The Journey to Eagle
by Jacob Cuthbert, III
(Member of Saint Mark AME Church, Orlando, Florida)
As I complete my final year of high school, I often reflect on my journey. I was born at Arnold Palmer Hospital at 32 weeks via C-Section because my mom’s life was endangered. When my mom got pregnant with me, her doctor told her that she should terminate her pregnancy because one or both of us would die if she did not. Well, they were wrong! I was born healthy but soon lost my hearing before I was 8 months old. I had surgery in hopes of restoring my hearing. It worked, but I did not learn to speak until I was almost 5 years old. My mom says that I sounded like a Klingon from Star Trek in those early days.
In the first grade, I joined Cub Scout Pack 34 at the 1st United Methodist Church in Sanford, Florida. I loved it! I never missed a Den meeting, Pack meeting, or campout. I was so cute back then that I was the #1 fundraiser. Even though I had a speech impediment, no one ever made fun of me. They treated me like I was a normal kid. I got to see and do and learn a lot of things as a Cub Scout. Besides all the things we did on campouts in Den and Pack meetings, I also had some remarkable experiences. My favorite memories as a Cub Scout were attending the Scout Shows at the University of Central Florida arena. I met the big guy, Mr. Ron Oates, for the first time when I was a young Tiger Cub. I told him that day that I wanted his job. He responded by putting me in a commercial.
When I crossed over to Boy Scouts, I was still in elementary school but hit the ground running. There were summer camps, campouts, camporees, Jamborees, Courts of Honor, and just plain old fun with a purpose. With the help of my adult leaders, I advanced in rank and eventually was elected as Senior Patrol Leader (after trying three times). Not only was I the longest-serving Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) in my troop’s history, but also I delayed working on my Eagle Scout Project to lead my Troop (Scouts BSA Troop 263, Lake Mary, Florida) through a pandemic. The skills I learned as a scout helped me to find ways to keep us together while we practice social distancing.
Scouting has also helped me understand that the world is bigger than me and that I have a duty to God, country, and humanity. Being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent has become a way of life. Just like Bishop Richard Allen, who, in 1793, helped with the Yellow Fever in Philadelphia, my Troop helped give cheerful service at a COVID-19 vaccination site, providing water and fruit to seniors as they got their 2nd shots.
Because of my early childhood deafness, I struggled academically in school. Scouting has taught me never to give up and always to do my best. Today, I consider myself a student-athlete. Bishop Adam J. Richardson Jr., the Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and my former Bishop and good friend, often credits me for bringing scouting to the AME Church in Florida. (I didn’t, really). It was always available. He just noticed how scouting has helped me and my mom through one of the darkest times in our lives.
Today, I am a proud member of the Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout Class of 2023. I am the first Black in my Troop to attain the rank of Eagle. I did not get her by myself. I have a village of people who always pray for, love on, support, and encourage me. No bad for a kid who was never supposed to have been born.
I do not know what my future holds, but I know that if God is with me and I take the lessons my mom, my church, and scouting have taught me, I will soar like an eagle.
