Eagle Scout interviewed by an Eagle Scout

[roguedawg]

Hello all,

 

After I earned my Eagle Scout, I was told that having this rank would be good on a resume'. All I knew was that I earned my Eagle Scout. Well about 10 years later I had a job interview at Cornell University. The first thing that my future boss said to me was, "You have on your resume' that you were an Eagle Scout." My reply was, "I earned my Eagle Scout 10 years ago and I'M STILL an Eagle Scout, not past tense." He liked my response and proceeded to give me a board of review.

 

He even asked me what the two stars meant on the scout badge. He asked me if I was "Prepared". I answered "yes" and he asked me to pull out my pocket knife. I told him that it was just like his knife sitting on the filing cabinet behind me. He then tossed me a piece of rope and had me tie about a dozen knots. This guy worked me over for about an hour.

 

So he asked me if I had any questions. So I boarded him back. I nailed him on a couple of things. He seemed to have forgotten what his Eagle project was. We never talked to much about the job opening. So I ended working for the guy. While I worked at CU, he introduced me to many other Eagle Scouts that were PhD's.

 

So the moral of this little story is that if you are an Eagle Scout, you would be best to "Be Prepared". You never know when someone will give you a board of review.

 

Has anyone else have had a similar situation as this? Expound please! I would like to hear it. RD

[ScoutNut]

Wow Dawg, that was some job interview!

 

I must say though, if I ever saw a BOR that was handled like an inquisition, I would do some fast re-training. It is inappropriate & against BSA policy.

[OldGreyEagle]

The problem is of course that the interview was for a job, and wasn't the Eagle Board of Review. As the Eagle charge goes, "you are a marked man".

 

I remember I was new to a job and within the first months on the job came the company pic-nic. Well the main recreation was a volleyball tournament. The problem was the net wasn't set up very well and when people would fall in the net, over the poles would go and then there was great whining and gnashing of teeth until it got set-up, only to have the whole experience repeated within the next five minutes or so. After the 5th time or so, I went over to the poles, tied a taut line hitch on the guy lines that previously only had been wrapped around the anchoring stake and tightened it up. As I was tieing the knot, one big lug says rather loudly, "I've never see one of those knots hold". Well, the knots held. People still fell into the net, but set up was much easier, just tighten up the knots and we were ready. When the day was through the big lug says as we were taking down the net, "Like I said, I've never seen one of those knots hold, until today", I answered "maybe because until today you never saw an Eagle Scout tie one". The place got quiet, the big lug laughed, "I guess so" and I was relegated knot tieing duties from then on. But, they always held.

[MaScout]

Not me, but my son told the following story: Last summer he was on the Coast Guard cutter "Eagle". It was the 225th birthday (or some such number) for the Coast Guard, so they were having a celebration on board. One of the "competitions" was knot-tying. Most of the young cadets were out early on. As time went on,the competition narrowed to fewer & fewer, with my son being the only young one left. They finished with my son only being bested by a 30-year veteran. His comment to my son? "You were a Boy Scout, weren't you?"

[MaScout]

Oh yeah...I'm obviously NOT an Eagle Scout, but I am the SM in our troop. I also substitute teach. One year I was long term subbing at our school & one of my classes was "lifetime sports". The regular PE teacher had nets set up for Pickle Ball. They were pathetic knots & couldn't keep the nets tight, as OGE mentions. I finally couldn't stand it anymore & put in tautlines. The classes were much happier. One of the Eagle Scouts from our troop loudly proclaimed, "Ma Scout, you tied these, didn't you? Why don't you teach Mr. PE how?" (Of course, I suggested HE teach it to Mr. PE)

[Eagle69]

Here is an excerpt from an email by an Eagle Scout and Vigil member of the OA that is about to become the Consular General in Bahgdad, Iraq. It relates how his Scouting background prepared him for the training he recieved in preparation for his new assignment. This and the other posts show you that you never know when skills you picked up in Scouting can be useful later in life.

 

"It might interest you all to know how applicable my Scouting skills have been in getting ready for this post.

 

- Two days of intensive first aid - Nice brush-up for an old Boy Scout, a total wake-up call for some of my "classmates".

 

- A day at a training facility in West Virginia becoming "familiar" with various firearms - The Diplomatic Security Agent doing the training watched me fire and said, "You've done this before, haven't you?" Well yes, I thought, at Boy Scout Camp among other places.

 

- A friend already in-country gave me only one piece of advice - "Don't skimp on boots. Buy a good pair because you'll be wearing them 14-16 hours a day." I learned when I was Boy Scout that ill-fitting boots can be pretty expensive in the long run. I spent umpty-ump dollars on a pair of Corcorans.

 

Counter-Surveillance training? Just an urban version of Second Class

Trailing, Tracking, and Stalking.

 

I don't want to give the impression that I think I'm James Bond (or Jack Bauer). I'm no hero, and I have no plans to do anything heroic. Fact is, I will be spending most of my time sitting at a desk, but we are constantly encouraged to "Be Prepared" for the worst that can happen - another thing I learned as a Scout. Here is something you may want to share with your Scouts to encourage them to "Be Prepared" - One trainer pounded into our heads this saying "When bad things happen, you don't rise to the occasion. You descend to the level of your preparation." I'm sure Baden-Powell would have said the same thing, if he had thought of it."

[emb021]

"I nailed him on a couple of things. He seemed to have forgotten what his Eagle project was."

 

Just a caveat.

 

There wasn't always an Eagle Project. I don't think they came into existance until around 1965 or so. So depending on when this individual earned his Eagle, he may not have needed one.

 

There is a great book out there on the Eagle Scout award that traces its history and has a great section on the changes in the requirements (including merit badges).