The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

Search site

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts strive to achieve the highest honors

Boy+Scouts+and+Girl+Scouts+strive+to+achieve+the+highest+honors
Photos by Kimmy Gebbia

For the past one hundred years, boys and girls have taken part in organizations that celebrate the community and promote charity through Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Ever since then, millions of scouts have achieved the highest ranks according to their scouting organizations’ standards.

“I do it [Boy Scouts] because I like giving back and helping others,” said Jake Powell, senior, Eagle Scout.

Girl Scouts spend the majority of their young lives going from one level of scouting to another, starting with Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors, and finally, Ambassador Scouts usually as juniors and seniors in high school. Girl Scouts can obtain high honor awards such as Bronze, Silver, and the highest, the Gold Award.

Boy Scouts go through ranks: Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and finally the highest, Eagle Scout, while remaining in their age group in Cub Scouts: Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos and Arrow of Light, then becoming a Boy Scout.

During one’s high school career, scouts may choose an issue that they are interested in that needs change or improvement. The scout’s goal is then to achieve that change on some level.

“Before my project, they [Swift Creek Elementary School] only had trash cans and no recycling bins, so my project provided them a recycling service that will help the environment and the community,” said Powell.

In order to achieve the highest rank, Boy Scouts must have gone through the previous ranks, have twenty-one distinct merit badges, have six months experience in a leadership position in their troop, be a part of a Scoutmaster conference, complete the Eagle Scout board of review and complete a service project for a religious organization or a school, while also learning something to take them throughout their life’s journey.

“I hope to learn a lot of leadership skills, and time management,” said Kimmy Gebbia, junior, who is currently working towards her Gold Award.

In order for a Girl Scout to earn the gold award, she must choose an issue that interests them, make a plan to make a change in the issue, then act on their plan. The project recommends at least eighty hours of service invested in the project.

“Before thinking about submitting a proposal, I had to complete an interactive book, called a ‘Journey,’ which centers around a theme such as Justice or Women Empowerment. Once I completed my journey, I had to come up with an idea for the project, find an advisor, and then fill out a proposal,” said Gebbia.

To complete his highest rank as a scout, the Eagle Scout Award, Powell chose to help a local elementary school be aware of how to keep their environment clean.

“I completed an Eagle Scout Project where I cleaned up a local elementary school. I cleaned Swift Creek Elementary School and also built a trash can/recycling bin for them,” said Powell.

During his project, Powell learned to get past many challenges that he encountered.

“The most challenging part was keeping everything organized. You had to fill out a lot of paperwork and I would sometimes lose information. The most challenging part of the service project was keeping everyone informed,” said Powell.

Though he was challenged, Powell took a lesson from the service project.

“I learned to keep everything organized. It helps a lot and it makes everything run smoothly,” said Powell.

Gebbia’s project is focused on the environment as well.

“My project is about native plants. I plan to add native plants and plaques to the outdoor learning center at Athens. I chose native plants because native plants have always been an interest of mine,” said Gebbia.

Gebbia describes how her project will focus on providing native plant species in North Carolina so that native species of butterflies will have a habitat that best suits the species.  

“I’m a huge advocate for the environment, and native plants are very important to native species. Many native species require specific native plants to lay their eggs. Species like the monarch butterfly are dying out because often people plant the nonnative butterfly bush rather than the native milkweed,” said Gebbia.
Gebbia explains what may happen if the issue remains unchanged and hopes that her message will reach high school students.

“As more nonnative plants are planted, native species shrink, and eventually we may have to pollinate fruits and flowers ourselves,” said Gebbia.

While the high honors that can be earned can be rewarding for the recipients despite the challenges, the scouting experience itself helps scouts experience fun experiences with other scouts on troop outings.

“The best thing is camping trips. I have good camping trips. Camping out with your troop is so fun and you make great memories,” Powell said.

More to Discover
Donate to ATHENS ORACLE
$0
$500
Contributed
Our Goal