Three Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 542 Earn Eagle Scout Rank

Nicholas Gorkes, David Mathai and Brian Wang of Boy Scout Troop 542 in Maple Glen, Pa., received the Eagle Scout Award, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America, at a recent Court of Honor ceremony.

During his Scouting career, Nicholas Gorkes earned 25 merit badges, and held leadership positions including Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader, Lead Instructor and Assistant Instructor. He attended the National Jamboree at The Summit Bechtel Reserve, Mt. Hope, W. Va., in 2013 and participated in summer camp at Resica Falls for 6 years.

For his Eagle project, Gorkes led a team of Scouts who widened and restored a section of a trail through Jarrett Nature Center and applied clear wood sealer to benches, tables, sign posts and fence posts. The Nature Center provides an opportunity to observe, learn and explore nature and different ecosystems. Gorkes currently attends Pennsylvania State University, where he is majoring in business.

David Mathai earned 26 merit badges, a Bronze Palm and held leadership positions including Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop Quartermaster, Lead Instructor and Assistant Instructor. He attended summer camp at Resica Falls for 6 years and participated in numerous Troop trips and outings.

For his Eagle project, Mathai led a group of 21 youth and adults who installed a sensory garden for the intellectually disabled at Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pa. Existing weeds and overgrowth were removed and landscape matting was installed to provide weed control. The team then planted certain types of plants designed to stimulate all five senses. The project took more than 210 work hours. Mathai is currently a freshman at Drexel University, majoring in mechanical engineering.

Brian Wang attended the BSA National Youth Leadership Training program (NYLT), summer camp at Resica Falls, and two of the BSA High Adventure Bases, the Northern Tier High Adventure Base in Ely, Minn., and Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M. He earned 30 merit badges, a Bronze Palm, the God and Church religious award, and received Troop 542’s John Allemang Memorial Award. Wang also received the Roy Imsick Memorial Award from Baden-Powell District and was elected to Order of the Arrow, the National Honor Society of Boy Scouts of America. Wang’s leadership positions include Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Historian and Librarian.

For his Eagle project, Wang led a team of 24 youth and adult volunteers who spent 209 work hours creating and planting garden beds outside China Grace Christian Church, where he is an active member. A senior at Upper Dublin High School, Wang is involved in theatre and is a member of Lehigh University’s American Regions Math League team.

Boy Scout Troop 542, based at Supplee Presbyterian Church in Maple Glen, Pa., has more than 90 youth members and is led by Scoutmaster John Schultz. Since its inception in 1969, 151 Scouts from Troop 542 have earned the rank of Eagle.