Senior Adam McDonald has earned several titles during his high school experience: tennis player, baseball player, violinist, Mr. NHS and – since August – Eagle Scout.
McDonald joined Cub Scouts in first grade and Boy Scouts in sixth and has been involved with the programs since.
“It started out as something my dad signed me up for. I was young, so basically I had no idea what it was, but I made a lot of friends,” McDonald said. “I met a really good group of guys and grew up with them, so I just stayed.”
McDonald earned his Eagle Scout in August, with the official ceremony this January. McDonald had to complete community service work, earn merit badges and finish his own project, which he completed last summer.
“At the end you basically design and carry out this community service project,” McDonald said. “So I built a brick walkway for Faust Park. I designed that, figured out how I was going to build it and then got some younger scouts to build it under my supervision.”
McDonald said he learned many valuable skills through his community service, projects and through his time in Scouts.
“A lot of the stuff is just stuff that you wouldn’t expect to come in handy, you know, lifesaving and survival skills,” he said. “It’s just something that’s really nice to have because if something were to happen, I’d know exactly what to do.”
Through Boy Scouts, McDonald also engages in many other activities.
“My favorite part is probably when we go camping with the guys,” he said. “We do rock climbing, rappelling, go to Army bases sometimes,” McDonald said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
McDonald said being an Eagle Scout looks impressive on college résumés as well, which benefited him in his college search.  After graduation, McDonald plans to attend Lawrence University in Wisconsin to study economics.