Courtesy photo Anson Harvey smiles after a winning match with his water polo team from Westlake High School in 2007.

For 18-year-old Anson Harvey, a scouting career that began at age 6 was the start of a leadership role that led to Eagle Scout status and, now, a shot at the United States Air Force.

"Through Scouts we are taught that service to God and country is very important, and I feel that the Air Force is the way that I can best return the sacrifices others have given for my freedoms," said the recent Westlake High School graduate, who received his Air Force Academy nomination from a Navy commander during a special ceremony last month on campus.

"I first became interested in the Air Force from my dad," said Harvey of Thousand Oaks, a certified lifeguard who played water polo at Westlake High for the past four years.

"I also was turned on to the Air Force Academy because they have a Division 1 water polo team," he said. "I became a recruited water polo player, and that sealed the deal. I hope that, by my joining the Air Force Academy, other students will consider military academies as a great opportunity for college."

Jeff Ehrlich, the men's water polo coach for the U.S. Air Force Academy, started recruiting Harvey last summer after learning about his accomplishments, including his status as a team captain who was named Most Valuable Player and received the Coach's Award.

The teen also volunteers with 805 Christian Surfers and is a church camp counselor.

"Anson is ready and willing to serve his country, and he is, in my opinion, a person of character and will finish what he starts," Ehrlich said.

He added that he was further drawn to Harvey's plans to major in engineering at the academy and become a fighter pilot after graduation.

Born in Lancaster, Harvey moved to the Conejo Valley 12 years ago with his parents, Dwight and Patti, his sister, Rachel, now 25, and his brother, Ben, now 12.

He joined Cub Scouts as a Tiger at age 6, earned his Webelos rank by age 9 and later received the "Arrow of Light" — the Cub Scouts' highest award.

Around age 10, he joined Boy Scout Troop 761 and, by age 16, he had earned the status of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts program.

He is among more than 1.7 million young men in the nation to receive the honor since its introduction in 1911. To receive it, Harvey had to earn at least 21 merit badges and spearheaded an extensive service project that he planned, organized and managed.

Inspiration from father

"My dad first inspired me to become an Eagle Scout because he was an Eagle Scout, and I looked up to him," Harvey said. "As I got older, I realized what a great asset achieving the rank of Eagle Scout would be, and the knowledge that I would gain along the way would help me strengthen my future significantly.

"It was important that I finished," he said, "because it was something that I really wanted, and I knew that I could do it."

Kathy Joslin of Thousand Oaks met Harvey when he and her youngest son were in Cub Scouts together.

"Anson was the one that always reached out; even when my son bridged into Boy Scouts, then decided he didn't want to continue, Anson was the one that tried to reach out to him," said Joslin, 44.

"In this day and age of the kids being so selfish," she said, "it's wonderful to see a young man that reaches out to others and puts others first."

The kids love him'

Employed as a lifeguard instructor for the Conejo Recreation and Park District, Harvey is often requested by parents to give their child swimming lessons, said Dee Pearson of Thousand Oaks, an aquatics specialist for the district.

"Anson is very fun and responsible; the kids love him," said Pearson, 44. "Anson has always been a great asset to the Conejo Recreation and Park District. "I am sad to see him leave us but happy to see him continue on in such a positive direction."

Harvey is a natural leader who has honed these abilities through the Boy Scout organization and by acting as varsity team captain for his high school water polo team, said his father, a Cub Scout den leader for five years and an assistant scoutmaster for his son's Boy Scouts troop.

"His leadership demeanor is to assess the situation and take charge if he needs to; he knows how to follow as well as lead," Dwight said.

His son also pursues martial arts, having earned his black belt at age 15 in the art of To Shin Do and his second-degree belt a year later through the Warrior Quest Society in Newbury Park.

"He serves as a role model by being a good example," his dad said. "He has accomplished many goals in his life by just doing it without complaining. He treats others like he would like to be treated and respects others' differences."

To Harvey, the greatest role model in his life is his father, he said, "because he has dedicated his life to passing on all of the knowledge and wisdom that he has collected throughout his life."

As for his own future, he said, "I hope that I can make a positive impact on the world by taking advantage of the opportunities I have been given and serve God and my country."