Advancement and Service as an Eagle Scout

1. Advancement and Service as an Eagle Scout - Eagle Education Experience - EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

2. This presentation is designed to assist Scouts, parents and Scout leaders with the Eagle Scout advancement process and leadership-capability enhancement. The Theodore Roosevelt Council of the Boy Scouts of America offers the Eagle Education Experience to empower Eagle Scout candidates with knowledge, skills and abilities that they can use to achieve the Eagle Scout rank, become stronger leaders and more effectively accomplish noble goals. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

3. Eagle is Not the End When a true Eagle Scout achieves the Eagle Scout rank, his path of leadership advancement and service to others does not end. Eagle Scouts can: • continue to provide service to the Scouting community and remain involved in Scouting; • use their Eagle Scout rank for various productive purposes for colleges and other higher educational institutions; • use their Eagle Scout ranks for various productive purposes for internships and jobs; and • pursue further leadership opportunities and leadership skills development opportunities with other organizations. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

4. The Eagle Scout Palms Eagle Scouts who are less than 18 years of age can earn Eagle Scout Palms, which are awards (but not ranks) recognizing: • additional service in Scouting; • an Eagle Scout’s further demonstration of his leadership skills and development of those skills; and • earning additional elective merit badges beyond the eight electives that were part of the 21 merit badges that the Eagle Scout indicated on his Eagle Scout Rank Application. • Each Eagle Palm requires at least three monthsof service in a Scout unit, a unit leader conference and a Board of Review conducted by the Eagle Scout’s unit (A Board of Review for an Eagle Scout Palm does not need to involve participation by district personnel, unlike the Eagle Scout Board of Review). EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

5. The Eagle Scout Palms • Each Eagle Palm requires attainment of five elective merit badges. • An Eagle Scout does not need to earn these merit badges after becoming an Eagle Scout for them to be counted for Eagle Palms (badges he earned before earning the Eagle rank can be used for palms.) • If an Eagle Scout earned multiple merit badges within one of the three series of Eagle-required merit badge options, he can count an Eagle-required merit badge option that he did not include on the Eagle Scout Rank Application as an elective badge for an Eagle Palm. • For example, if an Eagle Scout earned Emergency Preparedness and Lifesaving and included Emergency Preparedness but not Lifesaving on the Eagle Scout Rank Application, he can count Lifesaving as one of the five merit badges that enable him to earn an Eagle Palm. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

6. The Eagle Scout Palms • There are three colors of Eagle Palms (the palms are metal pins): • The Bronze Palm can be earned by Eagle Scouts who are active in their Scouting unit for at least three months after the date they became an Eagle Scout (the date of their Eagle Board of Review) and who earned at least five merit badges beyond the 21 indicated on their Eagle Scout Rank Application. • The Gold Palm can be earned by Eagle Scouts with a Bronze Palm who are active in their Scouting unit for at least three months after the date they earned the Bronze Palm (the date of their Board of Review for the Bronze Palm) and who earned at least another five merit badges beyond those counted for the Bronze Palm. • The Silver Palm can be earned by Eagle Scouts who are active in their Scouting unit for at least three months after the date they earned the Gold Palm (the date of their Board of Review for the Gold Palm) and who earned at least another five merit badges beyond those counted for the Gold Palm. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

7. The Eagle Scout Palms • For an Eagle Scout to earn all three colors of Eagle Palm, there must be at least nine months between the date of his Eagle Board of Review and the date of his 18th birthday and he must have earned at least 36 merit badges (the 21 he indicated on his Eagle Scout Rank Application, plus five for each color of palm). • After an Eagle Scout earns a Silver Palm, he can earn additional Eagle Palms. The cycle of palm colors restarts after each Silver Palm, and the color order of the first cycle is replicated for later cycles. • For example, a fourth palm would be bronze, a fifth would be gold, a sixth would be silver, a seventh would be bronze and so forth. • Each additional palm requires at least three months of active service in a troop under the age of 18 after the date of the Board of Review for the previous palm and at least five more merit badges to have been earned. • On average, rounded up, Eagle Scouts earn one Eagle Palm (the rounded average would be higher if each Eagle Scout had as many Boards of Review for Eagle Palms as he could in the time remaining before his 18th Birthday.) How many will YOU earn? EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

