In the special 250th Anniversary year of the nation’s founding, a pair of Morro Bay High students will go on a special trip to visit historic monuments and places, thanks to the local Odd Fellows.
The Bay Rock Lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs (I.O.O.F.) selected Morro Bay High students, Ely Franco and Benny Easton-Carr as the recipients of scholarships to attend the Odd Fellows’ Annual Pilgrimage of Youth.
The Pilgrimage brings more than 90 student delegates to the East Coast for a two-week trip, visiting the nation’s monuments and historic sites.
Last year the 91-student contingent (plus chaperones) represented some 23, I.O.O.F. jurisdictions across the U.S. and several foreign countries. The mix of nationalities among the delegates is truly amazing, including the mix of boys and girls.
This year’s pilgrimage, which was pushed back from June to July due to scheduling conflicts with the World Cup Tournament, begins July 16 and ends on the 29th, according to information from the event website (see: IOOF/pilgrimageforyouth.com).
Los Osos resident, Easton-Carr, 16, seems to be a young man with a direction already picked out for himself despite his age.
He’s interested in medicine, he explained, adding that his father is a doctor. He’s helped teach fellow students about emergency treatments and has spent time as an explorer with the ambulance company. He wants to be a trauma surgeon.
He went to a cadaver lab, he said, where paramedics and resident doctors perform medical procedures on people who donated their bodies to science, after they’ve died of course.
He said that he likes the action and excitement of helping people who’ve suffered some kind of physical trauma.
He said he’s leaning towards attending Oregon State University for both pre-med and medical school. “They have a really good pre-med program and a medical school,” he explained. His dad, he adds, went to U.C. Berkeley.
Easton-Carr said he participates in the school’s very successful, Mock Trial Program.
The Odd Fellows’ Pilgrimage for Youth requires the students to write an essay on a topic revolving around the United Nations, so it’s a global issue.
Easton-Carr said his topic was Artificial Intelligence and the U.N.’s involvement with it. So is AI going to be a good thing or a bad thing?
“I think it’s a good thing,” he explained. He added that AI will be a good tool in the future and will help address a lot of issues and since it’s already here and growing, “there’s no point in avoiding it.”
Franco, 17, is a swimmer at the high school and ran cross country in the past but didn’t really like it. What he does like is science.
He said he plans to major in biochemistry in college and wants to do research, in particular developing vaccines.
He hasn’t picked out a college yet, though he’s applying to several. He anticipates going to a university, “In-state for sure.”
His U.N. essay topic was the U.N.’s involvement with the food crisis around the world. “The U.N. is trying to stop food shortages,” he said.
Both boys were grateful to the Odd Fellows. Franco said, “They’re all great people. It’s awesome they sponsored us to do this.”
Easton-Carr also thanked the Odd Fellows. “I’m really excited to do it. It seems like it’s an awesome experience.”
The itinerary for this year’s Pilgrimage includes flying into Philadelphia and taking a tour of the Corning Glass Factory and Museum; staying overnight in Buffalo, N.Y.
They’ll travel to Niagara Falls the next day and then tour Salem and Boston, Mass.
They’ll spend five days in New York City and then head to Washington, D.C. to tour the museums and monuments in the Capital while staying in College Park, Md. They will also visit Arlington National Cemetery before heading back to Philadelphia and then flying home.
It’s a program with a long history. According to the Pilgrimage website, “The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs have sponsored and supported the Pilgrimage For Youth annually since 1949. This unique educational program brings high school students from around the world to study and participate in discussions concerning world affairs, as well as making new and lifelong friends.”
