My Time in Scouting + Eagle project
On October 3rd, I officially earned my Eagle Scout! After nearly a decade in scouting, from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, my journey has come to a fulfilling close. Throughout this experience, I’ve gained invaluable skills and insights that have greatly benefited me, here are a few highlights from my experience.
Discovering Welding Opportunities
One of the most significant aspects of scouting for me was the chance to explore welding, which has become my career. Earning the welding merit badge opened my eyes to the diverse opportunities within the field. Initially, I had a narrow view of welding, picturing long hours on pipelines with a bunch of “dude bros” while also being away from family etc… (money would be nice though). However, this badge taught me how technical and varied the industry really is. It was also the first time my work was inspected by someone more skilled than me.
Further more through scouting I had the opportunity to run a welding event for scouts, which I will talk in a bit more detail in another blog coming soon.
Building “Soft Skills”
Scouting also helped me develop essential soft skills, particularly in public speaking and leadership. Mainly these were developed through staffing the NYLT program, I started as a troop guide and eventually became the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL). Leading small groups of scouts evolved into managing a course with over 45 participants, boosting my confidence and refining my leadership abilities. Side note NYLT is a awesome program go to it if you have the opportunity. It teaches you how to set a vision, goals, leading strategies etc.
Navigating Leadership Challenges
By far the toughest leadership role I held was as SPL of my troop (CEO of the troop). When I stepped into this role, our troop’s leadership structure was quite different from what it is now. The team was bloated, and all leadership scouts formed into a blob called “leadership patrol”. This happened because post-COVID, our older scouts moved into leadership BUT we didn’t have any new scouts come in. With too many scouts and not enough positions, we had a 1-1 ratio of leadership scout to younger scout. This led to challenges, such as leadership scouts receiving free food without contributing, which was wasting adult resources, and setting a poor example for younger scouts.
Addressing this issue was daunting. Previous attempts to restructure had failed due to resistance from older leadership or a lack of carry-through from the next SPL after a change had been made. As SPL, I collaborated with my scoutmaster to tackle this head-on. We proposed splitting the leadership into three patrols, allowing them to take on cooking responsibilities. However, they would receive higher quality cooking equipment. This allowed a core leadership team of ASPL’s (assistant senior patrol leaders) and the SPL among other leadership scouts to do their jobs while extra older scouts cooked and did campsite duties. And furthermore, since my scoutmaster was on board the change was to stay in the troop and the two following SPL’s supported the change.
I thoroughly enjoyed my term as SPL, as it was my first experience implementing a significant organizational change. It also gave me practical experience setting a vision and goals and following through to achieve them. After my term as SPL I had to tackle my eagle project. (I had 8 months left to get eagle)
My Eagle Project
My eagle project was decently involved, and I am very satisfied with the outcome of it. I originally was going to do a massive drainage renovation for Aristoi Elementary school. This part of the project was sadly halted because of the City of Katy’s 1984 permitting system. (I am still salty about it). However, I was able to pivot to the project and still attack the problem of poor drainage. We installed a gutter system across a walkway and dug trenches to help drain water from rain. I have a few pictures of my project in my little slide show below (took me way to long to set that up) for more details of the project below are all of my project details (plan, pictures, documents etc).
Link: click here
The End?
Overall, my time in scouts has been amazing. All of the lessons I learned and experiences I have had shaped me into the person I am today, I can not thank the program and people involved enough. To the adults that poured countless hours into the program and the older youth I had to look up to. Thank you!
I plan on staying active and through scouts teaching welding to others and spreading the trade.
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