By Daniel Arimborgo
On Saturday morning, Jan. 6, David Schwartzberg, 13, will be inducted into the Eagle Scout echelon in a court of honor at Holy Family Church, where his Troop 55 meets.
He will join a select group of other scouts in the nation – including his brother Michael, 14, who made Eagle earlier this year – as one of the few who achieve the title.
David attends eighth grade at Holy Family Church where his favorite subject is math. He has been playing soccer since he was 4, but recently “retired” from the Auburndale league to concentrate on his studies.
“I want to play World Cup Soccer when I grow up,” he says.
But future soccer stardom will have to wait. On a recent Friday, he had to leave the scout meeting early to go home and study for an Archbishop Malloy High School scholarship exam.
David has amassed 24 merit badges to date.
“Some are harder to earn than others,” he says, “so it takes anywhere from a week to three months to work on them.”
He says he works on up to four badges at the same time. The badge he most enjoyed earning, he says, was the physical fitness and athletics badge, which included requirements like doing a 50-yard dash several days in a row and comparing his times to see if he had improved. He had.
David's father, Steven Schwartzberg, a physician, said “he's acquired good leadership skills, which is one of the tenets. He's always had a heart of gold – that's been one of his fortes throughout life.”
David is also a troop leader in the Boy Scouts of America Reserve. The reserve, which trains in Alpine, N.J., is at the ready to respond to disasters like plane crashes, searching for injured and administering first aid. David's father says his son is good at delineating tasks.
“You're trying to show the kids how to do the right thing and to always be prepared, which is the motto,” he says.
David's Scout Troop 55 has been at Holy Family for 10 years. The troop is down to eight Boy Scouts from a high of 30, but a graduating class of Webelos, the rank just under Boy Scout, will be entering in the spring.
“When I'm an Eagle, I think I'll be an influence on other scouts like my brother is,” he says. “He motivated me to reach the highest rank of Boy Scouts like he did.”
