Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 to help girls discover their passions, interests, find adventure, and give back to the community through an array of activities, simultaneously opening their eyes to the world. The highest rank for Girl Scouts is the title of Senior/Ambassador, and these scouts have the opportunity to earn the Gold Award, the highest award possible to achieve as a Girl Scout. This award is attainable by developing and carrying out lasting solutions to issues in their neighborhoods and beyond.
Similarly, the Boy Scouts of America program, founded in 1911, is an organization meant to teach boys how to serve their communities, explore their interests, and make an impact in the world through youth-led activities primarily focusing on outdoor pursuits such as hiking, camping, and volunteering. The Eagle Scout is the highest attainable rank in the Scouts program; it requires dedication and hard work, as well as undergoing a lengthy review process. According to Atlantabsa.org, “To attain the Eagle rank, a Scout must earn at least 21 merit badges, fulfill leadership roles and display outdoor skills, demonstrate by example the Scout Oath and Law, and complete a comprehensive service project in the community.” Only 4% of Boy Scouts ever reach this merit making it extremely prestigious and impressive.
In addition to completing a service project that impacts the community, there are other requirements necessary to attain Eagle Scout status. You need to be active in your troop for at least six months as a Life Scout, demonstrate Scout Spirit, explain how you have lived the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life, and earn a total of 21 merit badges, 14 of which are required and 7 others that are chosen, and participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
This year, ten Boy Scouts earned their Eagle Scouting rank: Leon Taylor, Nick Hendrickson, Hayden Tarr, Logan Goldsmith, Griffin Eisele, Peter Buchmann, Anthony Traficant, Conner Layng, Aiden Mack, and Kevin O’Neil.
For the Girl Scout Gold Award, only four individuals earned this title including Sarah Mainwald, Josie Perretta, Ashley Roughgarden, and Anastasia Milliman.
Nicolas Hendrickson achieved his Eagle Award by restoring a museum room inside the Company One Fire Department in Wyckoff and created a video detailing the history of the Wyckoff Fire Department to promote and educate the public on the origins of the department. His educational video included interviews with former and current members; he also created short audio recordings for specific items within the museum as another effort to educate the public. Nicolas has been in the Boy Scouts for thirteen years starting with Cub Scouts in 1st grade. He completed his Eagle Award within three months; however, the whole process of working towards it took approximately seven years. Nicolas states, “I think the best part about the process was just seeing it all come together by the end, as well as looking back on all of the memories with some of my closest friends.” Boy Scouts is not only an educational organization, it also promotes the creation of close friendships and fosters good relationships, equally as important as learning beneficial skills.
Peter Buchmann transformed an unused, empty courtyard into one with a large labyrinth in the center made out of bricks. This is an area where stressed students can spend time walking the spiritual path, listening to calming music, and doing breathing exercises. He states, “My project took me around 4 months of physical work, but from the start of planning to the approval, to the finished product was about a year.” Peter officially earned his rank on April 3, 2024, at his board of review. Although Peter aged out of Boy Scouts when he turned 18 this year, he continues to stay active in the Troop as an adult.
Kevin O’Neil is from Troop 309 of Wyckoff and his Eagle Scout project entailed the planning, fundraising, constructing, and coordinating of town entities to build a Public Bocce Ball court at Wyckoff Community Park for the community’s citizens. He began planning in March of 2023 with engineering sketches, plans, and computer visualizations of the potential court being exchanged with the Town Engineer and Wyckoff Township Committee. Approval for the project was granted in June. Kevin states, “I spent the summer fundraising and sourcing material donations and funds from multiple clubs, the Wyckoff Department of Public Works, and companies amounting to more than $3,000.” Kevin dedicated a huge portion of his time to working towards the final completion of his Eagle Award status and attained the title during this school year.
Griffin Eisele spent two years working up to his Eagle Rank starting at the end of 2022. Griffin’s Eagle Scout project was located at the Gardens of Wyckoff. He accumulated over 150 hours of community service and had the help of over 30 people to execute the project. Griffin, along with all those who helped him, constructed a seating area and installed a commemorative bench in honor of the park’s late caretaker, Mr. Junta. He also repaired a section of the walking path. Griffin states, “This project taught me the skills required to plan, organize, and mobilize a team of volunteers. I acquired essential financial abilities, such as fundraising and budgeting. I also learned to communicate with several parties, presenting my plan and asking for their assistance.” He just completed his final board of review this past April, finalizing his achievement of the rank of Eagle Scout!
Hayden Tarr has been a part of Boy Scouts for 12 years and spent over 200 hours to complete his Eagle Scout project. He restored and installed new structures at the Historic Zabriskie House in Wyckoff. Hayden installed a 20 foot fieldstone path and restored the fountain at the Zabriskie House which had fallen into disrepair over the past couple years. Hayden says, “Something significant I found was how willing people are to help. So many members of my troop came to help me during my Eagle Scout project and worked so hard to help me finish it.” The whole scouts community revolves around the idea of helping others and being compassionate and Hayden’s experience throughout his project, exemplifies that Boy Scouts live up to those values. Hayden crafted the pathway with stones that specifically matched the pre-existing stone walkway to allow for seamless transitions and even coloration. The Zabriskie fountain had been covered with ivy and filled up with muck and debris so he cleaned it up and resealed the inside of the pond as well as installed a new pump.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest achievement out of three awards; the others are the Bronze Award and Silver Award. To be eligible to achieve the Gold Award, a Girl Scout must complete two Ambassador Journeys or have completed a Silver Award and completed one Ambassador Journey. A Girl Scout accomplishes the Gold Award rank by solving an issue in the community and creating a lasting impact on a global level.
Sarah Mainwald has been an involved member of Girl Scouts since Kindergarten, totaling around 13 years. Her project included the restoration of a local nursery school playground to increase safety and improve the children’s playtime. She states, “It took a few months to get all the new equipment, paint crosswalk lines, and other activities – but they love it!”
Anastasia Milliman educated the community on the issue and importance of Women’s Cardiovascular health. In order to do this, she arranged a presentation at the Wyckoff Ambulance Corps with Dr Josef Macach, a retired cardiologist volunteering at Bergen Valley Medical Initiative, and Isabella Imparato, a member of the ambulance corps. Together, they talked about women’s cardiovascular health and what to do in the situation of a cardiac medical emergency. Anastasia states, “I also curated a book and informational display that was up for the entire month of May at the Wyckoff Public Library.” Her last step was publishing a blog on the American Heart Association website that is now a helpful resource for people looking into this topic from all over the world. She completed her project in around two years and spent over 150 hours working towards her project.
These Ramapo seniors dedicated years to working towards their prestigious Scout Awards, and have created everlasting impacts to the community that are worth recognizing and celebrating. Congratulations to all those who received the Eagle Scout rank and Girl Scout Gold Award!
