Mission Hills Resident Receives Top Honors and Distinction
Attending the Eagle Court of Honor ceremony are (l to r) Katie (sister) , Daniel (dad), Benjamin, and Kathryn (mom).
Daniel and Kathryn Rehm, who have been residents of Mission Hills for over 33 years, have two children that they are very proud of. They have a daughter, Katie, who attended Smith College in Northampton, MA, and their son, Benjamin, who graduated from the International Studies School at San Diego High School.
Benjamin has been on quite a journey. He was only one of twenty-three students who attempted to earn the highly-coveted and difficult to achieve International Baccalaureate Diploma. Last year, twenty-one of these candidates learned that they passed the rigid International Baccalaureate exams (one two-to-four hour written and oral exam in all of the core subjects). There are also creative, active, and service mandatory components to this diploma, a strict foreign language component, as well as spending an entire year writing an in-depth paper, with monthly mandatory turn-ins after monthly, mandatory editing. All of this is in addition to the regular, day-to-day academic workload of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
In addition to this special distinction, Benjamin also passed his Boy Scout Eagle board of review. His parents had a catered dinner after the formal Boy Scouts of America ceremony called the Eagle Court of Honor. Upward of 150 friends and family attended. According to Kathryn Rehm, only four percent of all boy scouts achieve this highest of ranks, and men who are Eagle Scouts usually say that they are more proud of this accomplishment than of their college degree. Judge David Gill presided over Benjamin’s board of review, along with retired Judge John J. Hargrove, and San Diego City Attorney for 27 years (retired in 1996) Mr. John W. Witt.
Adding to his accomplishments, Benjamin received a scholarship to participate in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program (CBYX), which was created to strengthen ties between Germany and the United States through citizen diplomacy. Approximately 260 USA students are awarded this full scholarship each year. Benjamin completed the program this past July 2012, returned via Washington DC, where he and his fellow students were hosted by Congress attended formal dinners with the Secretary of State and was taken on guided tours of DC’s attractions.
Benjamin’s latest accomplishment is being chosen to attend his dad’s alma mater, Saint Mary’s of CA College in Northern CA–about a 15 minute drive east of San Francisco. Benjamin was awarded an “Honors-at-Entrance” scholarship, as well as one of their few Theatre scholarships. Kathryn says that Benjamin is looking forward to performing in each semester’s live production, as well as to participating in the special program and its field trips that the Honors Program offers.
By the way, Benjamin is also an accomplished pianist, and has been taking lessons twice a week since he was nine years old. This is one amazing young man. What’s next on his life journey?
Category: Local News
