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 a recipient of the award, the student must show undeniable qualities in leadership, organization, commitment and management while demonstrating excellence in scouting and community service projects.
An aspiring scout must be doggedly determined to reach his goal to become an Eagle Scout as it is not an easy feat to do. Some of the prerequisites are 21 Boy Scout merit badges, and scout spirit excellence through an active and personal involvement in school, church or community-based service projects. Upon completion of the above mentioned requirements, the aspriring scout will be endorsed to a board of review which will deliberate if he can be given the Eagle Scout award or not.
Among the many skills required of an Eagle Scout applicant 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 the award was introduced in 1912 by the Boy Scouts of America, only an estimated 2% of all boys who start the Boy Scouts program
actually attain the rank of Eagle Scout. In view of this, West Ridge Academy’s production of 60 Eagle Scout recipients in the past five years alone is a remarkable achievement.
West Ridge Academy is a duly recognized boarding school dedicated to helping troubled teens and mold them into positive individuals by teaching them the school’s moral and spiritual values designed to introduce inner and lasting change and not just outward or temporary change in their 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.
Among the notable Eagle Scout awardees who achieved great feats in their respective fields 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.