay at the state event in March.
“We did well,” he said. “It was a great experience.”
He's performed in the high school's musicals – including productions of “Hairspray” and “Footloose” – and he plays two high school sports, football and tennis.
In the midst of all of those activities, he finds time to serve on the executive student council, is president of Interact and vice president of the California Scholarship Federation, and has been a coach and referee for youth basketball.
Vincent, who wants to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering, said he and his parents have been trying to figure out how to pay for his university education.
His top pick – UCLA, where he's already been offered a place but hasn't given a final acceptance – is estimated to cost about $33,000 a year total, including room and board, which Vincent admits is “a big chunk of money.”
In the process of finding a way to pay for college, he started pursuing scholarship and grant applications with the help of high school counselor Paul Larrea.
Larrea encouraged Vincent to apply for the Elks scholarship, as other students from the school had done well in the competition in the past.
Plus, Vincent had the three key requirements to advance – academic achievement, leadership experience and financial need.
The competition so far has included an application and essay. The essay, Vincent said, required him to pick a service project and speak about why it was important.
He said that for the past few years he's been involved with the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, an organization that works to rescue and rehabilitate injured marine mammals and educate the public about them. It was an interest inspired by his high school biology teacher, Oscar Dominguez.
Vincent stayed with his aunt for a summer so he could volunteer at the center several days a week. More recently, he has driven down on weekends a few times a month.
That experience – which he said gave him a good look at how people, animals and the environment are interconnected – was the topic of his winning essay.
The competition moves from the local level, up to the district, state and national levels. Vincent said he just kept advancing.
He offered special thanks to Lakeport Elks Lodge No. 2704, which he said gives out a lot of local scholarships and played a huge role in sponsoring him in going to the national competition.
“I definitely was not expecting to get this far,” he said. “It was a very big surprise.”
It also was a surprise for his parents, who he initially hadn't told about his application since he hadn't been sure he would do very well.
“They were pretty much as shocked as I was,” he said, but he added, “They're proud.”
The entire family is happy about the fact that the $20,000 he's been guaranteed so far will help defray his college colleges.
In addition to acknowledging his parents, Dominguez and Larrea, Vincent said his chemistry teacher, Ken Hook, really helped him with the recommendation form key to the competition so far.
“I've been really fortunate. We’ve had such good teachers and good staff,” along with great classes and extracurricular activities, said Vincent.
Applications for the scholarship are available in September. Winners of this year’s contest will be announced online by April 30 at www.elks.org/enf/scholars .
Follow the Elks National Foundation on Twitter and Instagram @ElksScholars, and like them on Facebook.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.