About a quarter of this Texas high school’s male graduates are Eagle Scouts

The mascot for the Episcopal School of Dallas, a well-regarded private school in Texas, is the Eagles.

So it’s only fitting that a dozen seniors from this year’s graduating class are Eagle Scouts. Those 12 Eagle Scouts represent roughly one out of every four boys in the Class of 2019.

We know that about 6 percent of Scouts earn Eagle each year. But that statistical group includes only Scouts, meaning the percentage of Eagle Scouts in the general population of high school seniors is even smaller.

That makes the feat of this terrific 12 even more unlikely and impressive.

And speaking of impressive, keep reading to see what each of these young men did for his Eagle Scout service project. You’ll read about a bike repair station, a set of eco-friendly garden boxes for a preschool, a 25-foot bridge for a mountain biking trail and more.

Will Beck

Will and his helpers built two elevated, 32-cubic-foot flower beds for the fifth grade science class at the Episcopal School of Dallas. Now each class has its own flower bed.

Reece Breaux

Reece and his helpers built an animal therapy ramp and a raised wooden platform for an outdoor storage unit at Operation Kindness, the largest no-kill animal shelter in North Texas. These additions enable the physical therapist to spend more time treating animals, which increases adoptions.

“During the project, I learned to adapt when things go wrong,” Reece says. “The project gave me a chance to use the leadership skills I had learned through my years in Scouting.”

Trey Brooks

Trey and his helpers constructed a 25-foot bridge in Harry Moss Park for the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association. The group relies on volunteers to maintain and repair the biking trails in and around Dallas.

John Carrie

John and his helpers created a secure perimeter for the playground at Cornerstone Crossroads Academy, a south Dallas high school for at-risk students. John and his team buried guardrail posts and ran heavy wire between the posts, allowing the field to be protected from vehicular traffic.

“Completing my project had been a goal that I set for myself when I first became a Scout,” John says. “The reason I chose the project I did was because cars had been causing damage to the school’s sports field and surrounding walking track as well as posing a threat to the students.”

Miles Cavitt

Miles and his helpers built a bridge for pedestrians and small service vehicles at the Tulsa Boys’ Home. The bridge connects the ballfields to the main campus.

William Greening

William and his helpers redesigned the sandbox on the playground at Mi Escuelita, a preschool in Dallas. He led a crew of volunteers in demolishing the old, unsafe sandbox and building the new sandbox for the children to enjoy. Mi Escuelita avoided fines as a result of his project.

Luke Logan

Luke and his helpers addressed the issue of unorganized inventory at North Dallas Young Life by designing and building shelves for their regional office.

Jackson Mechem

Jackson and his helpers installed a bike repair station on the newest section of the Northaven Trail, which connects two major highways in Dallas with a walking/bike trail.

Scott Neuhoff

Scott and his helpers constructed 10 cornhole boards for the Episcopal School of Dallas. These games are used to promote community and to improve students’ motor skills.

Cooper Newsom

Cooper and his helpers created environmentally safe, non-toxic garden boxes for da Vinci School, a LEED-certified preschool in Dallas. The garden boxes complement da Vinci’s outdoor environment and its focus on science and sensory exploration.

Luke Stanford

Luke and his helpers built planter boxes for the pre-K classes at the Episcopal School of Dallas. The boxes became part of the outdoor exploration area, providing a space for young children to garden.

Christopher Talbot

Christopher and his helpers constructed a path adjacent to the quarry at the Episcopal School of Dallas. This path is used for outdoor education classes and provides easy access to nearby wetlands.

Why did I use the phrase ‘and his helpers’?

Notice how each of the 12 Eagle project descriptions above began with the phrase “and his helpers”?

That’s because the Eagle Scout service project is about more than just a great Good Turn. It’s about a young person demonstrating leadership of his or her peers during that project.

Many teenagers can build a bridge. It takes a special kind of person to guide volunteers — including some that could be decades older — during that bridge-building project.