(above, l-r) Eagle Scouts Sebastian Heredia and Michael Malnati.
Heredia & Malnati Earn Eagle Rank from Troop 67
Sebastian Heredia, a Senior at Summit High School, and Michael Malnati, a Junior at Summit High School, have both achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Eagle is the highest rank in Boy Scouts and only 3% of all Scouts nationwide earn this distinction. Both Scouts earned this rank with the support of the leaders of Troop 67 in Summit, NJ, which is charted by St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church.
During this five year process of satisfying the requirements for the Eagle rank, Heredia and Malnati participated in many treks, performed many hours of community service, and provided leadership for their troop. They learned many outdoor skills and earned 21 merit badges. Heredia also earned the Silver Palm Award for earning 15 merit badges beyond those required to reach the rank of Eagle. Heredia and Malnati are also both Brotherhood members of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society. Heredia is also very active in the Sea Scout program of Boy Scouts of America that operates a 65 foot ship out of Linden, NJ and this year he was nominated Sea Scout of the year.
Both Scouts participated in the National Catholic Committee on Scouting and were awarded the Ad Altare Dei Emblem in 2018 and were then presented with the emblem at a ceremony held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. This is an emblem that may be earned by Boy Scouts of the Catholic faith. “Its purpose is to foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person by encouraging him to actively live out his Catholic Christian faith.” Both Scouts subsequently earned the Pope Pius XII Catholic Emblem with the support of their pastor, Fr. Bob Meyer, and were recognized for this achievement in Newark in 2019.
Both Scouts completed Eagle projects to serve the Dominican Nuns at Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, NJ. Heredia’s Eagle project was to build gravel walkways and to improve a Marian prayer rose garden. Michael Malnati’s Eagle project consisted of building five raised garden beds for the sisters to use for plantings.
Heredia was formally presented the Eagle Scout award at a Court of Honor ceremony celebrated at the Dominican Monastery on May 25. Malnati was presented the Eagle Scout award at a Court of Honor ceremony on December 15 at St. Teresa of Avila church in Summit, NJ.
Both Eagle Scouts are very grateful to their troop leaders and also to the Dominican sisters for supporting them in their Eagle Scout Projects. Heredia and Malnati are the first Boy Scouts from Summit to serve the sisters within their monastery. The Dominican Nuns of Summit are a contemplative order where the sisters live in a cloister and practice a life of prayer. Heredia and Malnati both feel very blessed that the sisters invited them to work in their garden inside the intimate papal enclosure. This experience was a gift to the Scouts, their families, and the Troop 67 community. Troop 67 has been active at St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Church in Summit since 1933. If you would like more information about the troop, please contact: sites.google.com/yahoo.com/troop67online.
