In Disney’s animated film UP, Russell, a Cub Scout, finds himself standing on an old man’s front porch asking him if he needs assistance so he can earn his final badge in order to become an Eagle Scout. Like Russell, seniors Jimmy Harlan and Christopher Steibel went through several years of Cub Scouts and earning badges from helping out, experiencing new places and things, and creating their own projects to become the Eagle Scout they are today.

Q: When did you first start scouting, and what made you want to continue with it?

Harlan: “I knew I wanted to stick with [Cub Scouts] when I was in eighth grade and I realized how close I was getting with all the people in scouts. I don’t really think there was a moment when I realized I wanted to get the Eagle, I just kind of kept perpetually going until I eventually got there.”

Q: Becoming an Eagle Scout comes with a number of requirements, one of which includes becoming a Life Scout and earning twenty-one merit badges. After each of the badges are earned, you have to create your Eagle project. What was your Eagle project and in what made it different from others?

Steibel: “My first was working with the Lake Zurich Community Garden to build a raised gardening plot for handicapped people. I had finished planning and received approval; however, the day before I was going to buy supplies I got a call telling me that the project got postponed and I was unable to complete the project. I then began working with the Palatine Opportunity Center. My official Eagle Scout project was to design, build and install of three private workspaces for social workers at the Palatine Opportunity Center.”

Q: After completing the Eagle project, you are qualified to become an official Eagle Scout. When you’re an official Eagle, what kind of roles do you get to take on?

Steibel: “I’ve learned a lot about myself as a leader through the process of becoming an Eagle Scout. I’ve figured out my different strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.”

Q: Aside from all of the seriousness of getting the hard work done, what is your favorite part about being an Eagle Scout?

Harlan: “[My favorite part about scouts is] probably some of the relaxing campouts we have. I’ll go camping with all of my friends and we just have a weekend of doing nothing, which is a lot of fun. I think one of my favorite [campouts] was when we went camping on a submarine. The first time we did it we were really young and we got kicked out of the museum because we were playing hide-and-go-seek in the exhibits.”

Q: For Steibel, some of his best and funniest memories come from experiencing new things he had never tried before he joined scouting. What was one of the best activities you experienced for the first time in scouting?

Steibel: “My memory from Scouting that’s always going to make me laugh was my first time going Kayaking. I was out on the lake and was just starting to get the hang of it, and out of nowhere another scout rammed into me from the side and knocked me out of my kayak. It started filling up with water so I couldn’t get back in it. The life guard just looked at me and started laughing, so I had to swim and drag it behind me all the way back to shore.”

Q: With the funny memories and new experiences, how does your accomplishment of becoming an Eagle Scout shape you into the person you are today?

Jimmy: “[Becoming an Eagle Scout] is a very distinguished honor because you get a lot out of it. You can develop a lot of skills and you just become a better person for going for this ordeal in a way. Because you have to put in so much work, you don’t really slack off anymore.”