Written by AMA staff (01/2001); Transcribed by JS (03/2008), Reformatted by JS (10/2009)
Nicholas A. Leonard is this year’s recipient of the Tom Hutchinson Memorial Scholarship totaling $1,500. Nick is attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and plans to focus on mechanical or aeronautical engineering.
Nick attended elementary and middle schools in Bandera, Texas. He attended boarding school at Saint Mary’s Hall in San Antonio during his freshman and sophomore school years, and The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, again as a boarding student, his junior and senior years.
As a sophomore and a senior, Nick was selected as a prefect for his dormitory, a position of trust given to a student of character. Prefects, elected by the faculty, act as liaisons between parents and younger students. It is especially an honor for Nick to have earned the faculty’s regard, as he had attended The Lawrenceville School for only one year.
Nick devoted several hours a week to the local Senior Center helping educate senior citizens of computers, focusing on the basics of word processing and Internet research. Said Nick, ‘It cannot be termed the most exciting thing I do, but it does bring satisfaction when a ‘student’ can now freely type and print letters, etc., where they were before writing or using a typewriter.”
With one of his instructors, Nick co-wrote a chemistry textbook currently in use by all levels of The Lawrenceville School. The purpose of the manual was to aid students in the preparation for the SAT II and Advanced Placement Chemistry tests, and the use of this publication is also being considered by peer schools.
Nick began building Outdoor Rubber models with his father before the age of 10, flying with the local clubs. He and his father attended the 1994 Nats in Lubbock, Texas. While at the Nats, Nick and his father saw Indoor models flying and were hooked.
Nick was on the 1998 Junior F1D team bound for Romania. With the aid and mentorship of modelers Steve Brown and Gary Underwood, Nick placed fourth in the 1998 World Championships and sixth in 2000. He has participated in numerous local, regional, and national Indoor contests and is a top national contestant in his age category.
The Academy wishes you good luck, Nick, and congratulations.
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