Bloomingdale Eagle Scout: Hard Work Pays Off

Standing on a stage at the Saturday, staring out at a packed room filled with family and friends, James Synol, 18, knew his hard work toward becoming an Eagle Scout had finally paid off.

Synol, who had begun his scouting career as a Cub in the first grade, became newest Eagle during a special ceremony attended by scout leaders, council members and Mayor Jon Dunleavy, who presided over the ceremony.

Synol said Monday he became interested in scouting because his dad, Christopher, had been a Boy Scout. 

"It just looked like fun because we've always gone on hikes and done outdoorsy stuff," Synol said.

The Troop 86 member advanced through all the ranks and earned 41 badges during his tenure as a Scout, including his two favorites, the Lifesaving and Rifle Shooting badges. One of Synol's favorite scouting memories is working as a lifeguard at Camp Turrell, in Cuddebackville, NY.

"I just met a bunch of people and I worked as a lifeguard," he said. "Just the atmosphere's fun because it's a Boy Scout camp."

Synol is a senior at the Morris County School of Technology studying electrical trades. He plans to attend college in the fall either at Pennsylvania College of Technology or State University of New York (SUNY) at Delhi also to study electrical trades.

Synol was praised by many during Saturday's ceremony, including in the invocation delivered by the Rev. Marjorie Erickson.

"He stands for all that is good and is right in this world," she said.

Dunleavy also described Synol as "the epitome of scouting."

"This is an occasion for pride and joy, as well as an occasion of serious reflection," Dunleavy said.

Senior Patrol Leader Sean A. Saint Jacques also joked that Synol honed his cooking skills and "excelled at making dishes with Spam."

But scouting was not just fun for Synol. The Eagle completed and initiated several projects that benefitted his community, including river cleanups, a cleanup at Friendship Park and his Eagle project, which was to for prospective animal adopters to interact with animals at the

"I saw a couple of the animal shelter signs around the town so I went down and asked if they needed anything done down there or if they had any ideas for any projects," he said.

Synol had help from Pack 86 with the project, but still, he said completing his Eagle Project was the most challenging thing he has done as a Scout.

"I've never really organized anything before so I had to communicate with the animal shelter and find fence companies and get price quotes and figure out how to fundraise for it," he said.

But once the project was complete, and especially on Saturday, Synol said he knew all his hard work had paid off. 

"It's so great because it really brought together everything. I've officially reached it and all my hard work went to getting Eagle," he said. "Everything finally fell into place. It wasn't overwhelming, I guess, but it was just nice to see that I had so many people come out to support me."