Theodore Kariuki Awarded First $2,000 Bill and Kay Davies National Scholarship
Theodore Kariuki from Bloomington, MN has been awarded the first $2,000 Bill and Kay Davies Scholarship by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting® (NCCS). He is a member of Nativity of Mary Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Northern Star Council. This year nine service scholarships totaling $25,000 were awarded
nationwide to recognize scouts for outstanding service and leadership in four areas: Church, Community, School and Scouting.
Kariuki truly embodies the idea of servant leadership. When asked why volunteering is important to him, he responded, “Volunteering is important to me because it gives me the opportunity to recognize others as children of God and as deserving of kindness and grace as I am. It helps me to understand how God wants me to bring his love to people wherever I can.” Kariuki has earned three of the religious emblems offered by the NCCS. He is as an altar server and lector at both his church and school. In addition, he serves as an usher, Youth Group Leader, religious education teacher and Children’s Liturgy reader.
In his community, Kariuki volunteers with the Nativity and St. Bonaventure Youth Group,
serving on the CORE team that plans and leads fun and faith focused events for middle school
students. Kariuki is also a member of the St. Charles Lwanga Youth Association which seeks to
amplify the voices of the youth within the St. Charles Lwanga Jumuia, a Catholic community
that brings together Kenyans from all over the Twin Cities.
At Academy of Holy Angels, Kariuki is Senior Class President and part of the Campus Ministry
Team. He has been a member of the soccer team, speech team and participated in productions as
an actor and on stage crew. Kariuki was awarded the Brandeis Book Award for Social and Civic
Engagement for demonstrating a commitment to serving his community. He says, “I am
especially passionate about bridging the gap between the faith and the fight for racial equality in
our country and the world.” Kariuki also participated in the Minnesota Business Venture
summer program and returned to lead a company as CEO.
In Scouting, Kariuki served numerous leadership positions including Troop Scribe, Patrol Leader
and Senior Patrol Leader and others. He attended National Youth Leadership Training, worked
as staff for NYLT and is a member of the Order of the Arrow (OA), BSA’s Honor Society.
For his Eagle Scout Project, Kariuki planned and executed the redesign of a classroom to benefit
the religious education preschool program at his church. This included drywall repair, repainting
the room and reorganizing the space. To complete the project, he prepared materials for the first
few preschool classes.
To be eligible to apply for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting Scholarships, the Scout
must be Catholic, earned the Ad Altare Dei and/ or Pope Pius XII Awards, and received either
the Eagle Scout, Summit or Quartermaster Award. A complete list of award recipients, eligibility
requirements and applications can be found at https://nccs-bsa.org/index.php/college-scholarship.
NCCS Scholarship recipients have been chosen because they are committed to making a
difference for good in the world through service and leadership. These young people, like
Theodore Kariuki, are certain to enrich our future.