Teamwork, dedication, and hard work were all qualities sophomore Ryan Shaneman needed to achieve his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout. However, this was not a quick process to go through.  

“I’ve been participating for four to five years. I joined Cub Scouts in fifth grade. and then moved up to Boy Scouts in sixth grade,” Shaneman said. 

Throughout their childhoods, many boys join the Cub Scouts as a way to get involved, but only a select few go on to earn the title of Eagle Scout. Reaching this status is the highest achievement a Boy Scout can earn, so this small group of boys are a symbol of dedication and hard work. 

To earn this honor, Shaneman worked with his fellow scouts, the Pathfinders, and his dad to help a local church. 

“At North Zion Lutheran Church, there was a shed that was run down. There were 100 pounds of sticks there and the roof had a hole in it, so everything in it wasn’t exactly safe,” Shaneman said.

Therefore, the group decided to help the church by providing them with a new shed. They worked together to raise money to buy the necessary materials. 

“So with the help of my friends and other Boy Scouts, we raised about $5,000 worth of materials with donations and we were able to complete it in two to three months,” Shaneman said.  

Since this project took a while to finish, different weather conditions were a problem for the scouts. 

“One of the bigger weather problems was whenever it was raining and the shed didn’t have everything on it, so the frame was exposed,” Shaneman said. “We dealt with the rain by putting traps up and going inside to paint.”

Shaneman helped the younger scouts with the building of the shed. Taking leadership of younger scouts can be difficult, but also rewarding, he said.

“The hardest part was probably the leadership and keeping everyone on task. Some of them were easy because they were interested in the project. Others didn’t know what to do, so I helped them to do stuff,” Shaneman said.

With such a big role in this project, Shaneman sometimes doubted himself.

“One of the conflicts was one with myself. I doubted myself and questioned if we would be able to do it,” Shaneman said.

Sophomore Matthew Colwell was in the scouts with Shaneman and worked with him on this project. Growing up with Shaneman, he got to see how the scouts had changed his friend and allowed him to grow as a person.

“He’s gone from the jokester of the group to a serious, dedicated scout. Although he still makes jokes, he has grown a lot and is very good at public speaking,” Colwell said. “He is also very good at finding solutions to problems and can overcome many situations quickly.” 

Being an Eagle Scout means being there for the people, and Colwell said Shaneman has helped him. 

“He helped me set up a `High Adventure’ group in our troop and he helped me to plan a New York trip. He is very organized with his projects and can easily get tasks done,” Colwell said.