Jack Farrell is quite a guy. The Huntington High School junior captured the 2018 Honor Scout Award at the Boy Scouts of America’s Suffolk County Council’s annual fellowship dinner at East Wind Caterers in Wading River.
A member of Troop 218 in Huntington, Mr. Farrell holds the rank of Eagle Scout. The Honor Scout Award is presented to only one Scout (Boy Scout or Cub Scout) per district each year. The teenager’s district stretches from Huntington to Smithtown. The award recognizes “outstanding Scouts.”
Mr. Farrell became the seventh Eagle Scout in his family last December. He grew up wanting to be a Boy Scout, but he wasn’t aware of the long tradition of his family in the organization. He joined when he was 13 years old.
“In my four short years in Scouting, I have earned a total 31 merit badges, one Eagle palm, the Den Chief Service Award, Mile Swim, Camping and Aquatics National Outdoor Awards, Paul Bunyan Woodsman Award and the Messengers of Peace Award,” said Mr. Farrell proudly. “I am also a member of the Order of the Arrow and Leave No Trace Trainer that earned the Outdoor Ethics Action Award.”
The Huntington junior participated in the National Youth Leadership Training program in the summer of 2016. Mr. Farrell followed that up with troop guide coursework the following spring and summer. He has served in a number of positions and is currently a junior assistant scoutmaster in Troop 218.
Mr. Farrell personifies the term “well-round student.” He sails year-round and works as a ski instructor on weekends during the winter, teaching 6-11 year olds how to ski and compete in “mogul” competitions. He’s also a contributing member of Huntington High School’s robotics team. “My experiences with robotics and my own interests have encouraged me to study mechanical engineering in college,” he said.
Energetic and enthusiastic
Huntington High School junior Jack Farrell.
Mr. Farrell’s Eagle Scout project is really neat. “I designed, prototyped and led a group of people to build it,” he said. “It was made to benefit The WaterFront Center, a non-profit organization in Oyster Bay whose mission is to teach and inspire others to appreciate, preserve and recreate within the marine environment. When the boats get put away for the winter, the blades (rudders and daggerboards) used to be messily stacked in a ramshackle shed which is not good for them and made it impossible to organize and access the shed during the spring and fall sailing seasons. So I built my project to store the 70 Optimist and c420 rudders and 50 Opti daggerboards outside of the shed.”
The teenager has thrived in the Huntington School District. He is well-liked by everyone and contributes to all of his classes and the activities he participates in around the building.
An “awesome time” in Huntington
“Since joining the public school system in eighth grade at Finley Middle School, I have had an awesome time,” Mr. Farrell said. “I love all of my teachers because they are really approachable whenever I need to talk about anything. Perhaps my favorite thing about Huntington is the robotics team. I joined as a freshman and have learned and had immeasurable fun every day since. Mr. [Brian] Reynolds and Mr. [Omar] Santiago have been great mentors to me over the past few years. I especially love how the team’s organization reflects BSA. As per the rules of FIRST, team members must learn about engineering processes through their participation. They are not required to build their robots. However, on our team the entire process is student-run, from teaching newer members to the design and finished product of the robot; every decision is ultimately student made with the input of adults. These past three years at the high school have been amazing. I can’t wait to see what comes my way senior year.”
