Emilia Savini
Reporter
After becoming Eagle Scouts this past month members of Troop 70, Connor deMayo and Adam Ruth know the Boy Scouts of America motto, “Be Prepared,” better than most. “Eagle Scouts have learned to prepare themselves for a life of leadership, success, and fulfillment,” Leader of Troop 70, Michael Geller said. “They are also prepared for challenges and adversity. Eagle Scouts also understand the concept of duty, to others, to one’s self, and to god and country.”
The Eagle Scout is the highest rank in The Boy Scouts of America and requires Boy Scouts to complete over 325 different requirements and fulfill a minimum of 13 hours on a personal project, which they must plan, lead, and document. Adam’s project was focused on renovating the New Canaan Historical Society Herb Garden. “The goal of my project was to turn an old, unusable garden into something that can be used for teaching purposes and makes the town more aesthetically beautiful,” he said.
Connor’s personal struggle to cope with a myriad of food allergies inspired his personal service project. “I have many food allergies including nuts, eggs, milk, and sesame,” he said. “Eating out is always a challenge. My Eagle Project was to train and educate the restaurants in New Canaan on food allergy awareness and cross contamination.”
These two tasks did not come easy to Connor and Adam, and they both required the guidance of several mentors and multiple hours of planning and execution. “My project took about three months and over 100 hours of work done by many people,” Adam said. “I had many mentors along the way including my family and other Boy Scout fathers that would help me through the paperwork and who came to all the building sessions.”
One of Connor’s mentors, Connecticut Chair of Food Allergy Research and Education, Helen Jaffe, helped provide some of the materials needed to complete the project. “Mrs. Jaffe was very important for my project because she helped get posters, articles, information pamphlets, and a training video that were essential parts of my project,” Connor said. “She is also very knowledgeable on food allergies and reviewed my presentation for accuracy before I presented it to the restaurants.”
Looking back on his years in the Scout program, Connor believes one of the most significant assets he has gained is his leadership skills. “Becoming an Eagle Scout has taught me many things about how to plan and lead,” he said. “During my Eagle Project I had to have a schedule of training times for almost every restaurant in town and then a schedule of who could help me on each day. In just about every career there is a leader who must lead his or her staff and the team’s work reflects on that one person.”
Adam also sees benefits in his Eagle Scout status. “Later in life, becoming an Eagle Scout will be a huge help with getting into colleges and applying for jobs,” Adam said. “Also, by becoming an Eagle Scout I’ve learned a lot of necessary life skills that could potentially allow me to be able to survive on my own if that was ever needed.”
Journalism and TV Broadcasting teacher, Roman Cebulski, became an Eagle Scout in 1993, and believes dedication is one of the most important skills an Eagle Scout acquires. “I think to be an Eagle Scout, means that you are someone who, more than anything, is dependable and committed to his work and does what he says he is going to do,” he said.
With recognition of Adam and Connor’s commitment to the Scouting program, Adam’s mentor Charlie Freegood sees success in their futures. “For each of these Eagle Scouts, they will be regarded as leaders throughout their lives,” Mr. Freegood said. “They will be held to a higher standard and viewed as independent, self-reliant, helpful, morally rigorous, truthful, and kind. They have achieved a very significant milestone, and should be very proud.”
