Seneca junior to become an Eagle Scout

A note from his parents, Joe and Lisa Schubert

For Ryan Schubert, becoming an Eagle Scout will be first of many great accomplishments in his lifetime.

The 17-year-old junior at Seneca High School, who also runs varsity cross country and was selected to attend Boys State this June at Ryder College, has one last step to accomplish this prestigious honor, his board of review.

The Shamong resident has been involved in scouting since the first-grade. He has been in Troop 20 in Medford for the last six years. Before that he was a cub scout in Pack 108 Medford.

In summer 2010, Ryan backpacked 100 miles during a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico with Troop 20.

His Eagle Scout project was to cut up 2 ea 18’’ diameter trees, clean up multiple piles of brush and deposit at the Medford Recycling Center, spread 25cy of mulch, paint a swing set, power wash the jungle gym, clean, repair and paint 12 picnic tables and as if that was not enough, he added repairing and painting an existing timber bike rack.

His family, friends, relatives and fellow Troop 20 volunteers, whom we owe many thanks, helped him. Ryan acknowledges that he could not have completed this tough task without their assistance.

He was also guided by his Scoutmaster Lee Bealuk and Asst Scoutmaster Jim Carey.

One important lesson that he learned was leadership. He had to direct different groups handling different tasks at the same time. The day started out with a wrench being thrown in the plans due to people showing up for a planned picnic in the same area. Ryan negotiated and devised a solution that would enable the picnic to go on as planned but in a different part of the park. With crisis averted, he learned another lesson in problem solving. After a long day, he completed this project under budget and within a strict timeline given to him by Medford Township.

Ryan will be a senior at Seneca in the fall and will move on to college once he graduates but he certainly will always look back at his time in Troop 20 as one of the most rewarding and best experiences of his life especially leading up to becoming an Eagle Scout. Now it’s time to teach his younger brother, who just crossed over from Cub Scouts to Troop 20, how to live by the Scout Law.