When Jared Herrera went searching for a suitable Eagle Scout project, he did not have to look far.
The Española boy scout decided to refurbish an eyesore that he practically grew up in: the scouts meeting room inside Holy Cross Catholic Church’s gymnasium.
“There was stuff everywhere,” the 17-year-old said. “There were Fritos that expired in 2002.”
So Herrera went about the difficult work of moving chairs, recarpeting the floor, killing bugs, installing new lights, fixing the heater, among other repairs that cost about $500 to complete. He said he was able to raise money and acquire donations from local businesses and individuals and received help from his family.
He was able to make the meeting room a place where cub, girl and boy scouts can be proud to call their home.
Herrera is happy he is “leaving a mark for future scouts,” he said.
Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout will be the culmination of a scouting career that began in the first grade. Herrera will also become the fourth member of Troop 425 since 2006 to achieve boy scout’s highest rank. The troop’s other recent Eagles Scouts have been Francisco and Juan Antonio Vigil and Miguel Carlos Romero.
“It’s been fun,” Scoutmaster Duane Vigil (the father of Francisco and Juan Antonio) said. “They are good kids.”
While the service project is a major part of becoming an Eagle Scout, Herrera still has to earn one more merit badge and wait to have the regional, state and national Boy Scout councils approve his Eagle Scout application.
Herrera’s mother is proud of her son and what scouts have meant to her family’s life.
“We have been a family here at the scouts,” Rhonda Herrera-Montoya said. “I think all of us learned that they can have fun without alcohol or drugs or violence.”
Later next year, Herrera hopes to complete another journey. He plans to receive his General Educational Development (GED) at the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos in April. He wants to go to college and earn a degree in mechanical engineering.
But before the larger world beckons, Herrera still has time in the scouts. Herrera is the troop’s senior patrol leader, which means he basically runs the troop. How does he get 10 fellow teenagers to do anything?
“It’s been interesting,” he said. “I just ask them what they want to do.”
That usually means camping and hiking, especially at the Santa Barbara campround. Duane Vigil estimated Herrera and his fellow scouts have logged over 300 miles during the last decade. Those treks may seem a lot easier now that Herrera has spent the last month transforming the meeting room.
“I think it was a lot of work, but it was worth it,” he said.