Schools
Whiz Kid Tim Schleicher: Future Hokie and Military Leader
He's 0ff to Virginia Tech with a big scholarship
- Name: Tim Schleicher, 18
- School/Church: Parkland High School, 12th grade; member of Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church, Allentown
- Greatest Accomplishment: Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, something he’s been working toward since Tiger Cubs in fourth grade. As his community project, Tim renovated the bathroom, back door and part of the basement (he patched cracks in its foundation) at El Saro, an outreach branch of Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church. Although the actual work only took about a week and a half, the project entailed approximately two months of planning and an additional week and a half to procure the resources to complete the renovations. After earning his Eagle rank, Tim says his second-greatest accomplishment is receiving a hefty Army ROTC scholarship to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (he will receive $24,480 a year, renewable for four years). “It was like applying for a job,” he says. “They looked at my grades and activities.” Regarding grades/activities, he’s in the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, running cross-country for Parkland for four years. During the high school’s athletic awards ceremony a few weeks ago, Tim earned a varsity letter and was named the team’s “most improved senior runner” for shaving 10.5 minutes off his time. Because he says he “likes the definitiveness of it,” Tim says his favorite subjects are math and science. “There may be several ways to get to an answer, but the answer will be the same, no matter what,” he says.
- Key to Awesomeness: “Above all, it’s my faith,” he says. “I’ve done some pretty awesome things, and my family and friends were there to help and support me, but without God I couldn’t have gotten as far as I have.” After graduating from Virginia Tech, Tim will enter the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, where he will be required to serve four years in active duty, followed by four years in the reserves. Because of his faith, has he considered a career in the clergy? He says he thought about being a chaplain’s assistant, but adds, “I’m not great at preaching; I’m better at serving. That’s one reason why I’m leaning toward the infantry when I enter the service.” That brings up the question: Isn’t he concerned about being on the front lines, considering the U.S. military involvement in the Middle East? “It doesn’t really concern me,” he says, adding, “My Mom doesn’t show it, but I know she worries.”
- For a career choice, Tim says he’s looking at mechanical engineering. But that’s several years away, and in the meantime, he’ll enjoy doing some of his favorite things: snowboarding and taking extended bike trips, citing an 80-mile biking and camping trip along a canal in New Jersey he and his family made with several other families from church and school. This summer, he’ll work part-time at a car wash in Kuhnsville, and he has several projects in mind: building a dirt bike (with his Dad) and a rocket launcher. “And,” he says, “I just fixed my potato gun,” which he built because he was “bored and had a lot of extra PVC.”