2024 BRCWRT SCHOLARSHIP WINNER SIMON WILSON By John Carter

It is a pleasure to announce the winner of the 2024 Bull Run Civil War Round Table Scholarship: Simon Wilson. Like other recent winners, it was Simon’s interview which was so outstanding that it left no doubt in committee members’ minds that we had found our winner. He was at ease, spoke well, answered questions thoughtfully, and, in turn, asked great questions of the committee members. His compassion for others - peers, classmates, and teachers - came out in the interview. So did his in- quisitive mind and his ability to synthesize information to provide insights for others.

Simon will be a 2024 graduate of McLean High School, where he has maintained a 4.121 grade point average in a challenging curriculum, which included eleven hon- ors courses and four AP courses in his junior and senior years. He is a member of the National History Honor Society and has leadership positions within and outside of the school. Simon plans to major in Business, with a focus in marketing. As Simon noted in his application, “I intend to enter a business career focusing on marketing. Alt- hough history may not be directly related to marketing, I understand that American history is related to marketing to give context to American consumer interests and desires. Outside the office, I will continue to pursue my love of history.”

While he was accepted at several Virginia universities, Simon has chosen to at- tend Northeastern University in Boston. When asked about why he made that deci- sion, he responded that it was because Northeastern had a dual enrollment program, where he could take classes while he worked at a full-time job in his field of study. It was not a cooperative education experience or an internship, but more in the line of an on-the-job training position.

His English teacher at McLean High School noted that Simon “arrived in class brimming with thoughtful observations and questions ... he is one of those students who loves learning for learning’s sake; he is one you hope to see on your class roster ... Simon never fails to showcase his love for American history.” She was also im- pressed by his synthesis essay on the environmental consequences of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling, and his critical analysis of Ronald Reagan’s 40th D-Day anni- versary speech.

Simon chose to write his essay “Mosby’s Rose Hill Raid - Father Against Son” as a vehicle for exploring the effect which ideologies have upon families, in this case fa- ther against son. In reflecting on the Civil War in his “Rose Hill Raid” essay, Simon re- lated “in the context of history, Americans should understand the deep ideological di- visions that tore apart the country and individual families during the Civil War ... the lesson applies to today’s political climate ... the Rose Hill Raid serves as a stark re- minder that ideological divisions lead to tragedy.”

I think Simon knows how to use history, as well as his other subjects, to ana- lyze problems and to offer solutions for them. I have no doubt you will be as im- pressed with Simon as we were when you have the opportunity meet him. His essay begins on the next page.

John Carter, Chair of the BRCWRT Scholarship Committee
Scholarship Committee Members: Kate Bitely, Mike Block and Mark Knowles