An Eagle Has Landed: Alexander Frank

On Saturday, September 26, 2026, Alexander Frank sat for his Final Eagle Board and was

awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. He was escorted by his Eagle Service Coach, Mr.

Grosso. Alex's leadership positions in Troop 97 included Patrol Leader, Scribe, and

Instructor.

Alex confidently sat before the Eagle Board and spoke about his project, which benefited Temple Beth Sholom, formerly of New City and now relocated to the JCC

campus in West Nyack. The problem Alex planned to solve was that there was no exterior signage at the new location, so there was nothing telling people the synagogue was inside the building. Alex designed and installed a freestanding entrance sign by the side-door entrance: two white-painted 4x4 posts in concrete footings, a carved PVC sign face with the Temple Beth Sholom logo engraved white on blue hanging from a crossbeam, plus two solar lights.

Over the course of his project, Alex faced several setbacks, including a major design change requested by his beneficiary partway through, as well as tearing his ACL three weeks before the project was completed. Alex embraced both challenges, pushed through, and completed the project within his beneficiary's desired timeline. Alex shared that his two favorite merit badges were Animation and Cycling, both earned during COVID, because they gave him the chance not only to earn the badge but to spend time with his Scout friends. He also spoke about Personal Management being the most useful of the merit badges, as it taught him the importance of saving money and not being an impulse buyer.

Alex reminisced about his highlights of Scouting, which all involved the outdoors and camping. From the various Troop 97 camping trips to the visits to high adventure camps, he described "hiking for two weeks in the hail and the rain at Philmont" and scuba diving at Sea Base. Some of his most memorable moments from Troop 97 camping trips involved the highs and lows of the meals cooked by the patrols.

Beyond Scouting, Alex leads both in the classroom and across his school community. He founded his school's debate club and serves as captain of the debate team, is Vice President of the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, writes a column for The Ram's Horn, and competes in science Olympiad and DECA. His current research project explores how to make phase change materials exchange energy more efficiently. He was also a starting center back on the varsity soccer team and played singles for varsity tennis, lifeguards at the JCC in the summer, and referees for Clarkstown Soccer each fall.

Alex is a 2027 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist and an AP Scholar with Distinction, and has been inducted into five honor societies, including the National Honor Society as well as the Science, English, Math and Social Studies Honor Societies. He took first place in the NY Math League and has won two first-place art awards, including St. Thomas Aquinas College's Art for Social Change Contest for his piece "Pierce the Heavens."

He is in the process of sending out his college applications and is interested in studying

statistics, biometry or data science. Please join me in congratulating Alex for achieving this incredible milestone!

Mr. Kirsteins

Scoutmaster, Troop 97

New City, NY