SNOHOMISH — Elijah Beals, 18, is a Glacier Peak High School senior focused on his Christian faith and his future. He lives in Mill Creek, where the City Council selected him as a nominee for a 2019 Association of Washington Cities scholarship. His life centers around Canyon Creek Church in Mill Creek, where his parents, Brandon and Diana Beals, are pastors.
Question: Students applying for an Association of Washington Cities scholarship in Mill Creek need to be involved with the city or school leadership. How have you contributed to your hometown and school?
Answer: At school I’ve been ASB president. My term started second semester of junior year and just ended. In Mill Creek, I’ve done a lot through church. At Halloween, our youth group volunteers for Trunk or Treat. It’s in a parking lot at City Hall. We stage the trunk of a car and hand out candy. Our youth group is called Collective Youth, so we made the trunk a grocery store — Collective Foods. I dressed up as a kiwi.
Q: What’s it like being an ASB president?
A: My team talked about what we’re passionate about and came up with a theme. Our theme was Our Home. We all agreed with the whole idea of treating Glacier Peak as our home. We wake up every day to be with family at school. This was to make the (school) community feel less divided. I believe it made a pretty decent impact.
Q: What about other activities? Do you play sports?
A: At school, I’m the varsity soccer captain. I’ve played all four years. My position is outside defense. I also play club soccer with Snohomish United. We just got second in state. I do a lot outside of school. My big thing is church.
In Tanzania, Elijah Beals helps feed African children during a trip with his father. His dad, Brandon Beals, is the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church in Mill Creek. (Contributed Photo)
Q: Have you decided on a career?
A: I feel like I’m called to be a minister at a church. I’m honestly a lot like my dad. He’s a lead pastor. I love people. I’d love to end up leading a church. I’d also love being a youth pastor. If plans get changed up, I’d like to do something else that helps people.
Q: Do you have siblings?
A: I have an older sister, Rachel, she’s 22. She is in her master’s of education program at UW. And I have a twin brother, Judah. We’re fraternal twins. He goes to Glacier Peak.
Q: What’s it like to be a twin?
A: The weird thing is, we don’t look alike at all. We truly are completely polar opposites. I’m extroverted and super out there all the time. My brother is super calm, super nice and kind of shy. He has different hobbies. He’s a drummer and does taekwondo.
Q: Is it challenging to grow up with parents who are pastors?
A: It’s all I’ve known. It’s really funny — pastors’ kids like to call ourselves PKs. There’s a special bond, it’s hard to explain. The expectations are always there. I’m definitely super-involved in church. My parents are really proud of us for staying firm in our faith. I look up to them. They’re two of the greatest people I know.
Q: What about college?
A: I applied a lot of places. Some of the main schools, a bunch still haven’t sent out acceptance letters. The UW is a big one, and UCLA and UC Berkeley. I’m not making a decision yet. I’m planning to get a business degree.
Q: What classes are you taking this semester?
A: Spanish 3, advanced ASB leadership, AP statistics, Art, Sci-Fi — it’s an English class and we’re reading “Ender’s Game” — and government.
Q: Would you mind sharing your GPA?
A: It’s 3.9 unweighted. With college-level classes, it’s 4.2.
Q: You’ve been to Africa. Where were you, and what did you learn there?
A: It was Tanzania in May of 2017. I went with my dad. Our church was getting ready to partner with a nonprofit, Convoy of Hope. We saw all the work they’ve been doing, the wells they built and how they taught the community to maintain them. They showed us their women’s empowerment program. And I got to see farms. I saw that despite how little they all had, just the joy they all had. I’ve also been on mission trips to La Paz, Mexico, and to LA with the Dream Center.
Q: Do you have any spare time?
A: I love to hike, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, and I’m really into music. I like all genres, and collect vinyl records.
Q: What will be your favorite high school memory?
A: I’ve really loved my high school. The ASB put on a spring dance for life skills students. My favorite memory is doing karaoke with two life skills students. We were doing the Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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