By Kathy Brown.
Six years ago, Jeff and Linda Petras moved their family to Higganum from Middletown. Their son Nate had many friends in Scouting, so he stayed with his Middletown Scouts BSA Troop #16.
Within Scouting, Nate was a member of the Order of the Arrow, which is an honor society within Scouting. The Order of the Arrow “recognizes Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives,” according to their website. The Scout must be selected by their BSA Troop/Unit, and then must go through an induction ceremony, which is a multi-day experience. He worked his way up through the various ranks by completing activities and learning many skills.
While in Scouting, Nate served as a Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, as well as a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.
In February, 2020, Nate earned his Eagle Scout rank, as well as two Palms (these are achieved by earning an extra five merit badges — for each Palm — beyond the ones required for Eagle Scout rank).
To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a Scout must earn 21 merit badges, 13 of which are “Eagle required” (such as First Aid, Personal Fitness, Citizenship in the World), plus eight more merit badges of their own choosing.
Another element to earning an Eagle Scout rank is the Eagle Scout project, where the Scout has to lead a group of Scouts in a project that benefits the community. Nate decided to build shelving units for Haddam Social Services’ Food Bank. He met with Jessica Condil, designed the shelving units to fit the space, then led a group of Scouts in building the shelving units. “Nate did an amazing job building the food bank shelving,” said Jessica Condil, director of Haddam Social Services. “His dedication to the project and our community shows in all of his hard work. We are very grateful for his services.”
Because of COVID-19, the normal Eagle Scout ceremony couldn’t be held. Instead, Bill Shea, Nate’s Scoutmaster held a ceremony in the Petras’ backyard, with just Nate’s family.
“[Nate] has gained skills in Scouting that will serve him well in his service with the United States Navy,” said Bill Shea. “The values that Nate learned via Scouting closely align with the values of military service.”
While at Haddam Killingworth High School, Nate participated in Cross Country as well as Track & Field for all four years. He was also an honor student.
To prepare for his departure for Boot Camp, Nate has been in quarantine for two weeks. His mother thought that he deserved something special since he missed out on so much due to the COVID-19 school closures, so she planned a “Sailors Send Off” surprise car parade for him on Saturday, July 18th, in which emergency services, friends, family, local veterans, and Nate’s Scout troop participated.
