Incoming Lodi senior worked hard for Eagle Scout designation
Jack Kipp, a rising senior at Jim Elliot Christian School, has joined the ranks of some of the most elite men in the nation by earning his Eagle Scout designation.
“I just wanted to persevere and push towards the highest achievement,” Kipp said.
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement that can be earned in Boy Scouts, and takes a number of years to achieve.
Only 4 percent of Boy Scouts actually achieve the designation.
In order to become an Eagle Scout, Kipp had to be a Life Scout for six months, earn a minimum of 21 merit badges and organize and complete a community service project.
For his service project, Kipp renovated the planter boxes against the back parking lot at Faith Community Church.
“All my life I have loved gardening, working out in the yard and helping out in the yard planting plants. I’ve always enjoyed landscaping too,” Kipp said
He and nine volunteers spent two days planting new shrubs in each planter box and trimming up the trees.
Overall Kipp spent a total of 194 hours organizing, coordinating and completing his project.
Kipp was responsible for the entire organization and coordination of the project.
He was in charge of getting the plants from the nursery and transporting them to the work site.
He also had to make sure everybody was there on time and send out emails to see who would be able to make it.
“I learned sometimes in life it’s difficult to run a big project like that, but in the end if you put your mind to the job and the task anything can be done,” Kipp said.
According to Kipp, earning the 21 merit badges was also a lot of hard work.
Kipp earned badges for communications, camping, survival in the wilderness, first aid, fire safety, fitness and family life along with several others.
Kipp had been working towards the Eagle Scout achievement since he started Boy Scouts eight years ago, and it was the older Boy Scouts who mentored him that kept him motivated and inspired him to see things through to the end.
“When I was a younger Scout, I was like ‘all these older boys are achieving this high rank, and I want to strive for that. I want to eventually earn this rank.’ So, I just put my foot down and worked as hard as I could,” Kipp said.
Those with the Boy Scout ranking are eligible for a numbers of scholarships, and the achievement also looks good on college applications and resumes.
In the future, Kipp hopes to become manager at his current job at In and Out Burger and earn a college degree in real estate.