ANAHEIM — Boy Scouts of America Troop 578, chartered by the Orange County Buddhist Church (OCBC) in Anaheim, is proud to announce six scouts who recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
On Nov. 7, 2020, Earl Chandler King Takeuchi, Jin Swun, Matthew Maeshiro, Kyle Hiromichi Noda, Kyle Kazuo Eng, and Kyle Wu were recognized at an Eagle Court of Honor. Due to COVID-19, the ceremony was held as a drive-in celebration attended by their families, friends, and fellow troop members. The ceremony included an inspirational speech by former scoutmaster Dr. John Nishimoto.
Only four percent of scouts obtain the rank of Eagle. To be considered for the Eagle Scout rank, the highest award a Boy Scout may earn, a candidate must be active in his troop, hold a leadership position, earn at least 21 merit badges (including 13 Eagle required badges), complete a leadership service project benefiting his local community, and receive letters of recommendation.
The rank of Eagle represents many years of dedicated effort, and the successful completion of a long process that started when the young man became a Boy Scout. It is a demonstration of how people, working together, can truly help mold a young man with a solid sense of leadership, citizenship, and responsibility.
Earl Chandler King Takeuchi, son of Earl King and Irene Takeuchi, is a senior at Fairmont Preparatory Academy in Anaheim, where he participates in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, is a Peace Ambassador, and participated in speech and debate, chamber ensemble and basketball.
Chandler feels most fortunate to have begun his scouting experience with Cub Scout Pack 578 prior to crossing over to Boy Scout Troop 578. He gained leadership experiences in all the patrol positions that led him to becoming a Trail to First Class instructor, assistant senior patrol leader, and senior patrol leader.?He earned two Silver, two Gold and three Bronze Palm Awards and takes away favorite scouting memories of ocean fishing, Keiro caroling and the Nippon Scout Jamboree 2018 in Suzu.
For his Eagle project, Chandler designed, planned, and led the construction of two mobile stacking storage units to store steel frame canopies for OCBC and attained the rank of Eagle on Jan. 22, 2019.
Chandler is grateful for the guidance, encouragement, and support that he received from troop adult leaders, families, alumni, and the OCBC sangha on his scouting path.?In the fall, he will attend college, majoring in political science.
Jin Swun,?son of Si and Sallie Swun, is a senior at Los Alamitos High School. During his high school years, Jin has been an AP Scholar, involved in the golf team, CSF, and volunteer clubs. He is the founder and two-year president of the Helping Hands Volunteer Club.
Jin started scouting in the first grade as a Tiger Scout in Pack 578 and crossed over into Troop 578. He has held multiple positions, including: patrol historian, scribe, quartermaster, assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, instructor, and troop chaplain. One of his favorite camps each year is the annual shotgun shooting event at Joshua Tree.
Jin’s passion and innate talent for cooking led him to enter the Camporee Golden Spoon competition as a new sixth-grade scout along with others from his troop. He also led his patrol to several victories in troop iron chef competitions. Jin has helped at OCBC banquet dinners assisting Rev. Marvin Harada, now bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America. Through these events, he acquired important leadership skills, which eventually led him to organizing and managing his Eagle project.
For his Eagle project, and with the guidance of his project advisor and mentor, ASM Rodney Ueno, and support of fellow scouts and parents, Jin planned and carried out the creation of 50 duffel bags filled with toiletries and handmade pillows for the youth in crisis at the Casa Youth Shelter in Los Alamitos.
Jin would like to thank Troop 578, OCBC, and the families who have supported and guided him throughout his scouting career. In the fall, Jin hopes to attend a private institution or UC school pursuing a degree in the health and human sciences before attending medical school. He pursues a career as a dermatologist specializing in Mohs micrographic surgery.
Matthew Maeshiro, son of Victor and Nancy Maeshiro, is a senior at Orange Lutheran High School. He ran for the cross country and track team for two years. Matthew also took two years of computer-aided drafting classes and uses the skills he learned to make blueprints for his dad.
