By Debbie Adams
William Byrd High School senior Emma Rupe has been named as the DAR Good Citizen of the
Year for 2025. The announcement was made at the Roanoke Valley Chapter National Society
Daughters of the Revolution meeting on March 8 at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church in
Vinton.
pictured with Roanoke Valley DAR Chapter Regent Cindy Higgins (left) and her mother,
Amanda Rupe. (photo by Carla Honaker)
The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to
encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. The award recognizes and rewards high
school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in
their homes, schools, and communities.
Rupe will be graduating from William Byrd High School as a valedictorian in May. (She has
been on the All A Honor Roll since sixth grade.) She plans to attend James Madison University
to major in Media Arts and Design and in the Honors College. Ultimately, she plans to work in
the media advocating for National Park Land.
During high school she has been a part of the LEO Club serving as president for this school year.
She has been in SCA, Beta Club, Reindeer Club, and the WBHS Mentorship Program. She has
been a member of the yearbook staff since 2022 and is an editor this year.
She spends her spare time volunteering, hiking, and spending time with family. She has a part-
time job at Chris’s Coffee and Custard and started working there during her sophomore year. She
ran JV cross country from 2021-2022 and played varsity lacrosse for three years. She was
nominated for Top Terrier for the 2024-2025 school year and served as a Junior Marshal.
Rupe is a member of Vinton Baptist Church and has participated for three years on summer
mission trips working with children with disabilities at a horse therapy camp, working in adult
day care, and helping to repair a home. Her parents are Amanda and Christopher Rupe.
As part of the DAR Good Citizen process, Rupe was invited to write an essay to participate in
the scholarship segment of the competition. This year’s assigned topic was “Service is an
essential attribute of a good citizen. Discuss how service can foster a strong sense of community
and strengthen our American Identity.”
Rupe’s Essay:
“Service is one of the most important qualities of an American. Ever since 1492 and even way
before that, hardworking people have always been here keeping this country held together. This
has continued throughout the years, with hurricane relief help and even the people who help at
the Red Cross in their spare time, service is an attribute that not only defines people, but America
as a whole. In times of separation and diversity the American people always find a way to set aside their differences and show that we can be united in these times through volunteering and
community help. Service can foster a strong sense of community and strengthen our American
Identity by connecting with others and showing how everyone does some kind of service every
single day.
“The first way service can foster a strong sense of community and strengthen our American
Identity is by connecting with the people and community around us. Community is something to
lean back on and know that there is always a helping hand. Drawing more people into a
community helps it grow and can convince people to come out and serve whenever they feel free
to. America needs a lot of help through the amount of poverty and homelessness we have and
when a community comes together to help that, it makes the situation better and even connects
the people who may not be able to help. When we as a community come together, we are
connecting the American people through helping the American people.
“Service is done willingly and sometimes without knowing that you are helping someone. Every
single day someone does an act of service, or an event is held to help others in need, but we
overlook the people whose job it is to serve others. Teachers for example are strong American
leaders and help children every single day learn about what the world will be like when they are
on their own. They run clubs and coach sports teams all while not even acknowledging that they
are raising the future leaders and service workers of this world. Law Enforcement is also another
example of America’s Identity. Their job is to serve and protect the American people and half
the time people do not understand that they are risking their lives every day to serve us. Helping
others in need every day is one of the most patriotic things we as Americans can do right now
and we can be role models for others through showing good character when serving and wanting
to be there to help.
“The attributes of someone who serves should be positive and if we get more people to help then
it will spread more positivity in America. Although it may seem the American people are
divided, being more active in our communities through volunteering and helping others will
strengthen our American Identity. It will show how, as a country, we can come together and
connect in more ways than we think, but this will only work if we keep talking about it and
promoting the need to serve. Service is a defining characteristic of a community and just in a
person themselves, and it strengthens America as a whole.”