8. The Eagle Scout Palms The Board of Review for an Eagle Scout’s final Eagle Palm can be conducted after his 18th birthday if before his 18th birthday he completed all other requirements for that palm. Eagle Scouts who are Venturers can earn Eagle Palms through a Venturing Crew or a Sea Scout Ship. After an Eagle Scout passes a Board of Review for an Eagle Palm, an Eagle Scout Palm Application (BSA Pub. 58-709) must be completed and submitted to the council office for an Eagle Scout to earn the Eagle Palm. The application should be physically delivered, and the Eagle Scout should acquire a receipt for its delivery. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

9. The Scouting Opportunities Beyond In addition to earning Eagle Palms, if an Eagle Scout is still a youth in a troop of the Boy Scouts of America (under 18 years of age), he can: • serve as a member of the senior youth leadership corps, or as a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster. • serve as a strong role model for younger Scouts, encouraging them and training them to: • complete the Eagle Scout Service Project in an efficient and productive manner (Eagle Scouts can serve as Eagle Project coaches) • accomplish other requirements in the path to becoming an Eagle Scout; • become stronger leaders. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

10. Youth Opportunities Beyond Troops While youth in troops are considered to be those who are not yet 18 years of age, youth in some other aspects of Scouting are considered to be those who are not yet 21 years of age: • Venturing crews (coed, youth from 14-20); • Sea Scout ships (part of venturing); and • the Order of the Arrow (youth up to 20; must be elected by troop). • Scouts at least 15 years of age can join the staff of a Scout summer camp, and those at least 18 years of age can be a manager at a Scout summer camp (also, those age 14 can be counselors in training.) • Eagle Scouts also can join the National Eagle Scout Association and become active in their local chapter of the association. • There are additional leadership roles and advancement honors that Eagle Scouts can achieve as youth in these other aspects of Scouting. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

11. Venturing Opportunities for Youth • There are four youth levels of advancement for venturing, known as awards instead of ranks: • Venturing Award • Discovery Award • Pathfinder Award • Summit Award (the highest award for Venturing ) • As with the Eagle Scout award, the Summit Award is one that is intended to recognize strong leadership expertise. • 5) The Quartermaster Award is the highest rank of Sea Scouting, a part of Venturing. • Venturing offers additional unit leadership opportunities. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

12. Order of the Arrow Opportunities Youth and adults can become members of the Order of the Arrow, which is the official honor society of the BSA. The purpose of service with the Order of the Arrow is to enhance the quality of leadership in the Scouting community, to enable Scout camps and other aspects of Scouting to benefit from advanced leadership and camping skills gained through involvement with the OA and to enable communities across the U.S. to further benefit from Scouts’ efforts. There are three levels of membership in the Order of the Arrow: • Ordeal (introductory, youth elected by at least half of peers in Scout unit; adults nominated by unit committee and confirmed by lodge) • Brotherhood (at least 10 months as an Ordeal member and pass a test of commitment to the ideals of the OA) • Vigil Honor (selected by peers in local OA lodge after at least two years of service as a Brotherhood member; selection based on service to the lodge, broader Scouting and to communities in general) EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

13. Serving on Scout Camp Staff One of the best opportunities available for Scouts after the opening years of their Scouting careers is to be a member of a Scout Camp staff, such as Onteora Scout Reservation of the Theodore Roosevelt Council. As a member of a Scout camp staff, you would have the opportunity to counsel Scouts in learning valuable life skills while having a ton of fun with fellow staff. You will become a much stronger Scout, and more importantly a much stronger overall leader, through serving on a Scout camp staff. To be a member of a Scout camp staff, you must be at least 15 years of age. You can be a manager at a Scout camp if you are at least 18 years of age, although some upper-level management positions require those who serve to be at least 21 years of age. Scouts who are at least 14 years of age can be counselors-in-training (CITs), in preparation for fully becoming members of a Scout camp staff. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

14. National Eagle Scout Association The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) is an alumni association network of Eagle Scouts, and each Scout council has a NESA chapter. NESA chapters provide Eagle Scouts with: • opportunities to coordinate with fellow Eagle Scouts efforts to enhance the Scouting programs of their council; and • professional networking opportunities with fellow members of their NESA chapter and with Eagle Scouts who are members of other NESA chapters. • NESA chapters significantly vary regarding the frequency of their meetings. The Theodore Roosevelt Council’s NESA chapter, the Arthur R. Eldred Chapter, conducts meetings at least bimonthly. • There are four membership options for NESA. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

