No stopping this scout

After devoting his teenage years to the Boy Scouts, Bryan Palazzolo has been rewarded for his patience and persistence. He has earned Scouting’s highest honor.

Palazzolo, 17, of Wantagh, was joined by about 120 family members, friends, fellow scouts and elected leaders as the Eagle rank was bestowed upon him during a Court of Honor ceremony on June 28 at St. Frances de Chantal Church. He said it was nice to hear from various scout leaders about the importance of being an Eagle Scout, a rank earned by only 5 percent of boys who enter the scouts.

Born in New York, Palazzolo moved the Virginia where he joined Troop 1829. Coming to Wantagh when he was 12, he joined Troop 96 based at the Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church. He later joined Troop 87 out of Kellenberg High School in Uniondale.

Being in two troops simultaneously, Palazzolo said, gave him the opportunity to make even more friends and go on two sets of trips.

Like many Boy Scouts, Palazzolo enjoys camping. This summer he will head to camp in Philmont, New Mexico for the second time, and will spend much time hiking, fishing, horseback riding and rock climbing, among other activities. “It’s a lot of living off the land,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

He has also gone camping at Onteora Scout Reservation in upstate New York, the Schiff Scout Reservation in Suffolk County, the West Point Camporee and the National High Adventure Sea Base in Florida. These opportunities have given him a chance to meet fellow Boy Scouts from all over the state and country.

“I love being in nature, seeing all the amazing stuff out there,” he said. “It’s nice to go on hikes and spending times in the outdoors.”

A community service project is required to become an Eagle Scout. Palazzolo renovated a memorial garden for the AHRC in Freeport. He and his volunteers painted the stones, put up a new fence, and installed new plants and mulch. They also put up three guide signs in the parking lot.

“I was really happy,” he said of his finished product. “They were really grateful for it. I felt great. It was nice to know that I did something to help other people out.”

Palazzolo had to raise more than $600 for his project, which was completed in June 2014, and took about six months of planning. He said he learned leadership skills and how to delegate responsibility, along with gardening and planting skills.

He also earned 36 merit badges, more than the 21 required to become and Eagle Scout. His two favorites were pioneering, in which he built structures and tied knots, and wilderness survival, which he found to be the most educational.

Palazzolo attends Chaminade High School and will be a senior in the fall. He runs track and is a Eucharistic minister there. He plays travel soccer, belongs to the Colombian Squire — the youth division of the Knights of Columbus — and the Young Vincentians.

Being in the scouts, he said, has taught him the importance of community service. He said it is very rewarding, and important to help others out, “Especially when you have so much to offer.”

Palazzolo officially became an Eagle Scout in February, after appearing before a Board of Review. Since then, he has received the Bronze Palm for additional service time the Scouts, and for earning at least five more merit badges. Since he plans to stay active in his troops, he is eyeing the Silver and Gold Palms, as well. After college, Palazzolo hopes to become an adult leader.

He said becoming an Eagle Scout is something that can’t be done alone, and is an accomplishment that is well worth it. “People look up to me now,” he said, “and I have to set a good example.”