Nineteen Boy Scout members this year, ranging from freshmen to seniors, completed the prerequisites and 21 merit badges to earn the title of Eagle Scout: the highest rank in Boy Scouts of America.

“Twelve [merit badges] are Eagle required. Some of those are citizenship in the nation, community in the world, first aid, personal fitness, personal management and family life. The other nine are elective merit badges, so this includes things such as welding, truck transportation, zoology or veterinary medicine,” sophomore Eagle Scout Eric Trevor-Roberts said. “My favorite merit badge to earn was camping because we got to learn different skills that I actually use every day. We also got to help the younger guys in our troop and other troops set up their tents. It was fun to see them improve because of our work.”

Along with earning merit badges, another requirement included conducting and implementing an Eagle Scout Service Project.

“A scout has to design and execute a service project where they are not the one building or running the project, but they are the one leading the project, and the other scouts and adults are the ones that actually perform the function,” History teacher and former Boy Scout member Zaven Nalbandian II said. “Here at West High, you can see a number of Boy Scout service projects that have been done over the years, such as the trellis work on the side of the concession stand by the football stadium.”

Trevor-Roberts completed his Eagle Scout project to help the YMCA since, according to the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook, the projects have to benefit an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America.

“Eagle Scout projects are very important because you learn how to lead a group of Scouts no matter how big or small that group is. You also learn the planning stages of certain projects. For example, for a construction worker, you learn how to order supplies, assign people with certain tasks and the basic principles of management, all of which makes you a better leader in general. Plus, whatever you are doing, you’re helping other people and an organization,” Trevor-Roberts said. “For the West County Family YMCA, we made eight benches and two fire pits so that they can cook hot dogs instead of boiling them. Now they can learn how to cook hotdogs and smores which not everyone gets to learn.”

The Eagle Scout honor was founded 106 years ago as the highest achievement and rank attainable in the program. After Boy Scouts receive this rank, they celebrate with a formal Eagle Court of Honor.

“The Eagle Court of Honor is a very special evening. Typically it includes not just the presentation of the Eagle Scout Award, but it is also a reflection of all the things that that Scout has done over their career to get to that point. Often there are presentations and proclamations that are given from local community members, and letters from members of the Senate or House of Representatives can be presented,” Nalbandian said. “There are often reminisces that other Scouts will have about their career when they were younger.”

Each troop has a Court of Honor typically three to four times a year, yet these are different than the Eagle Court of Honor.

“All Boy Scout troops have Court of Honors usually three to four times a year. We all gather and scouts are presented with certain awards, rank advancements, skill awards and merit badges that they have earned from the last Court of Honor,” sophomore Eagle Scout Cameron Sato said. “The Eagle Court of Honor, however, is dedicated solely to the scout becoming an Eagle Scout.”

Despite the lengthy process of becoming an Eagle Scout, Trevor-Robinson says that the benefits of Boy Scouts later in life make the journey to becoming an Eagle Scout worth it.

“I want to go into the Coast Guard Academy and then later the Coast Guard to do search and rescue. Being an Eagle Scout will help me with this because the scouting program is based on the military since the founder of Boy Scouts was in the British military,” Trevor-Roberts said. “Because the military is so similar with sizing and their programs, I can use everything I’ve learned as a member of a Boy Scout troop and transfer those skills to deal with a broader range of people and with problems of a greater magnitude.”

There are currently 103,158 troops around the world with an average of 15 members each, yet only a select few become Eagle Scouts.

“If you look at the total number of boys in scouting in general, of the 100 boys who will join scouting, only four will get the award, so it is extremely rare to have a very large number of boys earn it,” Nalbandian said. “I would attribute [this increase] to the West High culture of hard work and service. The Eagle Scout Award is given to those scouts that exemplify the ideals of diligence, hard work, service to the community and leadership which are all qualities West High helps to develop within students.”