You’ve most likely heard of something known as Boy Scouts, but you may not be aware of the sorts of things these Scouts do. Yes, most participate in outdoor activities, such as camping and hiking, but some also put together community service projects in order to gain the rank of “Eagle Scout.”
Junior William Lewis described an Eagle Scout as “more of an accomplished leader,” which makes sense when you consider the lengths they go to to earn the title. To become an Eagle Scout, one has to have completed a certain amount of tasks, represented by badges, participated in leadership, and completed a final project. This project typically involves building something for your community to enjoy, like Junior Spencer Envall’s gaga pit at Olivet Church and Preschool. Envall explained that after you have finished the requirements, “You have to do all the paperwork at the end of it to the organization at the national level…and you have to fill out a big packet about what you learned about doing your Eagle Scout project and all sorts of stuff like that.”
Some of the community projects that have been completed by WAHS Eagle Scouts include a kiosk of a map of the trails within Old Trail, built by Lewis, and a garden at a center for adults with developmental disabilities, created by senior Ben Amago. These additions to the Charlottesville area have positively affected everyone, including those who put them into place. Many Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts alike can agree that they learn a lot from the requirements they have to meet, and gain a lot of experience that can be useful in adult life.
“Throughout Boy Scouts, you hear the Scout Oath and the Scout Law and they tell you a lot about serving others and being helpful to other people,” Lewis said, “although I think another big part of being an Eagle Scout is actually understanding and figuring out how it applies to the rest of your life.”
The other important aspect of Boy Scouts is the memories people have made with their troops. Envall described events varying from losing breakfast on a camping trip to a troop mate catching their hair on fire, and Amago shared about his time backpacking at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. Each of these Eagle Scouts have at least a few interesting stories to tell that came from Scouts, which just goes to show how much of an impact it has had on them.
