St. Charles Troop 10 Boy Scout earns Eagle ranking

Adam Minh-Long Nguyen of St. Patrick Boy Scout Troop 10 in St. Charles will receive his Eagle Scout rank at the Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday, June 5.

A sophomore at St. Charles North High School, he is a member of the National Honor Society, as well as the National Science, English and Spanish honor societies.

In addition to Boy Scouts, he is involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. Adam is part of the St. Charles North debate and mock trial teams. He plays the saxophone for the high school marching band. He also knows how to play the clarinet and violin, and has played in the band and orchestra in middle school. He plays tennis for the high school tennis team, has a third degree black belt and has played baseball, basketball and soccer. He is the son of Steven and Liza and brother of Brianna.

Adam began his Scouting career as a Wolf Cub at South Elgin's Corron Elementary School when he joined Pack 251 in second grade. He participated in den and pack meetings, yearly popcorn sales, summer day camps, Pinewood Derbies, Rain Gutter Regattas and Blue and Gold ceremonies. In fifth grade, he earned his Arrow of Light Award and crossed over to St. Patrick's Boy Scout Troop 10.

Over the past five years in Troop 10, Adam has moved up the ranks from Tenderfoot to Eagle. He has attended the weekly troop meetings and monthly campouts in all weather conditions. He has participated in volunteering opportunities such as roadside cleanup, Knights of Columbus "Pies by the Guys" and Easter egg hunt, Misercordia Candy Day, and he also helped his fellow Scouts on their Eagle projects.

Adam has earned 28 merit badges and learned many valuable skills such as leadership, communication, teamwork, camping, cooking, first aid, project management, and volunteering. He also earned the Ad Altari Dei religious award. He plans to continue to be involved with Troop 10 and earn Eagle Palms.

Adam held many positions within the troop, including troop guide, scribe, historian, librarian, chaplain's aide, assistant senior patrol leader and senior patrol leader.

He attended the Thunderbird National Youth Leadership Training in Rochelle in 2014. This year, he was the senior patrol leader and led the troop for a six-month period. During that time, he worked to improve the communication within the troop. Adam's time in Troop 10 has provided him comradeship, commitment, hard work, educational experiences and fun times.

His Eagle Scout Project involved landscape work for St. Patrick's downtown church convent, preschool and along the parking lot. Adam worked with a beneficiary, Charity Davis, to design the gardens that would replace the weeds and overgrown grass and plants with perennial flowers. He also built a bird house for the garden.

Adam researched and gathered the requirements for the project, managed the scope and changes. He had to develop a project plan that included the dates, required materials and tools. He also had to secure funding for the project. Adam procured donations from several local businesses to obtain project materials.

In total, he raised more than $500 in funding. There were more than 25 volunteers, including Scouts, leaders, friends and family, who showed up to help Adam with his Eagle Scout project. Monsignor Stephen Knox blessed the grounds after the project was complete. The Sisters of St. Francis sang a blessing as well.

Adam would like to thank Charity Davis, the beneficiary, for her leadership, knowledge and love of gardening. He would like to thank his mentor, Daniel Kadolph, for being his advocate, answering questions about the Eagle Scout project process, and providing advice and encouragement.

He would like to thank Jeffrey Oesterlin and David Markowicz for their leadership and support, and Monsignor Knox for his continued support for Troop 10. He would also like to thank the many vendors in our community. including Lowe's, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, Jewel, Target, Ace Hardware, Wasco Nursery, Country Inn Hotel, Wise Guys Pizza and Jersey Mikes. They were all generous in providing the materials for the project, including soil, plants/flowers, food, tools, supplies, etc.

Finally, Adam would like to thank his fellow Scouts, leaders, committee members, friends and family for their generous help, support and prayers.