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And so Dzierzanowski, 18, a Paint Branch High School senior and history buff with political aspirations, is president of his school’s Student Government Association and commanding officer of its Navy JROTC.

Next year, he plans to attend a U.S. service academy, and next week he will visit Washington, D.C., as one of two students selected to represent Maryland in the United States Senate Youth Program. The trip includes a $5,000 college scholarship.

‘‘Sean is just an awesome young man,” said Jeanette Dixon, Paint Branch’s principal who nominated Dzierzanowski for the honor. ‘‘He represents the best of Paint Branch High School’s class of 2007.”

Dzierzanowski in addition to leading the student body and NJROTC, is also a member of the debate and cross-country teams and the National Honor Society. Outside of school, he is an Eagle Scout and a member of the youth leadership team at the Church of the Resurrection in Burtonsville.

‘‘He has this real belief in service to the community,” said his mother, Brigid. ‘‘He does participate in a lot, but it’s of his own choosing.”

Of all Sean’s accomplishments, Brigid Dzierzanowski is most proud of Sean’s volunteer work every Thursday night at Riderwood Village, a retirement community in Silver Spring. He started volunteering as a way to get a Boy Scout badge and continued after he met his required hours.

‘‘He’s dedicated,” she said. ‘‘They have become his surrogate grandparents.”

To be involved in so much requires planning, Sean Dzierzanowski said. ‘‘I try to keep organized, but it’s something you have to work at,” he said.

And he’s found success in working on things he has an interest in, like politics. Dzierzanowski lost his first school election, for president of the sophomore class, but recovered like two of his favorite presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. In Dzierzanowski’s case, that meant getting elected vice president of the student government association last year and then president this year.

Leadership in student government is one of the main requirements of the Senate youth program, which is sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. The program ‘‘immerses delegates” in the Washington scene, according to its informational brochure. Students hear policy addresses by senators, cabinet members and government officials and meet with a Supreme Court justice. Last year, participants also met with President George W. Bush, Dzierzanowski said, though he was unsure if that would happen this year.

Every principal in Maryland can nominate a junior or senior, and last fall 70 applicants took a test with questions about federal and state government, said Richard Scott, an education specialist for the Maryland State Department of Education in charge of the selection process.

A panel of teachers and education officials interviewed the top 20 scorers and chose two winners and two alternates. Dzierzanowski’s interview separated him from the other candidates, Scott said, but he impressed the judges all the way through the selection process. ‘‘He was a high scorer, period,” Scott said.

Despite the accolades, Dzierzanowski remains modest, peppering answers to questions with ‘‘yes sir” and holding open doors for others. The son of Brigid, a lawyer at Fort Meade, and Kenneth, a retired Army major, Dzierzanowski is a self-described ‘‘Army brat” whose family came to Burtonsville before he started the seventh grade.

When he graduates in May, Paint Branch will become the first school he has stayed from start to finish.

‘‘It helps you adapt to situations quickly,” he said of the frequent moves. ‘‘You learn to make friends quickly.”

One friend he has always had is his sister, Elizabeth, a freshman at Paint Branch who is actually in the same Fundamentals of Art class. Both agreed that it was strange to be in the same class — and that Elizabeth is the better artist. But Elizabeth said it has not been hard following her brother at Paint Branch. ‘‘It’s actually been easier because he’s always there for me,” she said.

Joe DeCavage, the NJROTC coordinator, sees that in Dzierzanowski when he helps the younger members of the 100-plus student organization.

‘‘He’s developed as a leader not only here but within the school,” DeCavage said. ‘‘We’re happy to have him, sorry to lose him.”

DeCavage, a retired Navy commander, has seen Dzierzanowski mature and hone his communication skills during his four years in the program. ‘‘He’s a good manager and delegator,” DeCavage said. ‘‘He’ll make an outstanding military officer.”

Where that will be, however, Dzierzanowski has not decided. He has already been accepted at West Point and is waiting to hear from the Naval Academy. Right now, he said, it would be a toss-up between the two.

Either way, Dzierzanowski plans to use his military service as the starting point for a career in public service. One of the people he hopes to meet in Washington is U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a decorated Navy veteran.

While he joked about using ‘‘Dzierzanowski” in a campaign (‘‘It will be an interesting bumper sticker”), he could not chart his political future other than to say he would like to start at the state level. ‘‘A lot of politics is based on luck,” he said.

Elizabeth Dzierzanowski said she could see her brother as governor, but Dixon envisioned a higher office. ‘‘I think he may be president of the United States one day,” she said.