World leader Nelson Mandela once said, “a good head and good heart are always a formidable combination.  But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”  Scholarship denotes a commitment to learning, a willingness to spend hours in reading and study, knowing the lasting benefits of a cultivated mind.  Knowledge is one great element in life, which leads to the highest success, and it can be acquired in only one way – through diligence and effort.  Candidates have the charge to continually expand their world through the opportunity inherent in scholarship.

Leadership should exert a wholesome influence on the school.  In taking initiative in the classroom and in the school, the real leader strives to train and aid others to reach their common goals of success.  A leader has self-confidence and will go forward when others hesitate.  The price of leadership is sacrifice – the willingness to yield one’s personal interests for the interests of others. Entrepreneur and author Brian Tracy advised that one should  “become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.”  While many of our members do hold positions in various organizations in the school or community, all of our members are leaders by example in the classroom and in the halls of Western.  No matter what power and resources may exist in a school, community, or nation, they are ineffective without the guidance of a wise leader.  Leadership is always needed; thus, to lead is a meaningful and substantive charge to each of our members.

Service, a willingness to work for the benefit of those in need, without monetary compensation or public recognition, is the quality we seek in our membership and hope to promote for the entire student body.  Opportunities to serve arise almost any time, at school and in the community, and we should be vigilant in noticing and following these occasions. Of service, famous doctor and philosopher Albert Schweitzer said, “I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”  To this end, we are committed to volunteering our time and talents to the creation of a better tomorrow for ourselves and for others.

Character is the force within an individual that distinguishes each person from others.  It creates for each of us our individuality, our goodness.  It is that without which no one can respect oneself, nor hope to attain the respect of others.  It is the force of character that guides one through life and, once developed, grows steadily within.   Character is achieved and not received.  It is the product of constant thought and action, the daily striving to make the right choice.  The problem of character is the problem of self-control.  We must be in reality what we wish to appear to others – to be rather than to seem.  By demonstrating such qualities as respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship, we may hope to prove by example that we value character.