2023 Scholarship Recipient

Bridget L Brady | Eagle Class of 2023 | Patriot’s Path Council

The Scholarship Committee is proud to announce that Bridget Brady from Patriots’ Path Council in New Jersey received our 2023 Scholarship! The APO Eagles Scholarship is made possible by donations from our members. Please give at www.apo.org and designate your gift to the APO Eagles scholarship fund.

Bridget will be attending Catholic University this fall and will receive a $2,000 scholarship.

From Bridget herself

My favorite scouting memory is the campfire at Cypher’s Mine during my Philmont trek. The day before my crew and I had gotten stuck on the top of Mt. Phillips in an awful thunderstorm. We were all very frightened and very wet and got very little sleep that night. But the next morning we hiked on and spent the night at Cypher’s Mine in a lean-to that felt like a mansion at the time. The campfire that night was the first time I think we all really felt safe after that storm, and I am forever grateful to the helpful and musically talented staff and Cypher’s Mine.

I selected Catholic University for a multitude of reasons. Applying to the school was free so doing it was a no-brainer. Last October after receiving an email about the free application, my mom drove my sister and me down to DC so that I could tour the school which is when I fell in love with the campus. In January, after I had been accepted to the school, I received an email from the track coach at Catholic inquiring if I wanted to continue to throw in college which of course I did! With that and the scholarships I had already received from the school Catholic became my top choice school. Not to mention their amazing psychology program which predates the teachings of Sigmund Freud and the founding of the APA as it was founded in 1891.

I selected the major of psychology after two major events in my life. The first was my Eagle Scout Project where I realized if I followed a path in psychology I could help so many more people with developmental and mental disabilities. The second being during the pandemic when I saw my mental health and that of the people around me begin to deteriorate. Now fingers crossed no teens have to go through that again, but everyone comes upon a mental struggle at some point in their life, and I want to be able to help other people through it because no one deserves to suffer. Therapy is so beneficial and being able to give that service to others would be the most fulfilling use of my skills and talents.