Looking Forward to Eagle

    In today’s post we will be examining the Eagle Scout rank. We will look at the prerequisites of the rank, a little bit about the Eagle Scout Project, and how the process works as a whole.

Technically before you can earn your Eagle rank, you must have already earned the preceding rank, Life rank. However, you are able to work on the Eagle requirements before obtaining Life rank. After achieving Life Rank, you must be an active member of your local Troop for a minimum of 6 months. This is to ensure that you are a dedicated member of your Troop. You must complete the 21 merit badges (discussed more in the last post). You must have letters of recommendation from people outside the scouting community. You must hold a position of leadership. You must have a conference with the adult leader of your Troop. This is called a Scoutmaster conference and this is done each time you rank up. 

Among the textbook requirements and other things previously listed the most notable requirement for Eagle Scout is the Eagle Scout Project, a project that is charitable or otherwise benefits the community. This can be an intimidating process. There will be some articles below that can help guide you through your Eagle Scout project and all the required details. The best piece of advice I can give to a Scout is to start planning your project sooner rather than later. Many a time, people say “No I have plenty of time to figure that out,” and then their 18th birthday is around the corner and they have to cram it in.

A roadmap of how the project comes to be approved goes somewhat like this; you will find a project and establish a project supervisor. For example, for my project, I built a maintenance shed at the local elementary school and my project supervisor was the school’s vice president and the school’s head groundskeeper. The job of the supervisor is to help inform you of what the job entails and they then see to it that you achieve this. You will put together a proposal which includes a cover letter, a detailed description of the project, a finance sheet, and some signed forms which. If your project gets approved, you then do your project. Upon finishing, there is a report and a reflection and some papers the project supervisor must sign. This is usually the last thing you do before passing in your binder.

The binder is your application to become an eagle scout. This binder includes the formal Eagle Scout application, advancement reports(list of ranks/merit badges earned etc.), a letter of ambition(why you want to be an Eagle Scout), your letters of recommendation, and the Eagle Scout Project report. You submit this binder to the council. The council oversees a region of troops in a certain geographical location. You will then have an interview with them and upon passing that interview, you earn your Eagle Rank.

For some more information on Eagle Scout Rank, the project details, and more helpful tips on how to go about finding an Eagle Scout project I suggest exploring the links below. I hope you find this post to be informative. Thank you!

• The Value of Earning the Eagle Scout Rank

•  How Long Does It Take to Become an Eagle Scout?

•  How To Assemble an Eagle Scout Binder

•  Parent's Guide to Eagle Scouts 

• Projects for Kids Who Are Aspiring Eagle Scouts 

That concludes today's post!