A Waterloo scout earned his wings earlier this year as he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, helping a local educational farm with its flora education offerings.

Andrew Wangelin – alongside his father Rob – spoke about his experience in Boy Scout Troop 323 and his achievement of the highest honor in scouting earlier this year.

Andrew had many memories to share about his experience as a scout. When it came to merit badges, he particularly recalled earning his skiing merit badge at Snowstar Ski Resort in northwest Illinois, getting to enjoy his time there on four inches of fresh snow.

As a somewhat mixed memory, Andrew also spoke about a particularly drenched weekend he spent with his troop at Beaumont Scout Reservation in Missouri.

They spent three nights there, and though they did enjoy some time hiking and cave exploring, they also dealt with pancakes that were both burnt and raw as well as intense rain through the weekend.

“It rained the entire weekend,” Andrew said. “Steady rain through the entire weekend, and then a thunderstorm came through on Saturday night. I remember the tents actually blew away, and then we had to chase after them.”

Andrew also spoke highly about his experience at the scouting High Adventure Sea Base in Florida, where his troop camped on an island and enjoyed fishing and crab racing among other activities.

His scouting experience culminated over the past few months into his achievement of the rank of Eagle Scout, with the largest component being a project at Baebler Educational Farm south of Waterloo. 

Andrew said he was originally set to do a parking lot painting as his project but found himself working with Baebler thanks to a connection within the scout troop.

His project centered around tree IDs, setting up signs to help visitors get a better understanding and appreciation of the various tree species they can find on the property.

“I set aside a specific trail that people can walk on that had 16 different types of tree species on it, and I built 16 different metal signs and posted them in front of one specimen of each type of tree along this trail,” Andrew said. “They have the name of the tree on it, and they have a QR code on it, and when you scan the QR code, it goes on Wikipedia and gives you more information about it.”

Andrew recalled the proposal aspect of the project as the most difficult part given all the paperwork that went into it.

The effort took a total of 2-3 years including all the organization. Andrew spoke about how most of that time was spent planning, finding the best materials to make sure his project would last well into the future.

Beyond the project, Andrew also discussed his experience gathering the many merit badges that serve as a pre-requisite for Eagle Scout.

Difficulties in this area largely concerned the paperwork-heavy citizenship badges as well as struggles keeping the ball rolling later in his scouting career.

“I was glad that I got a lot of the merit badges done early,” Andrew said. “Later, I definitely did procrastinate, so getting a lot of stuff done early was a big help.”

Andrew did emphasize how much he enjoyed the more activity-oriented badges, and while the lead-up to his Eagle Scout award involved a lot of work, he spoke positively about the experience in general.

“Of course there’s a lot of work going into it, but the end result is very rewarding because you can always look back on all those memories you’ve had,” Andrew said. “The friends you’ve made in scouting, in your troop, that stays with you forever… Even though there are less desirable parts like all the insect bites, you still look back on it and laugh.”

His father offered high praise for Andrew. 

Recalling some scouting memories with his son over the past few years, Rob emphasized the pride he felt as his son finally achieved Eagle Scout.

“I’m really proud of him,” Rob said. “Like he said, he probably could have started a few things a little earlier to make it a little easier, but the harder it is, the more you appreciate it and the more thankful you are. You get to look back at that as an accomplishment when you experience something hard like that.”

Troop 323 Leader Ben Cozean also offered praise for Andrew, noting his positivity even amid the bad weather his troop has experienced as well as his ability to work with younger scouts.

“Andrew has been exceptional at helping younger scouts,” Cozean said. “He’s a good teacher, kinda helps show them the way. That’s one of his biggest qualities that stands out in the troop.”

Having achieved the highest rank in scouting, Andrew offered encouragement and simple advice for those younger scouts looking to do the same.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” Andrew said. “People are always willing to help. And get as much done as early as you can because, when you get older, you get busier, and it becomes harder to get stuff done.”