Berwyn scouts journey to Eagle Scout together

BERWYN – It's not often a group of kids remain close friends from first grade through high school. But that's exactly what some members of Berwyn Boy Scout Troop 301 did as they journeyed from Cub Scouts through Boy Scouts. Their experience is even more special because the boys have all earned the rank of Eagle Scout, an accomplishment only 5 percent of Boy Scouts worldwide ever earn.

Nicholas Spence, 18; Daniel Salazar, 19; Greg Baran, 19; Jack Faje, 19, and Saul Rodriguez, 19, have been scouts and friends since elementary school. Four of the five have known each other since first grade, with Salazar joining the troop in fourth. Even though they went to different high schools, they were in the same Boy Scout troop and motivated each other through the challenging process of becoming an Eagle Scout.

Linda Baran, chapter organization representative, was the boys’ Cub Scout den leader and continued in a leadership role with them in Boy Scouts. Even though only one of the boys is her son, she describes the other four as “her boys.”

“The bond they have with each other is amazing. It was cool to watch them grow from first-graders to 18-year-old Eagle Scouts, and the transition has been amazing,” she said. “For me to have five boys who stuck it out to the end from all the hundreds of thousands of Boys Scouts in the world is just incredible. I couldn’t be more proud of all of them.”

To earn the rank of Eagle, the scouts must earn 21 merit badges and complete an Eagle project, which is a project that benefits a community nonprofit organization. The scouts have to do all the planning from beginning to end and then get it approved by the Boy Scout council.

“After they finish the project, they have to do a reflection that demonstrates what they’ve learned. The leaders guide them, but we don’t make decisions,” Baran said. “The things the scouts are required to do to achieve this rank sets them up to be successful in so many aspects of their lives.”

Spence was the last of the five friends to earn the rank of Eagle. The Morton West senior’s Court of Honor ceremony was Dec. 8. For his Eagle project, he cleaned up and weeded a formerly unusable baseball field in Stickney. Spence said his four friends motivated him to finish his project.

“They had a great impact on me. I saw them make Eagle, and I wanted to be just like them,” Spence said. “They pushed me to get it done, and I wanted to be able to say that I’m an Eagle. I know we’ll be friends for a long time. Everyone else has changed, but they haven’t.”

Kathy, Spence’s mother, said it was very challenging for her son to complete the Eagle project, but knowing his friends had already made it to Eagle helped him persevere.

“They’ve been together for 12 years, and those boys have made bonds they’ll never break,” she said. “It was very hard for him to go through this. There were a lot of stumbling blocks. But he pulled himself up to do this. He worked extremely hard, and I’m extremely proud of him.”

Baran’s son, Greg, said even though the boys don’t see each other very often because they’ve moved on to college or full-time jobs, they’ll always have the memories of becoming Eagles together.

“We’re all Eagles, and that’s astounding. It’s the foundation of our brotherhood,” said Greg, a student at College of DuPage. “It’s rare to make Eagle to begin with, but to have five boys from the same Cub Scout troop do it is even rarer. Being an Eagle is everything. I can move forward knowing I did everything I could to help the troop and the boys in it.”

Daniel Salazar, 19, said it’s “pretty awesome” that he and his friends achieved the same goal, and that whenever they are able to get together, it’s like no time has passed.

“We knew it would be great if all five of us made Eagle. I got a lot of motivation from them,” he said. “I lost some motivation early in high school, but after seeing them work hard, I got it back. Being an Eagle has helped me get a job. People see you as more trustworthy and responsible.”

Jack Faje and Saul Rodriguez were unavailable for comment for this story.