Last week, the Ketchikan School Board recognized three students who earned their Eagle Scout awards.
Superintendent Robert Boyle commended Carson Anderson, Jacob King and Brent Taylor for their achievements.
“From a superintendent’s perspective, it’s just nice to see young men that are so willing to give back to the community already,” he said.
Anderson’s project was to improve landscaping at Fawn Mountain Elementary School. That work included removing invasive weeds and trash from the grounds.
King coordinated activities to help children who are sheltered and cared for through the Starbright Foundation, which works with abused children. King collected supplies for children in the foundation’s program.
Taylor worked with the local Women in Safe Homes emergency shelter for victims of domestic 
violence. He coordinated efforts to make personal hygiene kits, and children’s activities kits for people who have arrived at the shelter needing basic supplies.
School Board Member Diane Gubatayao is also a WISH board member.
“The hygiene packets – those are so important to people who have been displaced suddenly,” she said. “And he did them for the children, too, so it was really special.”
One of the three Eagle Scouts, Carson Anderson, was able to attend the School Board meeting. He told the Board that earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a big step, and working toward that achievement provides useful skills that they each will use later in life.
“What we had to do to get those skills, we had to use what we learned in school,” he said. “Where we would be is nowhere if we didn’t have a good place to learn and prepare ourselves for this. It takes a lot. I was surprised, actually, how much the school system was a help.”
Eagle Scout is the highest rank a scout can achieve in the Boy Scouts program. About 5 percent of all Boy Scouts earn the Eagle Scout rank, according to the National Eagle Scout Association.
