Whiz Kids: St. Mark's Catholic School Girl Scouts Volunteer

Know a child who goes above and beyond to help those in need? How about a student who's constantly setting the bar higher day by day? Or maybe a young person who has endured an amazing journey already in life?

Vienna Patch will feature students, sports teams, school club members, and any other outstanding young person for a weekly feature, Whiz Kids.

This week:

Names: Girl Scout Cadettes Kathleen McLean, Molly Weaver, Angela Franke and  Girl Scout Junior Caroline McLean.
Whiz Kid's Year/School: St. Mark's Catholic School, Vienna
Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: Volunteered at Memorial Day ceremonies held in Washington, D.C. to honor the men and women who lost their lives during World War II.
Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: The scouts, along with other volunteers, supported the “Spirit of 45” ceremony at the WW II Memorial by carrying poster images of the soldiers who died defending the United States.  

“The entire experience was very moving,” McLean said.

Official dignitaries at the ceremony included Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, actor Gary Sinise and singer Nancy Sinatra, daughter of the late Frank Sinatra.   As part of the ceremony, the dignitaries placed wreaths at the WW II Memorial and then each Girl Scout and other volunteers placed a flower inside a wreath. 

After the “Spirit '45” ceremony, the scouts joined other volunteers and walked in the National Memorial Day parade down Constitution Avenue holding up their posters for the thousands of parade attendees to see, along with the nationally televised audience. 

“By being a volunteer we were able to keep alive the names, the faces and the stories of sacrifice made by these great Americans,”  Franke said. “It’s important that Girl Scouts share this history and pass it to the next generation -- and that’s exactly what we did today.”