Megan Navarro
DRIFTWOOD — Zane Kirschner, 19, a Hays High School graduate, has now become the final member of his family to become an Eagle Scout.
The award is the highest attainable rank available to youth in the Scouting program and has been given to young men for 100 years. Since 1912, approximately 4% of men who were Boy Scouts have earned the award, with more than two million young men earning the Eagle Scout rank since it was first awarded, and nearly 1,000 women also earning the rank during the inaugural class in 2021, according to Scouting America — formerly known as Boy Scouting America before a name change that was implemented, due to inclusivity and rebranding, earlier this year.
For Kirschner, a member of Troop 812 in Kyle, the award is extra special because he is continuing a legacy, as he is now the fourth and last member of his family to earn the Eagle Scout Award, joining his brothers — Cole, Skye and Tate — in reaching the rank.
“All my brothers were in the program. They did Cub Scouts and they went up into Boy Scouts. I feel like, no matter what, I would have stayed in it the entire time because, at that point, it was basically a legacy,” Kirschner explained.
Additionally, it follows a promise that his mother made to her father before he died in 2011 that she would help all of her sons, including Kirschner, to pursue and reach the Eagle Scout rank.
One of the major contingencies for earning the rank is planning and carrying out a service project to benefit the community.
Initially, Kirschner approached his homeowners association (HOA) in Plum Creek to do a creative recreation area for the dog park in the neighborhood, seeing that there was a need for that type of amenity in the area.
“For the longest time, we’ve had this dog park [that] is just a big open field and a couple of benches and there’s really not much to do there for the dogs, other than running around. So, we had gone to other places around Austin and around here in Kyle; [they] have these obstacle courses for dogs,” he said. “I, myself, have a dog. I go there all the time with her and I think it would be cool to do a project where I make just a couple of little playscapes, like tubes, for them to run through [and] seesaws for them to run up and down.”
After doing research and presenting his idea to the HOA, Kirschner did not get the go ahead to move forward with the project, causing him to have to pivot to something else.
Ultimately, Kirschner’s Eagle Scout project ended up being the design and construction of an outdoor path for Kyle VFW 12058 that allows for wheelchair access into the building from the garden area.
“Our troop was stationed at the VFW right across from the city hall, the old police department and the East Buffet in downtown Kyle, which is now gone. They just removed the whole thing and they had changed venues. On the day that we were moving all their stuff, we were taking out all their bricks [and] rocks in the front, moving the bench that the Cub Scouts had made for the VFW, getting everything out. I talked to the leader, Clint, and I’d asked him, ‘Hey, do you have any sort of projects that you need,’” he explained. “He asked me if I could build a path and a gate all the way to the back of their lot and if I cut through the gate, then they would have access to the parking lot back there.”
With the availability of materials from the VFW, along with help from several people, including family, friends, veterans and even the city — who took care of installing the gate — Kirschner was able to complete the project in the summer of 2023 and it was well-received.
“Even the city themselves, they're coming together to help all these veterans through this project that I'm doing. By the end, we finished it all up, got the last bricks laid, filled it all in with sand and then, gravel and then, placed the square stones in the center. It looked really amazing,” Kirschner said. “I talked to Clint, showed him everything. The veterans came by, looked at it all. They really loved it, signed everything off, got everyone's hours and then, I was finished with the project.”
In addition to the service project, there were other steps that Kirschner had to complete. The requirements for the Eagle Scout Award have changed over the years to meet the needs of the era, however, according to Scouting America, some elements of the program have remained true including:
• Demonstrate citizenship and caring for their community and others, leadership qualities and outdoor skills that show their self-sufficiency and ability to overcome obstacles.
• Earn 21 merit badges, 12 of which are required: First Aid, Camping, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Personal Management, Personal Fitness, Swimming or Hiking or Cycling, Communications, Family Life, Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving and Environmental Science.
• Held a troop leadership position during their time as a Scout.
• Plan and carry out a service project to benefit the community.
• Undergo a board of review in which their district, council and troop leaders evaluate their “attitude and practice of the ideals of Scouting.”
• The individual can only achieve the rank of Eagle Scout before their 18th birthday
A Court of Honor was held Sunday, Sept. 21, in Driftwood to recognize Kirschner earning the rank. Although his project was completed in 2023, the ceremony was scheduled for this year, due to the family being displaced while they were building their new home.
Highlights from the ceremony include: Kirschner giving all of his brothers and Scoutmaster BJ Bloodworth his mentor pins; giving Cole a belt buckle to match his other three buckles, a tradition started by Bloodworth; Kirschner receiving a challenge coin from his father; Skye played Reveille and Taps on his bugle; all the boys performing a skit on what they would be if they weren’t in the Scouting program; and Kirschner’s music video on his Scouting journey being played.
Lastly, what was a complete surprise for Kirschner, was a video/audio compilation of voiceover artists, Patrick Warburton and Bob Bergen — whom he met at the Voiceover Atlanta conference earlier this year.
This came as Kirschner, who graduated from Hays High School in 2024, is attending Austin Community College for an associates degree in audio engineering, with a dream of entering into a career of voice acting or voiceover work “whether it be TV, movies, commercials, audiobooks, even, whatever the case. I like doing things with my voice,” he said.
Looking back on his time in the Scouting program, Kirschner concluded that, even after being aged out for two years, he is still using the skills that he has learned.
“I'm still using skills that I had socially, in my job, in school, whatever the case. I still take into account the law and the oath because they were so formative. If you want to take a look at what a perfect Scout would be, it's just someone who follows all those things. That's what we all really strive to be within the program,” he said. “You're going to fall short in so many instances. As teenagers, there'll be social situations where you might be mean to someone, where you might not take action if someone's being bullied, if you see someone trip and fall and drop their stuff, it's like with that experience of Boy Scouts, you have this stuff readily on your mind. I've gotta help her. I've gotta stand up to that person. All these things. You feel them constantly and so that reciprocation and Boy Scouts always remember in every meeting, every camp, it really does help you become a better person and that is being a good Scout.”
To learn more about the Scouting program, visit www.scouting.org.
