Life after Eagle...

[ismellbacon]

My son and I were discussing what he could do after making Eagle Scout. He is 1 MB from Life and is 13yrs old. I am not pushing him to earn his Eagle quickly, but as active as he is, he could very well end up making Eagle before he turns 15.

He asked me what there is to do after Eagle... I told him to look into it, and gave him some ideas (i.e. the National Outdoor Medal, Venturing, keep progressing in Order of the Arrow).

I know that most people will say things like:
He should wait to get Eagle until he is around 17, or
He should give back to the troop and take on more leadership responsibilty, or
Join a Venturing Crew and work on the Ranger Award or what-have-you, or
Become more involved in OA, or
Just have fun and hang out...

Knowing him, he will probably do most of the above items (besides wait), but I was wondering if anyone has any other ideas that their older, more gung-ho, scouts work on to keep them interested and to have something to strive for...

On a side note, my troop has a pretty strong outdoor program and are always looking for new opportunities for the scouts to keep them active and interested. I know that a lot of troops rarely see their Eagle Scouts and we want to help keep ours interested.

Thanks for the input in advance!

[Quailman]

Any time that I am asked, I recommend earning a Hornaday Medal, especially if a youth has an interest in conservation. For a Silver Medal, he would need to earn certain meritbadges and complete four projects. The first project can be submitted for a Hornaday Badge. It can also double as his Eagle project.

More details can be found at scouting.org. There's also a great guidebook from the Northern Star Council here: http://www.northernstarbsa.org/Forms/Ad ... debook.pdf

There's also the National Outdoor Award. I don't know too much about it, but you can find it at scouting.org also.

And you may hear the wait-until-17 remark in your troop, but not from anyone who posts here.

[Mrw]

I would like to see a few of the barely 13 Eagles wait a little longer and need less guidance and help from Mom to get things rushed through. For your son though, he is right about where mine was and he was mature enough to do the project himself. I personally rather like seeing Eagles young enough to earn palms and other awards while they actually get to wear that Eagle on their shirts.

Our newest Eagle will be spending two weeks on staff at the Council's NYLT program this summer. Camp staff is also an option. Our oldest is working on a National Outdoor Award for camping and trying to document the 125 nights for the highest level.

Really anything he wants to do as enrichment to either work with or participate in that will help or inspire younger boys would be fine. As long as HE wants to do it and is having fun. (Otherwise, what's the point?)
He might be the ideal scout to head up a patrol of guys to do more high adventure stuff than the younger guys can do. Some will tell you that should be with a Venture Crew, but it all depends on what is available and active in your community.

[Nuts4Scouts]

Remind him that making Eagle is not the purpose, or end, of Scouting.

Most of the things that he can do "after Eagle", he can do right now.

It all depends on what HE is interested in. What HE wants to do.

Have HIM research other awards he can work on, and decide which, if any, interest him.

Have HIM research what kind of volunteer opportunities there are that might interest him. Note - You do not have to be a Den Chief ONLY for the advancement hours! OA has some GREAT opportunities that combine service and fun.

Have HIM look into unit/council/national trips that interest him.

National now offers more training opportunities to youth. Have your son do some research to see what is offered by council/national that he might be interested in taking.

Scouting has a lot to offer. Have your son do some research and find out what HE wants to do.

[ismellbacon]

Thanks for the replies thus far!

[jr56]

Yup, it is pretty much wide open for him. Hornaday Award, Youth Religious Award, Eagle Palms, plus all the other things that were mentioned, like camp staff, training opportunities, etc..........

[smtroop168]

Or he can spend his time on scouting forums making random comments.

[Quailman]

I saw an article today about a scout who earned all the merit badges. So there's something else to work on.

[FrankJ]

Mike Rowe's letter to eagle scout is absolutely the best advice any Eagle scout (or the rest of us) could get.
http://www.mikeroweworks.com/scrap-yard/eagle-scout-letter/

[kwildman]

my youngest earned eagle at 13 and now has 6 palms. At 16 he is serving as a JASM in the troop. He is an officer in a Sea Scout Ship. He has served as chapter officer in the OA and is currently the Vice Chief of Adminstration for our Lodge. He has been on staff for NYLT. He has also taken counselor in training for working at summer camp. This is just the stuff that i can think of now. In short, there is a heck of a lot of scouting that youth can do after getting Eagle. Eagle is not the end of scouting.

[ronin718]

Like kwildman, my son earned his Eagle at 13. While he has not been as active outside the troop, he has stayed quite active in the troop. He has 10 palms, served for two years as our Chief of Den Chiefs over 25+ DCs (we have a very large troop), and is now the ASPL overseeing our three new boy patrols. He served as ASPL of our Jambo troop in 2010, and he's recommitted himself to OA service. As the senior ranking Scout in the troop, he's considering a run for SPL this spring, though he knows his rank means nothing when it comes to the position.

My son just enjoys the camaraderie and the fun of going out on the trips, but he is really good with working with the younger guys. This is why he gets the assignments where he as served. A good SM can help your young Eagle to continue to serve in areas that interest him and keep Scouting interesting.

[Billiken]

Our most recent "youngest Eagle" earned his when he was 13.
His young age triggered some "raised eyebrows" at our district.

Today he is nearly 16 and has 8 palms.

He's a Troop Guide, but did not go to camp with us last week.
He was camping with a group of young adults taking a Wilderness First Responders course.
IIRC, this is in the same group of programs as Wilderness First Aid (required for First Responders).
I believe that since he's not 18 he can't actually be certified.

He'll be in the 11th grade this fall.
For the rest of the summer he's working in cancer research lab at Case Western Reserve University
Assisting with some sort DNA/RNA research.