Shriram Naidu earns Eagle Scout Award

Shriram Naidu has qualified to become an Eagle Scout at an Eagle Board of Review on August 2, 2023 and his Eagle Court of Honor will be held later this year. Shriram is the son of Jay Ram Vijayen and Kavitha Danasamy of Dublin. He is a member of Troop 904 sponsored by the John Knox Presbyterian Church. Shriram appreciates the hard work and dedication of his Scoutmaster, Euan Ramsay.

Shriram has been active in Scouting for 8 years. He began his scouting adventure in 3rd grade with Pack 930 in 2015 and earned the Arrow of Light award in 2019. He then joined Troop 904 in Dublin and held leadership positions as Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Troop Guide and Patrol Leader.

When asked what Scouting meant to him, Shriram wrote: “The Scouting program has been an important part of who I am today. I had many incredible outdoor adventures, made new friends, and learned many useful skills. I loved the fact that Scouting got me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to do meaningful and impactful activities. I have learned to be more independent, be prepared, and to become a better person by giving back to others. One of the most important lessons I learned was challenges can occur unexpectedly, so it is important to plan and be prepared. To overcome challenges, I learned to see setbacks as temporary, and to always persevere. The values and principles from Scouting help guide me in my daily life. I also learned to seek help when needed. Overall, I find Scouting to be a valuable experience and want to thank my troop leaders, members and parent volunteers for their guidance and support.”

For his Eagle project, Shriram led a team to build three large storage shelves for Cottonwood Creek K-8 School in Dublin. He worked with the school Music Director, Mr. Jasper Tran, to assess his needs and finalized a shelf design to store music equipment and cases in their band room. These shelves help students quickly find and access items, free up additional storage space for staff, and reduce clutter. He raised $1,600 to buy materials, supplies, and tools to build these shelves. The shelves were built from plywood sheets, 2x4 lumber, and steel brackets. This project included planning, designing, fundraising, and facilitating the construction of all aspects of the storage shelves that are functional, secure, and aesthetically consistent with the school decor. Planning and executing the project took 230 hours and was completed with the help of nine volunteer boys.

Shriram is a sophomore at Dublin High School. He loves swimming for the Dublin High School (DHS) team and the Livermore Aquacowboys club. He also plays saxophone for the DHS School Band and Irish Guard. Over the years, through scouting, he has given back to the community by participating in many service activities such as the Dublin City Creek and Trail Clean Up days and the Annual Fall Cleanup at John Knox Church. During the holiday season, he has helped the needy with the Scouting for Food campaigns and holiday basket distributions. In addition, he also loves camping, backpacking, basketball, movies, reading fiction, watching cooking competitions and hanging out with his friends.

His plans are to continue with scouting and become a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, while improving his skills to build more complex projects and ability to lead large teams. He will also focus on his education and aspires to attend a top-ranked four-year college for a STEM degree, with possibly a career in the medical field.

To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a Scout must be active in their troop, provide leadership, earn 21 merit badges including the areas of citizenship, camping, communications, cooking and lifesaving or emergency preparedness as well as demonstrate that they live by the principles of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. They must also plan, develop and give leadership to others in a service project benefiting a religious institution, school or community group.

Anyone interested in joining any level of Scouting can contact the Twin Valley District Executive, Andrew Evans, andrew.evans@scouting.org