A rare five scouts in Ellicott City’s Boy Scout Troop 615 achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, receiving recognition during a Court of Honor meeting last week.

“We normally average about, like maybe, two Eagle Scouts a year. Five was really … five was a lot,” Scoutmaster Barry Matto said.

Many of the scouts have known each other for years, some joining Troop 615 together from their Cub Scout days in elementary school. Most were close to turning 18 and aging out of the program, so they focused on finishing their hard work to achieve the highest rank.

Each scout went through the required steps, including living by the Scout Oath and Scout Law, earning Eagle-specific and other merit badges, and completing a service project.

Eagle is the highest of seven ranks members of Scouts BSA can achieve. Children start in Cub Scouts until they reach the fifth grade, moving up to Scouts BSA. Formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, the federally chartered organization changed its name to Scouting America last May to be more inclusive.

The service project is meant to benefit the community and organizations outside of Scouting America. After months of planning and coordinating, the scouts in Troop 615 each completed their projects, whether it was clearing overgrowth and planting trees at the Howard County Conservancy or revamping the area around stations of the cross at the Church of the Resurrection, where the troop is based.

“So, it’s one of those things where each one of them kind of overcame their own obstacles, and that’s the part that they should be proud of,” Matto said.

Planning certain aspects of the project was “definitely tricky,” Luke Jun said, but when the day came to install his project, everything went smoothly. Jun has been a scout for more than six years, motivated by his peers to reach Eagle. For his project, he cleared weeds around a stream in the Howard County Conservancy and planted trees for shade.

Others had a few more challenges when completing their projects.

Brenden Reyes, who’s been a scout since he was in first or second grade, built two patios for Stations of the Cross at the Church of the Resurrection. But when it was time to transport the wooden frames he built from his home to the church, they wouldn’t fit inside or on top of his family’s car. After changing his travel plans, Reyes said he realized he needed more sand to help level the ground beneath the patio.

When working on his patio and bench at another Stations of the Cross, John Kattukaran, a scout for about 10 years, didn’t have enough water and needed extra materials. Conveniently, a Home Depot was nearby for both Kattukaran and Reyes to finish their projects.

“And it just feels like I’m really happy to accomplish that, and I put a lot of work into it. And it feels good to help the community, and I can focus on teaching younger scouts,” said Kattukaran, a high school sophomore and the youngest of the Eagles.

For Brian Johnson, a scout of about nine years, his father played a key role in helping him reach Eagle Scout. His father reached the star rank as a scout, Johnson said, and now he serves as an assistant scoutmaster for his sister’s troop. Seeing his father’s passion for scouting was an inspiration, and having his support helped Johnson get through the process, he said.

Johnson said his fellow scouts have been his friends for a long time, and he’s proud they were able to achieve Eagle together. With multiple scouts going through the steps to advance their rank, it was helpful to ask each other questions and have each other’s support, the scouts said.

“Everyone was just talking to each other, bouncing off ideas and making sure everyone got the Eagle together, not separately,” said Sai Challagundla, a scout of around 11 years.

Challagundla thought he’d be happier after completing his journey to Eagle Scout, but now, he looks back to all his memories from campouts, outings and other activities with the people he loves.

“We didn’t achieve Eagle Scout; we achieved the experience of Boy Scouts,” Challagundla said.

Through their journey, the scouts have learned to be resourceful, to take accountability, to be resilient and to be prepared — the motto of Scouting BSA — which many of them will bring with them to college.

“If the scout is a good person, and they’re doing good for the community, I think that’s the highest thing,” Matto said.

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