Post date: Jun 3, 2018 1:04:43 AM
On behalf of Troop 1657, congratulations are extended to William Jones for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. William becomes the 64th addition to the Troop 1657 Eagle’s nest.
William began his journey as a Cub Scout with Pack 1657. He recalls that one Sunday after service, there was a man, wearing a Boy Scout uniform, at a table with many wooden cars. He spoke with the man and was told about the Pinewood Derby. That was fascinating to him since he loved cars and had many types of Hot Wheels cars, tracks, etc. He joined the Troop and recalls many fond memories of making his first Pinewood Derby car “Bumblebee” that won the 3rd place in his first derby among many others.
William has learned many life skills from activities and camping with the Troop he says will last forever. Some of his favorite merit badges earned were Environmental Science, First Aid, Communications, Emergency Preparedness, Mammal and Reptiles Study, and Personal Management. He says that scouting has helped him to decide on a career path by developing and refining a love for nature and wildlife. As a result, he plans to attend college in the Fall of 2018 where his field of study will be Wildlife with a minor in Animal Behavior with the possibility of earning a Master of Science in Wildlife Biology. His ultimate goal is to become a Wildlife Inspector after graduation and help to preserve our natural resources.
Although William has been very active in the Scouting Program, he has had many outside activities. He has participated in volunteer opportunities within his community to help better the environment such as volunteering at several Prince George’s County Parks and Recreations Centers. During the summer of 2017, he worked as an Animal Care Aid with Prince George’s County Animal Shelter. He was a bit excited and nervous initially (because some of the dogs were pretty big) but he realized that this was an opportunity to obtain experience in a field that he knew would help him with his future career in wildlife. He persevered and was soon able to take care of the animals (regardless of their size).
William has had many leadership opportunities over the past few years. For example, he served as one of the group leaders for the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership program and at the Kairos Religious Retreat. He credits the training that he received at Impeesa as being a cornerstone of his success in those areas. He is also the recipient of the 2018 Archbishop John Carroll Medal. He received this prestigious award for his leadership, character traits, spirit, sports participation and other extracurricular activities.
William shows initiative in everything that he does and strives to do a good job and/or give his best effort at all times. Although he is soft-spoken and reserved, internally, he possesses an inner strength and a tremendous amount of compassion. His friendly attitude, continuous kindness, and sympathy for others led him to identify a need within his community that he was determined to help to rectify.
William completed his Eagle Scout Service Project by collecting hygienic products for men at a homeless shelter. William spent weeks planning and organizing a toiletries products drive and in the process of doing so, he was able to educate both his peers, and even his mentors, that there are many less fortunate people within our society that have unfulfilled needs of which food and shelter are common and well understood but hygiene and self-respect should be also included in that list.
William collected, processed and donated over 1100 toiletry items to the Father McKenna Center. He strongly believes that “men should have dignity in their own appearance”. And, his project was able to make a small change in the life of someone that may have a tremendous lasting effect.
William has stated that “Scouting means so much to me because it has helped shape my character and built my confidence.” In that same vein, it has been a pleasure getting to know William and watching him grow into the man who he is today. I have no doubt that he will continue to make valuable contributions to his community as he exhibits the principles inherent in the Scout Oath and Law.
Once again, congratulations to Eagle Scout William Jones and family.