Matthew’s first tremendous scouting experience was National Youth Leadership Training, in which he learned core guidance and management skills that he would use later on in his scouting career as senior patrol leader. The very next summer Matthew attended Philmont, a 12-day, 80-mile backpacking trek in New Mexico. Japan Jamboree was the most unique adventure, in which Matthew spent one week camping with a troop from Hiroshima. Lastly, Matthew served as crew leader during the 80-mile canoeing trek Northern Tier.
During seventh grade, Matthew joined the OCBC SEYO Basketball Team to spend more time with his scouting friends. Matthew also joined OCBC Jr. YBA in the middle of his freshman year. Striving to be more involved, he served on Cabinet as a historian his junior year and is currently the vice president of finance.
For his Eagle project, Matthew donated 40 backpacks with school supplies to two schools each in Belize in the summer of 2019. With the help of project advisor Michael Oune, Matthew led nine scouts in the packing of the backpacks and another group of six scouts in the delivery in Belize.
Matthew is planning on becoming a structural engineer and obtaining his CAD license while in college.
Kyle Hiromichi Noda, son of Hiroki and Renee Noda, is a senior at Cypress High School. He has been a Jr. YBA member for four years, played SEYO basketball, and actively participated in the Kizuna leadership program.
Kyle’s scouting career began as a Tiger Cub Scout in Pack 578 and ended in Troop 578. During his scouting career, Kyle camped under the stars for over 100 nights and completed the National Youth Leadership Training Program. He served lots of troop positions ranging from patrol scribe, quartermaster, patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, instructor, assistant senior patrol leader, and senior patrol leader. He credits the older scouts for inspiring him to become the leader and individual he is today.
His favorite scout outings were canoeing 80+ miles at Northern Tier in Ontario, summiting Mount Baldy, and all the weekend-long backpacking trips.
Kyle centered his Eagle project around giving back to his elementary school. With the help of his project advisor, Kyle designed and constructed a robust dual-purpose storage chest that stores garden tools and serves as a bench for students in the school’s new outdoor classroom.
In the fall, Kyle hopes to pursue a business administration-management major and attend a four-year university in California.
Kyle Eng, son of Patrick and Stacy Eng, is a senior at El Dorado High School in Placentia. In each of the four years of high school, he participated in the basketball program, Digital Media Arts Academy as well as CSF, FCA, DMAA and spikeball.
His scouting career began with Tiger Cub Pack 578 and concluded as a member of Troop 578. He was able to experience multiple leadership positions through the time as a scout. This included troop historian and scribe, then on to patrol leader, instructor, scribe and quartermaster.
His favorite events as a scout were the trips to the Japan Jamboree, Camp Fiesta Island and Rock Creek. He especially enjoyed the memories of rock climbing, deep sea fishing and backpacking.
One of the final steps of scouting was his Eagle Scout project. Kyle worked with the Wintersburg Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana to design and construct a new storage shed for the toys of the Children’s Ministry Program.
Kyle will be taking what he learned from his years of scouting into his adult life. These include being more confident, being a leader and to be independent. His next chapter will be to attend a four-year college in California.
Kyle Wu,?son of Kerry and Sutai Wu, is a senior at John F. Kennedy High School.
Kyle started his scouting career as a Webelos Scout until eventually crossing over with his group two years later. As a member of the Ninja Patrol, Kyle took on many new positions that varied in leadership. Serving his final year as the troop’s assistant senior patrol leader, Kyle credits his lifelong friend and fellow Eagle Scout Michael Nishimoto for encouraging him to become the individual he is today.
Though Kyle never became a member of the church, he based his Eagle Project on the foundation to give back to the community and demonstrate the influence of scouting. Leading 10 scouts for his project, Kyle rebuilt a popular game of probability and skill at the church’s annual festival. Under his advisor, Jon Mauldin, Kyle’s project design generated more funds for the church and brought the community closer together.
Outside of scouting, Kyle is an active leader enrolled in his school’s marching band program. Playing the trumpet for roughly six years, he currently provides aid for underclassmen who struggle with learning fundamental skills of the instrument. During rehearsals, Kyle acts as a role model towards his section with hopes to maximize the group’s success and potential when performing.
This fall, Kyle is hoping to attend UC Irvine with a high ambition of majoring in pharmaceutical science. He wishes to become a pharmacist in the future.