When it comes to repeling down 160 feet of dark, narrow cavern or rafting through perilous white water rapids, sophomore Steven Tran has the courage and knowledge to do it all. He excels at almost every outdoor survival skill, whether it?s hiking many miles in treacherous terrain or knowing how to perform CPR and first aid. Tran has been able to accomplish so many adventures and life skills while still only in high school, and the reason is, Tran is a Boy Scout.

According to the Boy Scout web site, the Boy Scouts is a great learning experience for boys, where they can acquire many skills and tactics for everyday life. As boys progress through the Boy Scouts ranking system, they are given progressively more tasks and responsibilities. After some time in Boy Scouts, boys have the opportunity to earn merit badges, a mark of achievement in a particular activity, such as archery, swimming, or even public speaking. Tran?s favorite activity for a badge was Rifle and Shotgun. Within Scouting, some types of merit badges are required and some can be chosen. After a certain point, a number of merit badges are required to progress on toward the final goal of becoming an Eagle Scout, the highest ranking and most prestigious category within Scouting. Only about two percent of all Boy Scouts make it as far as Eagle Scouts, but Steven hopes to be part of that elite percentage.

Tran had his doubts about Scouting when he joined the Cub Scouts in fourth grade. ?At first my parents made me go,? Tran says. ?I didn?t really like Cub Scouts and I hardly went to the meetings. Boy Scouts during sixth and seventh grade wasn?t too fun, either. It wasn?t really until my eighth grade trip to Yosemite when I realized how much Boy Scouts would prepare me a lot for life skills like learning to be responsible and organized. Plus we started being able to lead the younger scouts, which was fun.?

Participating in Scouting has had social benefits as well. Many of Steven?s troop mates attend Palo Alto High School, where they spend time together pursuing other activities in addition to Scouting.

Some of Tran?s favorite memories of Boy Scouts are from the two Scout camps he has attended in the past summers. The first camp is called ?Oljato,? and takes place every summer for Boy Scouts of all ages. At camp, the morning is devoted to the distribution of merit badges to those who earned them, then the boys have free time, and, in the afternoon, they participate in a range of outdoor activities such as sailing or hiking. ?It?s really cool to meet guys from other troops,? Tran says, ?Then I can come back to camp every summer and see them again.?

Tran attended another scouting camp called Junior Leadership Training Camp before entering his freshman year at Paly. This camp is one week long and focuses on teaching older Boy Scouts how to be leaders and prepares them for becoming Eagle Scouts.

An important skill that Scouting has helped Tran improve on is being able to think quickly and react. Tran remembers a particular rafting trip in the past when his boat was careening down a winding river and hit a bump. One of his troop members felt the impact of this bump more than the others and flew out of the boat. Tran acted immediately and grabbed hold of the scout overboard to pull him back into the boat. In this dire emergency, Tran was able to remember what his leaders taught him to prevent what could have potentially ended in tragedy.

While it is clear that Boy Scouts prepares boys for survival in the wilderness, it also teaches important lessons useful in everyday live and how to thrive in the future.

Boy Scouts has helped Tran with his academics especially in such areas as setting priorities, time management and organizational skills. ?Boy Scouts has taught me how to succeed in all aspects of life as well as how to interact with older people,? Tran says, ?I?ve learned to deal with a lot. Scouting has made me a stronger person.?