“It felt amazing, it was like finishing an eight-year marathon.”
For 18-year-old Kyle Sutera, being a member of a team has always been in his life’s plans. Sutera joined the Cub Scouts at the age of 7 and later crossed over to Boy Scouts Troop 764 when he was 10 years old.
Earlier this year, Sutera joined three other Boy Scouts in earning their Eagle Scout Award, the highest achievement for a Boy Scout.
According to Troop 764 Committee Chair Tom Jones, only 6 percent of Boy Scouts obtain the Eagle Scout Award. A boy must earn 21 merit badges, 13 of which are required in areas such as cooking, environmental science, emergency preparedness, first aid, citizenship and others.
“I honestly knew some friends that were involved with Scouting, so I wanted to do it with them,” Sutera said. “I’ve grown up with the entire Den 3 crew, but I have made other close friends through the Boy Scouts.”
Unlike others who may give up on the Boy Scouts, Sutera made sure to make the group a priority in his life. The Burlington Township High School graduate “stayed involved by going to meetings and strived for rank advancement.”
As a younger kid, Sutera enjoyed the yearly summer camps, but as he got older, he started taking leadership positions.
“More recently, before I graduated, I spent time in leadership positions, most notably my role as senior patrol leader,” Sutera said. “It took up my last six months of Scouting before I graduated and aged out of Boy Scouts.”
Sutera always made sure to help his fellow Scouts, and offer a lending hand whenever it was needed.
For his Eagle Scout project, Sutera was involved with laying down erosion mats to protect Green Acres Park from erosion from the Assiscunk Creek and installing informational signs throughout the park.
Other than his own project, Sutera helped fellow Scouts complete projects involving building a gazebo near a local library, building a ramp at another Scout’s church and constructing and installing an Osprey kiosk.
“It was a great feeling. I could feel the pride from all my family members who came to see me reach this point,” Sutera said. “I was glad for all the hard work I put into the project, which led me here. It’s like I crossed the finish line of an eight-year-long marathon.”
Even after his recent graduation from Scouts, Sutera praises the organization for helping him become the man he is today.
“I would tell someone interested in joining that they’ll have a lot of fun and will meet new people in Boy Scouts, and that if they apply themselves, they’ll learn a lot of skills which they can use in the real world,” Sutera said.
Sutera will next begin his collegiate career at George Washington University this fall, where he’ll be studying political science. A member of the Burlington Township Democratic Club, he is also an intern for Bonnie Watson Coleman for Congress. Sutera plans on taking part in debate club, young Democrats club and moot court in college.
“My ultimate goal is to reform the way we look at campaign finance and the entire election process to make it fairer for everyone in the country, not just those who subscribe to and benefit from mainstream political beliefs,” Sutera said.
For more information regarding Troop 764 of Burlington, check https://www.facebook.com/groups/816302368480796.
