With all the requirements that Boy Scouts have to complete to attain the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout, completing that final service project feels for many like a weight off of their shoulders. But for Jaireal Rodriguez, attaining his Eagle Scout Rank this past April was less like a weight lifted and more like a checkpoint achieved in his lifelong commitment to the scouts.

Jaireal Rodriguez grew up in Edgewood, attending Edgewood Highlands Elementary School, then Park View, and graduated from Cranston East this past June. He said that he wanted to join the scouts as soon as he turned 11 years old, the youngest age a boy can be to join. He was recruited by scouts who came into Edgewood Highlands and he hasn’t looked back since.

After having a great experience with Troop 4 Gaspee throughout his years, earning badges and going on camping trips, Rodriguez had to figure out what project he could do that went along with the values of boy scouts in his local area.

Instead of seeking a project out, Rodriguez was actually prompted by an incident involving his then 11-year-old brother, John, to complete his service project at his former elementary school, Edgewood Highlands.

“The project started because my brother got hurt at the school,” he said. “Unknown to them, there was metal edging [around the grass areas of the school] that was covered in snow. My brother and some of his friends were sledding and his leg got caught on the edging.”

After investigating the school grounds and determining that it could use some safety upgrades for the kids, Rodriguez immediately went to work renovating the potentially dangerous metal edges on the grounds.

“The main part was getting that steel edging out of there so nobody would get hurt,” he said. “The rest was replacing the rotted railroad ties and then cleaning up the area. I replaced the edging with composite edging, which was safer for the children and better for the environment.”

Getting this project done was no easy process, though.

Eagle Scout projects, in line with the lengthy commitment scouts make to the Boy Scouts, take a while to complete. For Rodriguez, he started his project in November of 2016 and completed it in January. He enlisted the help of his mother, Pat, his brother, who is also a member of Troop 4 and his fellow scouts. Rodriguez said the manual labor of the project was even tougher to get done in those harsh winter months.

“The weather didn’t always cooperate, but it happened,” he said.

Since he finished the job, he’s been checking up on his work by visiting the school.

“It’s held up and it’s looking good. I’ve been back to check on it,” he said. “The principal was very happy and very excited about the project…It’s cleaned up now. It’s safer for them, especially the younger kids.”

Other projects for fellow Eagle Scouts in Troop 4 included fixing up the Pawtuxet Armory and gathering diapers, formula, and supplies for a local organization, according to Rodriguez.

After attaining the Eagle Scout Rank after seven years in Boy Scouts, he’s passionate about the impact it has had on him.

“I feel like I’m more personable because of scouts. I wouldn’t be as confident in front of people,” he said. “I also wouldn’t be as helpful. It’s a different kind of helpfulness you learn from scouts. We help all different kinds of things and I’ve learned to help others and not expect things in return. It doesn’t matter what kind of help it is.”

He even used the skills learned in his project for a summer job, helping renovate the Rhode Island Alternative Academy in Pawtucket, a new behavioral school that needed to be ready for this school year.

Now, Rodriguez has begun his college education at CCRI, where he is concentrating his studies in nursing. He’s looking at transferring to either Rhode Island College or Salve Regina after his two years at CCRI.

While he’s studying, he’ll have a hard time finding ways to be involved with the scouts, other than weekend meet-ups with his scout friends. But after juggling high school, being a football and lacrosse player at East and working at Basta in Pawtuxet Village, all while attaining the Eagle Scout rank, Rodriguez will always make time to continue his connection with scouts.

“What I plan on doing is, once I finish college and get everything settled with work, I want to go back and help my friends, my fellow scouts, to get up to what I’ve achieved,” Rodriguez said. “For me at least, I plan on going back and being an adult leader, helping them out, seeing kids progress and get better, grow up and achieve Eagle. Even if not, just better themselves as people in life.”

A true Eagle Scout, indeed.