My name is Antonio N, and I just earned my Eagle rank with Boy Scout Troop 180. I have been in Scouts since 1st grade, starting with Cub Scouts and eventually crossing over into Troop 180. Reaching the rank of Eagle Scout is a long journey that teaches a Scout many important skills and lessons along the way. One of the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank is to complete a project that benefits the community, starting from scratch. This is the story of my project.
The military has always been important to me, and I decided that my Eagle Project would honor those who have joined our military. I attend Colts Neck High School and am a cadet in the Naval Junior ROTC program, so I chose a project that would specifically honor Colts Neck alumni who joined the military. To do this, I made a Military Wall of Honor inside of the school. The wall has pictures of alumni who have gone on to serve, indicating their name, graduating class, and which branch of the service they joined, and the leadership of the NJROTC program on the wall, our instructors and cadet officers. Also included is a mural of the American flag with a silhouette of the Iwo Jima memorial over it, and plaques with the seals of each service branch. My project will remain on the walls of CNHS for many years to come, and I will continue to sustain the project throughout my time in high school, passing this on to the NJROTC unit upon my graduation. I am proud to have done a project that honors these service members, and reminds the CNHS community of those among them who went on to be a part of something greater than themselves.
Like all things in life, an Eagle Scout Project is not free from issues and potential problems during the course of its completion. Adapting to and overcoming these setbacks are what allows you to grow not only as a person, but as a leader. I faced several challenges, and as work progressed I would make several changes to improve the project. Some of the challenges included finding out the school didn’t have an alumni association, so I created a Facebook page and had the NJROTC Parent’s Club email it out; I was not able to find a student artist who had time to paint the mural, so I worked with the school to extend the project timeline as I continued looking for an artist; we decided to change the wood after it was cut and painted, so I had to adjust my budget to buy new wood and paint and find the time to redo this piece and not delay the project timeline any more. While it was tough, the changes and challenges I faced taught me things that I will be able to use throughout my life, a main purpose of the Eagle Scout Project.
Completing this project was immensely rewarding, through seeing my hard work culminate into a finished product, and the feedback I received. I received countless Facebook comments, messages and emails of support and positive feedback, and coincidentally, one of the alumni on the wall is a previous member of Troop 180 who told me he was proud to see this project coming from his old Troop. But it was the emails of encouragement and thanks from those alumni who are currently deployed that make me know that I did something that truly matters.
This is my Scouting success story, and with hard work, determination, and fun along the way, you can be the author of your own story through Scouting. I recommend giving Eagle Scout, and Boy Scouts in general, a shot, as it will lead you to discovering many useful skills and lifelong memories, as it has for me.