15. National Eagle Scout Association The four membership options for NESA are: • Introductory Membership • Eagle Scouts can apply for Introductory Membership within six months of their Eagle Scout Board of Review. Introductory Membership enables an Eagle Scout to be a member of NESA up to age 23 and is associated with the lowest membership fee among the membership options. • Five-year NESA Membership • Lifetime Membership • Conversion from Five-year Membership to Lifetime Membership • One can join NESA using forms accessible online at www.nesa.org/membership.html. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

16. Serving as an Adult in the BSA Eagle Scouts can reciprocate the time and effort spent on enabling them to become strong leaders by enabling others to become strong leaders. Adult Eagle Scouts can further serve the Scouting community as: • Unit leaders (volunteers) • Unit committee members (volunteers) • Merit badge counselors (volunteers) • Members of Scout camp staff (usually paid) • Members of district committees (usually volunteers) • Members of council committees (usually volunteers) • Professional Scout staff (paid) EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

17. Serving as an Adult in the BSA The Boy Scouts of America Adult Application (BSA Pub. 524-501) is accessible online at: www.scouting.org/forms.aspx. • Among the information that must be provided on the form are three references who can attest to your qualifications. These individuals do not need to be affiliated with Scouting, although their affiliation is preferable. • As with references listed on the Eagle Scout Rank Application and applications for colleges, jobs and other endeavors, you should individuals you want to list as references as a courtesy to them and so that they can be prepared to speak on your behalf. • If you want to volunteer as a merit badge counselor, you must contact the dean of merit badges for your BSA district, identify the merit badges you would like to counsel and your qualifications for being able to sufficiently counsel those badges. • Unlike other adult volunteer positions, there is no registration fee for serving as a merit badge counselor. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

18. Serving as an Adult in the BSA The minimum age for serving in certain adult volunteer positions is 18 and for others is 21. Those at least 18 years of age can serve as assistant unit leaders (such as assistant scoutmasters), merit badge counselors and as certain managers at Scout camps. To serve in any other adult volunteer capacity, a volunteer must be at least 21 years of age. To be an adult volunteer who has fulfilled minimum training requirements, one must complete Boy Scout Leader Specific Training (BSLST) and Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS). One also must have current Youth Protection Training certification. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

19. Applications to College Eagle Scouts who indicate in resumes sent to colleges to which they are applying that they have earned the Eagle Scout rank often can enhance: • their chance of being accepted by those colleges for their programs of choice; and • the amount of merit scholarship money they might achieve. • Colleges often recognize the leadership excellence of the Eagle Scout award and want those who have earned it to enhance their institutions. • Some colleges have scholarship money devoted specifically to Eagle Scouts. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

20. College Scholarships for Eagle Scouts The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) annually grants numerous college scholarships to Eagle Scouts. • Each year, NESA receives about 5,000 applications for college scholarships and about 250 are awarded. • There are two types of scholarships awarded by the national NESA Scholarship Committee: • Academic scholarships (In 2014, they vary from $2,500 to $50,000) • Eligibility: Eagle Scouts graduating high school or those whose Eagle Board of Review was conducted in the year they graduated from high school. • Merit scholarships (In 2014, they each are for $1,000) • Eligibility: Same as for academic scholarships, except Eagle Scouts who are undergraduate college students who have not yet completed their Junior year also can apply. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

21. College Scholarships for Eagle Scouts Information with regard to applying for NESA’s academic and merit scholarships is available online through the Scholarships tab of NESA’s website (www.nesa.org/). • Within the Scholarships tab, there are six options, of which the first four are related to NESA’s academic and merit scholarships. • The NESA Scholarships option elaborates upon the requirements for the academic and merit scholarships • The NESA Scholarship Applications option provides information for applying for NESA’s academic and merit scholarships for the upcoming academic year. The applications can be submitted only online, and must be submitted through https://nesa.academicworks.com/. • The NESA Scholarships FAQ option provides answers to frequently asked questions about applying for NESA’s academic and merit scholarships for the upcoming academic year. • The fourth option identifies Eagle Scouts who most recently earned NESA’s academic and merit scholarships. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

