With a passion for helping the community, spending time in the wilderness and participating in Boy Scouts, junior Anthony Lu is determined to earn Eagle rank, which is the final rank a scout is capable of achieving. Only four percent of scouts earn Eagle Rank, and it is one of the most honorable achievements to earn as a scout. Lu must prove he is an effective leader, serve the community, earn merit badges and complete the Eagle Scout project in order to earn the rank.

For the project, Lu must build an innovation that benefits the community or a specific organization. He decided to work on building two six-foot-tall metal skateboard racks for Portola High, allowing students to lock their skateboards in the rack during school hours and ensure the skateboards’ security.

“We have several students who ride their skateboards every day, and there is nowhere to lock them up at this point,” principal John Pehrson said. “The lockable rack would help out the students in this situation for years to come.”

Since Lu decided to make a project for Portola High, he has worked with Pehrson and assistant principal Kris Linville on deciding a project that is the right fit to benefit students and best follow the criteria necessary to earn his Eagle rank. As the school is new and has new technology already put in place, it was a challenge for Lu to make something best suited for this project.

“I originally was going to make a few simple, lightweight sign holders which would hold pieces of paper to direct visitors and students at events held at school. However, I decided on making these racks instead,” Lu said. “I wanted to do something that would stick around for a while, and I also wanted a good-sized project and a nice challenge for myself as well. I have never done any big metalworking project, so I’m excited to learn new skills such as metal cutting and welding.”

Lu has been in the scouts for five years, and this project represents much more to him than just building a skateboard rack. He attributes the Scouts to shaping him into the person he is today and teaching him to be independent. It has given him many leadership opportunities and pushed him to participate in activities outside of his comfort zone.

“I hope to learn more about the process of managing a decent-sized project like this one, between organizing volunteers, budgeting my materials and everything in between,” Lu said. “Apart from the obvious goals of building the skateboard racks and earning my Eagle Scout rank, I’m really interested to reflect and see how I’ve grown mentally as a person. I know it sounds cliché but that’s the way it is.”