“A trip I went on with the Boy Scouts is the one to Mackinac Island. We go up as a troop, along with a couple of other troops in West Michigan. We go up together and act as the Honor Guard for Mackinac Island. Basically, we raise and lower flags on the island; a couple of scouts also go to the Governor’s Mansion to raise and lower the flags there. Sometimes, there will be scouts outside the tourist attraction sites, and they’ll help people by giving directions. We show people around, and I explained the historical significance of this really old house one time. The whole trip was a really fun experience, and I also got a lot of volunteer hours out of it; I think it was 20 hours in total. It was great to explore the island and hang out with each other in our free time, too.

I’ve been a Boy Scout since I was about twelve [years old]. It’s nice to have friends outside of school, and Boy Scouts has helped me meet friends from other schools that I wouldn’t have known without the program. Boy Scouts has also given me a lot of cool opportunities; we’ve gone camping and learned a lot of skills that I would not have learned otherwise. Now, I’m finishing up my application to become an Eagle Scout. We have to do a project for that; for mine, I built three benches for Central Woodlands. They’re going to put them outside the building as a little outdoors reading area.”

(Junior)