Boy Scout presents ROTC program with custom bookcase
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Boy Scout presents ROTC program with custom bookcase

Malachi Petersen0

The University of South Dakota Reserve Officers’ Training Corps welcomed a new addition to the decor in the Burr House Friday afternoon.

Graham Leonard, a Boy Scout and a freshman at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, presented the ROTC with a custom bookcase he built as part of his Eagle Scout requirements. Leonard said the project was inspired by his grandfather and took him 17 hours to build. Leonard and his family also donated books about military history to the ROTC program.

As a token of thanks, Lt. Col. Ross Nelson, a department chair of Military Science and the head of the ROTC program, presented Leonard with a backpack, a shirt and a Prairie Fire Battalion coin.

(Photo: University of South Dakota Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets Taber Baldwin, far left, and Alex Schnell, left, pose for a photo with Boy Scout Graham Leonard, right, and Lt. Col. Ross Nelson, far right, during a presentation ceremony Jan. 16. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)

Malachi Petersen is a graduate student at the University of South Dakota getting his master's degree in public administration. He received his bachelor's degree in May of 2017 from USD, majoring in political science and journalism. Malachi worked at The Volante from August 2013 to January 2017 in various capacities, including as the 2016 editor-in-chief, before leaving the editorial side of the publication to run for Student Government Association to represent the graduate school. He's worked as an intern at the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company in Vermillion, SD; the Bemidji Pioneer in Bemidji, MN; Argus Leader Media in Sioux Falls, SD; the San Antonio Express-News in San Antonio, TX, and as a freelance writer for the Sioux Falls Business Journal. His articles have been published by multiple news organizations across the United States, including The Associated Press and USA Today. Malachi is from Lawton, IA.
Website http://www.malachipetersen.com

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