SCRANTON, Pa. — Boy Scouts of all ages from across the region came together for the 24th annual Merit Badge College. It's a marathon of hands-on events held at Johnson College in Scranton for scouts with big plans to work through the ranks
"I want to get to eagle by at least the time I'm 15," said Nathan Thorpe.
From working on cars to welding, the classes are taught by Johnson College staff or scout leaders with expertise in certain professions.
"The Merit Badge program itself is based around the premise that it is a way for scouts to explore different things and different opportunities such as welding, woodworking, plumbing, all that kind of stuff," said Mark Chappell, Merit Badge College coordinator.
The scouts tell Newswatch 16 that getting these merit badges will help them work through the ranks, the skills will help them work through life.
"We get to learn a lot of new skills and that I firmly believe we can use in our lifestyles, especially welding positions; it's great for something like that," said Michael Granzol, Star Rank.
"This could be used in the future because, well, what if I want to build my own house," said Thorpe, Star Rank.
"As an adult, it would be good to know these types of things so if there was ever a case where you needed to do something quickly, you will be able to do it yourself without having to call a plumber or make an appointment for certain things," said Connor Pirbula, First Class.
More than 150 Boy Scouts took part, and they say it's not all about the badges. It's about building relationships as well.
"It's a lot of fun. You get to make a lot of new friends meet new people," said Granzol.
"It's awesome for me; I've been in scouts my whole life, so to see this, this is just awesome to see the scouts continuing on the scouting legacy and keeping it going," said Chappell.
25 different badges were up for grabs as part of this year's Merit Badge College.
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