A Boy Scout is on his honor to do his best for God, Country and family.
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| L to r: Matt's mom, Karen, Matt, dad, John and sister Lauren, |
On August 31st, 17-year-old Matt
Leary of Southington completed an eleven-year journey to the highest rank in
the Boy Scouts of America: Eagle Scout. His Court of Honor was held at the church hall
of St. Leo The Great in Waterbury, instead of at his usual Troop 3 location at Mill
Plain Union Church, in order to enable Matt’s great-grandfather, Sam Elia, 98, to
attend this special moment in his life.
Matthew John Leary lives with his
parents, Karen and John Leary, and his sister, Lauren, in Southington in their
home of 20 plus years. The family has been deeply committed to service at St.
Dominic Church. Matt and Lauren attended St. Dominic School, St. Paul’s H.S. in
Bristol, where Matt is now a senior, while Lauren is a junior at University of St.
Joseph majoring in history.
For Matt, the long and arduous road to Eagle
Scout began as a Cub Scout in 1st grade at Pack 218 at St. Peter
& Paul Church in Waterbury. “It
wasn’t that much fun at first. I was doing it because my dad told me to.”, Matt
said. “But with dad’s motivation to just give it a try, I knew pretty quickly
that I wanted to do it. In Boy Scouts, you learn to do your best. For me, it was
to go for ‘Eagle’.” In the course of
time, Matt learned many skills and what leadership is about. “There’s a lot of
‘doing’… but it’s more about ‘being’ a scout; not just wearing the
uniform, but about a way of life.” Achieving ‘Eagle’ requires hard work and a
sustained commitment of many years. Any
tenderfoot scout knows that it takes earning 21 merit badges. Matt proudly wears 28 badges now, along with
his Star, Life and Eagle insignia, and he now wants to go for three Eagle palms: bronze, gold and silver, to further advancing
his skills and knowledge. These must be completed by next April 24th,
his 18th birthday. Merit badges teach boys a host of skills that develop
valued tools in life. Over 120 merit badges are offered in health, sports,
crafts, science, trades, business and future careers enabling scouts to learn
that special ‘way of life’ of a Boy
Scout.
For his Eagle Scout project, Matt chose to
construct a decorative stone wall around the back of the press box tower at St.
Paul’s sports arena. Planting pots were
installed into the stone work and flowers were planted. He designed and
organized the project, recruited scouts to work under his leadership, raised funds
for material and supplies and gained approval for the plan from his scoutmaster
and his school administration. “Several
scouts assisted me in a period of a few weeks. It took 190.7 man-hours to get
it done.” Matt said.
Considering
a career in law enforcement, Matt set his classes this year with a focus on exploring
that and other career options. His goal is to maintain honor roll status, and
in sports, to stay on the Indoor Track team, hoping to be its captain. He’ll continue his parish youth ministry
work. “A career as a Police Officer doesn’t require a college
education but I plan to earn at least a Bachelor’s Degree. I envision myself leading a Police
Department one day running a complex organization that would make a college
degree necessary. But, I also plan to attend a college with a strong Catholic
identity to strengthen my moral and ethical foundation as a Catholic. My faith is very important to me. I’ve had thoughts
about entering the seminary, to discern the Priesthood, if God calls me to do
so.”
Matt’s dad, John Leary became
an Eagle Scout in 1982 at Troop 3 with Bill ‘Bones’ Meo as his scoutmaster.
Through the years, Meo has continued as scoutmaster. Today, John Leary is his
assistant scoutmaster. Leary is employed
by TRONOX, a global corporation based in Stamford as Director of Consolidations. John Leary has also been Chairman of the Town’s
Board of Finance for six years, working with other elected officials and town
management to develop and maintain a finance strategy that balances the
priority needs of the Town and the cost to the taxpayer. Leary is a member of the Southington Catholic School
Board and has been a member of the St. Dominic Church Finance Board for many
years. Matt’s mom, Karen Leary, is a Physical
Therapist for the Consolidated School District of New Britain, traveling to all
district schools to work with special needs students. She is a member
of the Town’s Commission on Disabilities; has served as president of the St.
Dominic School Board and the Parish Council and the St. Paul H.S. School Board.
“(The spirit of) scouting it something
inside of you”, Matt says, “Boys leading boys with adults supervising, teaching
and guiding.”
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