Saluting the familiar signal, seniors Josh Carrasco and Gunnar Lamb, junior Bobby De La Rosa and senior Brian Fleming are members of Boycouts of America. After completing a service project and S years spent in different Scout levels, the Eagle Scout is the highest ranking a Scout can achieve. photo by Briana Sanchez

Story by Sabrina Nunez

He stands perfectly straight with an olive green sash holding a total of 21 merit badges.

Seven years and hundreds of hours have contributed to the final ceremony.

“On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight,” senior Gunnar Lamb recites.

But the process of becoming an Eagle Scout goes far beyond recitations.

As part of the Boy Scouts organization, scouts are required to complete a service project to elevate themselves to Eagle Scout status.

Spending years building up to become an Eagle, senior Josh Carrasco created a new volleyball court from the ground up at Lee & Beulah Moor Children’s Home during the summer of 2007.

“The Eagle Scout Project is like an ordeal to fully prove that we are capable to perform our duties as a Boy Scout and fully demonstrate morals within our scout oath and motto,” Carrasco said.

Led by an experienced Scoutmaster, Boy Scouts receive advice and evaluations to help them complete their projects.

“The purpose of the Eagle Scout project is to give the Boy Scout the opportunity to demonstrate his leadership ability by conceptualizing, planning and leading a large-scale community service-oriented project,” Scoutmaster Leon Sikora said.

For nearly 15 years, Sikora has participated in projects that range from making quilts for a battered women’s shelter to teaching elementary school children safety and repair skills.

“Projects typically fall into one of two categories: 1) building or improving something like a trail, park or a building and 2) providing goods and services to a non-profit organization like a homeless shelter, a crisis center or a community organization,” Sikora said.

Influenced by his family and friends, senior Brian Fleming joined Boy Scouts six years ago. Fleming completed his project Nov. 22, 2008. His project consisted of cleaning and re-landscaping an RV parking lot at the Franklin Mountains State Park.

“I got to the park with about 25 other scouts and volunteers at 7:00 a.m.,” Fleming said. “Everyone was willing to work and have fun. I walked around and made sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to.”

Having experienced trouble finding a project, Lamb will be doing his project for Frank Manning Little League. Lamb works as an umpire at FMLL and wants make the fields regulation size, giving the players the ability to compete on the same level with other teams around the city.

“My first [project] was a motorcycle rally to raise money for people who don’t have money for school supplies,” Lamb said. “Then I was going to do blankets and stuffed animals for kids with cancer, but you had to ask people to buy brand new, store-bought stuff and I thought that it would be too much for me to go around asking people to buy brand new blankets and teddy bears to be given to children that needed it, and that’s how I came to this one.”

The process for completion of Eagle Scout projects requires between 50 to 100 hours of work and a committee’s consent.

“Once a Boy Scout comes up with an idea for a project, he has to complete a detailed written plan that must be approved,” Sikora said. “These approvals usually happen two to four weeks before the day of the project so the Boy Scout has ample time to organize the volunteers, tools, supplies, materials, etc. necessary to complete the project.”

A member for 11 years, junior Bobby De La Rosa is fusing together school and Boy Scouts by working on his project through his independent study class.

“In this course, students design and complete a project in an area that interests them,” De La Rosa said. “Having the time to work on this project as part of my class work will motivate me to produce a quality product.”

De La Rosa’s project is set for mid-January and will be done at the Child Crisis Center of El Paso. De La Rosa says he will be repairing the fencing around their play area and constructing a charcoal grill in the form of a brick fire pit.

“When selecting a project, I chose the Child Crisis Center because family violence is very prevalent in El Paso,” De La Rosa said.

De La Rosa believes his dedication to Scouting will assist him in the future and demonstrate his abilities to remain devoted.

“The project has been developing for such a long time that I think it will be very fulfilling to have finished it,” De La Rosa said. “My project will not only be helpful in things such as college applications and job interviews, but also in validating the years and effort that I have invested in Scouting.”

Although it’s been years, Carrasco reflects on his process and final product with pride.

“Out of [my project, I got] camaraderie with other scouts, a new perspective of how things were done and a sense of fulfillment in achieving something that took so much effort and time,” Carrasco said. “I can go back to this day to the project site and proudly say I was able to get this done. If it wasn’t for the mentorship that was offered from the troop and my household, I probably wouldn’t have had such a strong sense of determination to get it done within the time span of how fast I did it.”