IT’S MORE THAN EARNING BADGES
Question: Who is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent?
Answer: According to the Scout Law, a Boy Scout.
Question: Why should anyone care about Boy Scouts?
Answer: There are several of them at Bishop Luers, and they have a lesson for everyone.
So who are the Bishop Luers Boy Scouts? Senior Matt, sophomore Zach, and freshman Nick Schenkel, senior Eric and junior Jacob Ware, junior Anthony Christie, junior David Rodenbeck, junior Isaac Larson, sophomore Matt Deinninger, and Michael Chandler, are all Boy Scouts. “The only requirement for joining Boy Scouts is that you are a boy eleven years or older,” said M. Schenkel.
Christie expanded by pointing out that, “All they have to do is find a scoutmaster in their parish or school.” Still, this is not a terribly difficult prerequisite.
Out of the Boy Scouts currently at Luers, only a select few have earned the distinction of Eagle Scout, which has a few more requirements. M. Schenkel and E. Ware are already Eagle Scouts, along with Chandler. Rodenbeck and Christie are close to earning the distinction.
What is so special about being an Eagle Scout?
E. Ware shared his Eagle story, “Well, I got my Eagle Scout distinction on September 11, so that is special… Eagle Scout is the level you can recognize and distinguish; the others are just called ‘scout’. That is because when you get the rank of Eagle, it means you have done everything, and more. You have gone beyond your potential.”
What does it take to become an Eagle Scout? According to M. Schenkel, “It takes years of commitment to become an Eagle Scout. You must earn a minimum of 21 merit badges, and several hours of service work. While a Life Scout, you must plan and develop a service project and show leadership by organizing others to do it.”
That service project is one of the big steps up to the Eagle distinction. For his service project, Christie led a Luers charity drive. He elaborated, “I recently finished an over-the-counter medicine and household necessities drive. I collected over 2,600 items for the Franciscan center.”
While this is quite a feat, it is only one example of what one could do as a service project. M. Schenkel gave another example, “For my project, I did a grotto at St. Joe-Brooklyn. It consisted of building a multi-level flowerbed and a cement platform for a statue of Mary to sit on. Then I had to pour a cement slab and anchor poles to support a shelter that people can sit under and pray.”
With all the time and hard work that goes into it, why would one bother becoming an Eagle Scout? Christie answered straightforwardly, “It is such a high award recognized by so many organizations and employers. It helps get scholarships, jobs, and other things important in life.”
Money and prestige aside, there is a powerful lesson of service in being a Boy Scout. M. Schenkel stated, “One of the main things that Boy Scouts focuses on is service work, the value of helping other people. In Boy Scouts you also learn practical things such as first aid and survival skills, but the main thing that Boy Scouts do is to try and prepare you to be able to handle any situation.”
However, E. Ware stated it most simply when he said, “The idea of Boy Scouts is to give boys the things they need to make them successful later in life.”
Everyone is looking for what they need to make them successful later in life. Perhaps there really is a lesson or two to be learned from Boy Scouts (loyalty, obedience, and reverence, to name a few). It turns out that there is a little bit more to being an Eagle Scout than just earning badges.
> Read More Information About Us
> More Articles Written By Our Staff
- Celebrating 20 Years Of Community At The Stand - April 12, 2024
- First Positive Case Of Chronic Wasting Disease In Indiana - April 12, 2024
- Southwest Allen County Schools Embark On Major Tree Plantings - April 12, 2024