22. College Scholarships for Eagle Scouts The fifth option accessible through the Scholarships tab of NESA’s website, Other Eagle Scout Scholarships, enables Eagle Scouts to access information regarding scholarships specifically for Eagle Scouts granted by the BSA’s national religious committees, civic and military organizations and academic institutions. • This assortment of scholarships specifically for Eagle Scouts offered by organizations other than NESA is not a thorough list, and merely represents a list of well-known opportunities. • NESA’s list of Eagle Scout scholarships granted by the BSA’s national religious committees is accessible at: www.nesa.org/religious.html. • NESA’s list of Eagle Scout scholarships granted by civic and military organizations is accessible at: www.nesa.org/civic.html. • NESA’s list of Eagle Scout scholarships granted by academic institutions and organizations affiliated with academic institutions is accessible at: www.nesa.org/institutions.html. • The sixth option provides details on My College Options, a planning service. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

23. College Scholarships for Eagle Scouts Some local chapters of NESA also offer scholarships. For example, the Arthur R. Eldred Chapter of NESA affiliated with the Theodore Roosevelt Council has a scholarship available to Eagle Scouts. Information on that scholarship is available from the TRC office. Some local religious and civic organizations offer scholarships specifically for Eagle Scouts, as do some businesses. Eagle Scouts can check with organizations other than Scouting organizations with which they or their family members are involved to determine whether additional scholarship opportunities are available. There are some scholarships not specifically for Eagle Scouts but for which indicating that one is an Eagle Scout can improve one’s chances of acquiring those scholarships. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

24. Service in College – Alpha Phi Omega The Boy Scouts of America is affiliated with a coed community service fraternity known as Alpha Phi Omega (APO). There are more than 300 APO chapters in the United States, more than 250 in the Philippines and one in Australia. Eagle Scouts often are influential in APO chapters because of their leadership expertise. A list of colleges with APO chapters is accessible at: www.apo.org/Member/ChapterLocator?display=list Many Scouts become members of APO, although one does not need to have been a Scout to join. Many of the fraternity’s traditions are similar or the same as those of the Boy Scouts of America (pledge initiates, for example, need to know the 12 points of the Scout Law to become brothers of the fraternity). EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

25. Service in College – Epsilon Tau Pi A relatively new fraternity comprised solely of Eagle Scouts, Epsilon Tau Pi, has had a presence on about 10 college campuses and is endeavoring to expand to additional college campuses. Epsilon Tau Pi is seeking the help of Eagle Scouts to work with fellow Eagle Scouts to start chapters of the fraternity at additional college campuses across the United States. Chapters of the fraternity focus on community service, camping and general fellowship among Eagle Scouts. A list of active chapters is available at epsilontaupi.org/cms/index.php/locations. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

26. Eagle Scouts in the Workforce Much of one’s success in life involves interpersonal connections, and the network of Eagle Scouts is broad across the United States and also is a global network. Many Eagle Scouts hire fellow Eagle Scouts because they recognize the value of their mutual leadership excellence and kindred experiences. Even some managers who were not personally involved in the Boy Scouts of America recognize the leadership excellence of Eagle Scouts and choose to hire them because of their demonstrated resource management skills. On resumes for college and work, one could list the Eagle Scout rank in a section titled “Leadership” or “Volunteer Leadership.” You can identify that the Eagle Scout rank is a certification of leadership and personnel management expertise. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

27. Defenders of Freedom Many Eagle Scouts choose to serve as members of the United States Armed Forces. The main four aspects of the Armed Forces are the: • U.S. Army • U.S. Navy • U.S. Air Force • U.S. Coast Guard • Based on the way these services evaluate entrants, Eagle Scouts often can have higher starting positions and salaries than their fellow entrants. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

28. Defenders of Freedom An Eagle Scout also can help enhance the quality of American life by serving as a: • member of the U.S. Armed Forces reserves; • firefighter; • police officer; • teacher; • doctor; • emergency medical technician (EMT); • scientist; • government services administrator; or • elected representative. • There are many other positions that Eagle Scouts can pursue and that involve working to enhance the quality of life of U.S. citizens. EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA

29. Discussion and Questions EAGLE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE – ONTEORA SCOUT RESERVATION, TRC BSA