As a sophomore at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, Gregory Mariuzza was named a Lazarus Leadership Fellow. The Lazarus Leadership program is designed to help juniors and sophomores at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School to prepare for their citizen leadership responsibilities.

Being named a Lazarus Leadership Fellow was a great honor for Gregory Mariuzza. Only fifteen students a year are named a Lazarus Fellow. Participants are required to give two hundred hours of their time over the summer, to completing a community service leadership program.

“Our students ought to be taught fundamental lessons that say democracy is precious,” said Roger Wilkins, Professor of History and American Culture, George Mason University. “Democracy is perishable, democracy requires active attention, and democracy requires hard work.” These are the values and lessons that are instilled in Lazarus Leadership Fellows.

The Fellows, like Gregory Mariuzza, kick off the summer’s program with a meeting in mid-June. Each Fellow receives a stipend for meals, transportation, and expenses over the course of the summer. After completing their project at the end of the summer, each Fellow can choose between an additional stipend or credit for two hundred student service learning hours. After that they all meet to reflect and share about the experience. “I learned that communication and teamwork are crucial to successful leadership,” one participant said after completing the program. “Over the summer these were things I used every day with my group members and [they] were important to running our camp successfully.”

Finally, there is a graduation ceremony at Strathmore Hall.

Past participants in the program that Gregory Mariuzza was involved in have been performed valuable projects that benefit the general public. They have worked to restore a former farm as a living museum to teach the story of the lives of slaves in pre-Civil War Montgomery County. In addition, they participated in a ropes course and visited Bethesda Magazine, the Music Center at Strathmore, the National Center for Children and Families, the Bethesda Urban Partnership, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Resue Squad, and the D.C. Central Kitchen.

Gregory Mariuzza and the other fourteen Lazarus Leadership Fellows from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School were honored for completing the Lazarus Leadership program. The fifteen Fellows were recognized for their achievement at a special ceremony held at the Mansion in Strathmore in North Bethesda, near Gregory Mariuzza’s home.