Ethan Leicht becomes first Kentuckian to win Annual Zeb Scholarship
April 11, 2024
ARLINGTON, Texas – Ethan Leicht of Florence, Kentucky, has been chosen by the International Bowling Campus Youth Committee as the Annual Zeb Scholarship recipient for 2024.
The Annual Zeb Scholarship recognizes a United States Bowling Congress Youth member who has achieved academic success and gives back to his or her community through service. The recipient, who must be a junior or senior in high school, receives a $2,500 scholarship.
Leicht, 16, is the first person from Kentucky to earn the scholarship since it was first awarded in 2005.
“I’m very enthusiastic and proud for sure to win this scholarship,” Leicht said. “It had been a few months since I applied, so I was in a moment of shock briefly, but I’m super happy about it.”
Leicht is completing his junior year at Randall K. Cooper High School in Union, Kentucky, where he has a 4.0 unweighted GPA (4.5 weighted) while also taking dual-enrollment college courses.
Through his junior year, Leicht’s courses include numerous early-college, dual-enrollment, honors and AP classes. He also has been a member of the Cooper Academy of Mathematics and Science program since his freshman year. The prestigious and selective program provides the most difficult course load the school can offer, and Leicht is the only student in the program completing both pathways – engineering and medical.
“I’m really proud of the GPA I’ve been able to achieve,” Leicht said. “It’s been something I’ve been working for my entire high school career. I’m especially proud to have that GPA while taking a really rigorous courseload with AP, early college and dual-enrollment classes.”
Despite this challenging courseload, Leicht has received a multitude of awards for his academic achievements, including the “All A Honor Roll” each year of his high school career, recognition for being in the top 3% of his class of approximately 350 and induction into the National Honor Society.
Leicht’s record of volunteer work and community service is as impressive as his work in the classroom. Incredibly, Leicht has logged more than 2,000 volunteer hours for causes such as GO Pantry, the Hearthstone Community Food Drive, Read with a Teen and his local church. In recognition of his countless hours of volunteer work, he has received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (signed by the President of the United States) in both 2022 and 2023.
“I enjoy all of my volunteer work, but I’m really proud of my involvement with GO Pantry,” Leicht said, “I’m president of that one, and I’ve been involved with them since eighth grade. I love running food drives for them and managing the other ambassadors and helping them.”
Leicht also is a member of the Student Leadership Council and St. Timothy’s Community Outreach Committee, and he devotes time to mentoring fellow students and peers. He recently was selected for an internship at St. Elizabeth Florence Hospital in the Patient Care tract where he will get to observe various medical procedures and even surgeries during his senior year of high school.
Leicht was asked how he’s able to find time for his school studies and all his volunteer work.
“It’s almost like a mental drive to succeed, or maybe it’s a fear of failing as much as it is a drive to succeed,” Leicht said. “I’ve always pushed myself to be the best at anything I’m doing. With my volunteer work, I book that in advance and then work around it; that way, I can fit it all in.”
On the lanes, Leicht didn’t pick up the sport until he was a sophomore in high school.
“One of my best friends convinced me to try out,” Leicht said. “I realized it was a lot of fun and a good way to relieve stress. I’m also a very goal-oriented person, and I’ve found that bowling is a sport where you can easily set goals and then accomplish them.”
Since that late introduction to the sport in 10th grade, Leicht has been a member of both the Randall K. Cooper varsity bowling team and the Greater Cincinnati United States Bowling Congress Youth Championship Travel League (where he is a team captain). He also has been named an Academic All-State bowler by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (2022-2023).
And while bowling represents an enjoyable outlet for Leicht, he is very serious about his ultimate goal of attending medical school and becoming an orthopedic doctor.
Leicht will be presented with his scholarship later this month at the 2024 USBC Convention and Annual Meeting at South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
For a list of past Annual Zeb Scholarship recipients, click here.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers at BOWL.com/ScholarshipsAwards.
The Annual Zeb Scholarship recognizes a United States Bowling Congress Youth member who has achieved academic success and gives back to his or her community through service. The recipient, who must be a junior or senior in high school, receives a $2,500 scholarship.
Leicht, 16, is the first person from Kentucky to earn the scholarship since it was first awarded in 2005.
“I’m very enthusiastic and proud for sure to win this scholarship,” Leicht said. “It had been a few months since I applied, so I was in a moment of shock briefly, but I’m super happy about it.”
Leicht is completing his junior year at Randall K. Cooper High School in Union, Kentucky, where he has a 4.0 unweighted GPA (4.5 weighted) while also taking dual-enrollment college courses.
Through his junior year, Leicht’s courses include numerous early-college, dual-enrollment, honors and AP classes. He also has been a member of the Cooper Academy of Mathematics and Science program since his freshman year. The prestigious and selective program provides the most difficult course load the school can offer, and Leicht is the only student in the program completing both pathways – engineering and medical.
“I’m really proud of the GPA I’ve been able to achieve,” Leicht said. “It’s been something I’ve been working for my entire high school career. I’m especially proud to have that GPA while taking a really rigorous courseload with AP, early college and dual-enrollment classes.”
Despite this challenging courseload, Leicht has received a multitude of awards for his academic achievements, including the “All A Honor Roll” each year of his high school career, recognition for being in the top 3% of his class of approximately 350 and induction into the National Honor Society.
Leicht’s record of volunteer work and community service is as impressive as his work in the classroom. Incredibly, Leicht has logged more than 2,000 volunteer hours for causes such as GO Pantry, the Hearthstone Community Food Drive, Read with a Teen and his local church. In recognition of his countless hours of volunteer work, he has received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (signed by the President of the United States) in both 2022 and 2023.
“I enjoy all of my volunteer work, but I’m really proud of my involvement with GO Pantry,” Leicht said, “I’m president of that one, and I’ve been involved with them since eighth grade. I love running food drives for them and managing the other ambassadors and helping them.”
Leicht also is a member of the Student Leadership Council and St. Timothy’s Community Outreach Committee, and he devotes time to mentoring fellow students and peers. He recently was selected for an internship at St. Elizabeth Florence Hospital in the Patient Care tract where he will get to observe various medical procedures and even surgeries during his senior year of high school.
Leicht was asked how he’s able to find time for his school studies and all his volunteer work.
“It’s almost like a mental drive to succeed, or maybe it’s a fear of failing as much as it is a drive to succeed,” Leicht said. “I’ve always pushed myself to be the best at anything I’m doing. With my volunteer work, I book that in advance and then work around it; that way, I can fit it all in.”
On the lanes, Leicht didn’t pick up the sport until he was a sophomore in high school.
“One of my best friends convinced me to try out,” Leicht said. “I realized it was a lot of fun and a good way to relieve stress. I’m also a very goal-oriented person, and I’ve found that bowling is a sport where you can easily set goals and then accomplish them.”
Since that late introduction to the sport in 10th grade, Leicht has been a member of both the Randall K. Cooper varsity bowling team and the Greater Cincinnati United States Bowling Congress Youth Championship Travel League (where he is a team captain). He also has been named an Academic All-State bowler by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (2022-2023).
And while bowling represents an enjoyable outlet for Leicht, he is very serious about his ultimate goal of attending medical school and becoming an orthopedic doctor.
Leicht will be presented with his scholarship later this month at the 2024 USBC Convention and Annual Meeting at South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
For a list of past Annual Zeb Scholarship recipients, click here.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers at BOWL.com/ScholarshipsAwards.