Eagle Scout graduate’s custom mortarboard is a tip of his cap to Scouting

In a sea of matching commencement robes, it’s no wonder graduates try to find a way to stand out so friends and family can find them.

Their canvas for expressing individuality: the square graduation cap.

When Eagle Scout Kevin McCarthy was deciding how to customize his cap, he wanted to find a way to show off his Scouting pride to his classmates and family.

That’s because Scouting shaped Kevin’s time as a student at Cranford High School in Cranford, N.J.

“My Scouting career has been a guiding light throughout my high school experience,” Kevin told me.

So when graduation time arrived earlier this month, the young man from Troop 80 of the Patriots’ Path Council added BSA logos and the clever phrase “fly like an Eagle Scout.”

“I have been able to make so many friends through Scouts, especially in my troop, and at Rodney Scout Reservation where I work as a Scoutcraft instructor,” Kevin said. “I was able to grow into the man I am today through work on my Eagle project and different high-adventure trips I have taken with my troop.”

What’s next for Kevin?

This fall, Kevin will attend Rowan University in New Jersey where he’ll major in disaster preparedness and emergency management.

Kevin calls this especially fitting because he only partially finished the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.

How did his classmates feel about the cap customization?

They “felt that the cap embodied me — it was something Boy Scout-related, but also a pun,” Kevin said.

How’d he make it?

Kevin bought an Eagle Scout badge and scrapbook stickers from his local Scout Shop. He added some letter stickers and a yellow border and voila!

Let’s see your Scouting-themed graduation caps

Have you or a graduate you know done something similar with a mortarboard? Email me a photo.

Eagle Scout graduate’s custom mortarboard is a tip of his cap to Scouting