NEWTON COUNTY – Matt Gabriel, a sophomore at Eastside High School, attained his status as an Eagle Scout last week. Gabriel has been involved in Boy Scouts for the past 10 years.

Becoming an Eagle Scout and continuing his participation in Boy Scouts over the last decade is both rewarding and relieving for Gabriel.

“It kind of feels like a weight’s lifted off you… It’s an accomplishment that’ll really help you in life,” Gabriel said. “It also kinda helped show me what I want to do with my life, career wise.”

According to the Boy Scouts website, to become an Eagle Scout, a Scout must earn at least 21 merit badges, fulfill leadership roles and display outdoor skills, demonstrate by example the Scout Oath and Law and complete a comprehensive service project in the community.

For his Eagle project, Gabriel built bat houses for the water treatment plant at Cornish Creek in Newton County. Gabriel chose this as his Eagle project after researching the benefits of bats in nature, which fulfilled Gabriel’s goal of working on something that would help the environment. 

Despite obtaining what the Boy Scout website refers to as the “highest and most prestigious achievement a Scout can achieve,” Gabriel intends on remaining an active Scout.