Character Counts

Req 3 — Character, Leadership, and Service

3.
Get a note from the principal of your school (or another school official named by the principal) that states that during the past year your behavior, leadership, and service have been satisfactory. Note: If you are home-schooled or your school environment does not include a principal, you may obtain a note from a counterpart such as your parent or guardian.

Scholarship is not only about grades. Schools and counselors also care about how you carry yourself around other people. A student with strong scholarship is expected to be dependable, respectful, willing to help, and able to contribute to a community.

This requirement asks for a note, but the note stands for something bigger. It shows that your school experience includes behavior, leadership, and service — not just test scores.

What These Three Words Mean

Behavior

Behavior is about how you act day to day. Do you follow expectations? Do you treat classmates and adults respectfully? Do you handle frustration without making things harder for everyone else? Good behavior does not mean you have never made a mistake. It means your overall conduct has been satisfactory and trustworthy.

Leadership

Leadership is not limited to being class president. It can mean setting a positive example, helping organize a group task, speaking up when something needs to get done, or supporting others quietly and reliably. Many students show leadership long before they hold a title.

Service

Service means contributing to something larger than yourself. That could happen through school clubs, classroom help, tutoring, campus cleanups, student government, peer mentoring, performances, or other acts that benefit the community.

Before You Ask for the Note

Make it easy for the adult writing it
  • Know who to ask: Principal, assistant principal, counselor, dean, or other school official if that is how your school handles these requests.
  • Ask politely and clearly: Explain that this is for the Scholarship merit badge.
  • Give enough time: Do not ask the day you need it.
  • Be ready with examples: If helpful, mention activities, leadership roles, or service you have done this year.

Make the Request Simple

Many adults will be more willing to help if you make the process easy. Ask respectfully, explain what the note needs to say, and give them time to respond. You are not writing the note for them, but you can state clearly what the requirement asks.

For example, you might say: “I am working on the Scholarship merit badge, and one requirement asks for a note stating that my behavior, leadership, and service have been satisfactory during the past year. Would you be willing to provide that?”

Think About the Evidence Behind the Note

Even though the requirement only says to get a note, it helps to reflect on why you deserve it. What have you done this year that shows behavior, leadership, and service?

You might think about:

That reflection can also help with Req 4a and Req 4b, which both focus on participation and teamwork.

If You Are Homeschooled

The requirement already gives a path for that situation. If your school environment does not include a principal, you may get a note from a counterpart such as your parent or guardian. The same idea still applies: the note should speak honestly to your behavior, leadership, and service over the past year.

Why This Belongs in Scholarship

A school is a community, not just a grade machine. A strong student helps make that community work. This requirement reminds you that scholarship includes character. Knowledge matters. So does the kind of person other people experience when they work with you.

Once you have shown character and school citizenship, the next requirement asks you to prove those qualities through teamwork and participation.