As per West Ridge Academy, receiving the Eagle Scout is the highest rank that can be bestowed by the Boy Scouts of America. To be awarded such an honor, one must accomplish exemplary achievements not only in the field of scouting but also with community service, as well as demonstrate endearing qualities in leadership, organization, management, commitment, among others.
Dedication and commitment are required from an aspiring scout as it is never easy to become an Eagle Scout. Among the requirements are the completion of 21 merit badges, constant demonstration of the scouting spirit, as well as a leadership role in school, church, or community projects. Upon completion of the above mentioned requirements, the aspiring scout will be endorsed to a board of review which will deliberate if he can be given the Eagle Scout award or not.
Some of the talents asked of an aspiring Eagle Scout are: camping, first aid, family life, personal fitness, personal management, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communications, emergency preparedness or lifesaving, environmental science, and cycling or hiking or swimming.
Since its inception in 1912, only an estimated 2% of all those who enter the Boy Scouts program will be awarded the prestigious Eagle Scout award. In light of this, the fact that West Ridge Academy has produced 60 Eagle Scout awardees in the past five years alone makes their achievement all the more impressive.
West Ridge Academy is an accredited therapeutic boarding school which helps troubled teens and develops them into becoming positive members of the community through the indoctrination of the school’s spiritual and moral values which leads to a real change of heart, and not just a change of behavior among its students.
On top of their scouting program, West Ridge Academy is also active with other methods to treat physical, emotional and spiritual concerns of teens and their families such as sports, academics and other important activities.
Because of their training as an example for the other scouts, many Eagle Scout recipients become accomplished leaders in their respective fields later on in life.
Some of the outstanding Eagle Scout recipients who went on to make a mark for themselves in their respective careers were: Nobel Prize laureates Dudley Herschbach, Peter Agre, Robert Coleman Richardson and Frederick Reines; Neil Armstrong and forty other astronauts, including 10 of the 11 Apollo mission astronauts who have set foot on the moon; businessmen Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart), J.W. Marriott, Jr. (Marriott International Hotels CEO), and Michael Bloomberg (founder of the Bloomberg media conglomerate); American President Gerald Ford; Academy Award-winning film makers Michael Moore and Steven Spielberg, among others.
Considering the pace that West Ridge Academy has been producing Eagle Scouts during the past five years, it wouldn’t be a far-fectched idea if we would see one of their alumni make it to this elite list in the next few years.