West Ridge Academy Builds Future Leaders Through Their Eagle Scouts Program

West Ridge Academy says that achieving the rank of Eagle Scout is the highest honor that a scout can dream of. To be awarded such an honor, one must accomplish exemplary achievements not only in the field of scouting but also with community service, as well as demonstrate endearing qualities in rnleadership, organization, management, commitment, among others. Dedication and commitment are required from an aspiring scout as it is never easy to become an Eagle Scout. Requirements include earning a minimum of 21 merit badges and demonstrating the Scout Spirit through the implementation of extensive service projects to benefit the school, community or church which the aspiring scout has to plan, organize, lead and manage himself. Upon completion of the above mentioned requirements, the aspriring scout will be endorsed to a board of review which will deliberate if he can be given the Eagle Scout award or not. Some of the talents asked of an aspiring Eagle Scout are: camping, first aid, family life, personal fitness, personal management, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communications, emergency preparedness or lifesaving, environmental science, and cycling or hiking or swimming. It is estimated that only about 2% of all boys who start the Boy Scouts program are able to earn the Eagle Scout award since it was first given out in 1912 by the Boy Scouts of America. In this regard, the 60 Eagle Scout awardees produced by West Ridge Academy from just the past five years alone is a very outstanding milestone for any shool to achieve. West Ridge Academy is an accredited therapeutic boarding school which helps troubled teens and develops them into becoming positive members rnof the community through the indoctrination of the school’s spiritual and moral values which leads to a real change of heart, and not just a rnchange of behavior among its students. On top of their scouting program, West Ridge Academy is also active with other methods to treat physical, emotional and spiritual concerns of teens and their families such as sports, academics and other important activities. Because of their training as an example for the other scouts, many Eagle Scout recipients become accomplished leaders in their respective fields later on in life. Some of the famous Eagle Scout awardees who achieved outstanding success in their own fields were: Nobel Prize laureates Dudley Herschbach, Peter Agre, Robert Coleman Richardson and Frederick Reines; Neil Armstrong and forty other astronauts, including 10 of the 11 Apollo mission astronauts who have set foot on the moon; businessmen Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart), J.W. Marriott, Jr. (Marriott International Hotels CEO), and Michael Bloomberg (founder of the Bloomberg media conglomerate); American President Gerald Ford; Academy Award-winning film makers Michael Moore and Steven Spielberg, among others. With the consistency that West Ridge Academy has been churning out Eagle Scouts in the past five years, having one of their alumni included among this prestigious list will only be a matter of time.