Photo courtesy of Blake and Lowell Berg

Less than 1% of all current scouts will reach the rank of Eagle Scout. The odds are against any one scout making it all the way—it’s an even rarer accomplishment for twins. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Boy Scouts of America, Zachary Turpin—our very own Eagle Scout from Troop 101, Dripping Springs, Texas—spoke with Blake and Lowell Berg.

When did you and your twin get your Eagles?

Lowell: Two years ago, senior year of high school.

And how old are you now?

Lowell: Nineteen. Our birthday is actually the 9th of February.

Wait, seriously, a day after the Centennial? So American scouting turns 100, and you two turn 20?

Lowell: [Laughs] Yeah.

You guys are identical. How far apart were you born?

Blake: Eight minutes.

And how far apart did your earn your Eagle rank?

Lowell: I earned mine about a month before Blake did—his service project was to build a fitness trail in the local park in our neighborhood—a totally new trail, not an embellishment on an existing trail. I did a soccer clinic for special needs children in the area, and collected soccer gear for a school, the San Miguel Academy in Newburgh, NY, that couldn’t afford to purchase any equipment.

Blake: I wanted to do something that would combine my interests with the town’s interests. I figured a fitness trail people could use to warm up for soccer and baseball games, and just stay in shape all season, without having to go to the track and run in circles for hours.

Lowell: We both received the Eagle award at a Court of Honor in June of 2008.

Are the requirements for Eagle Scout still the same as they were a decade ago? In addition to the service project, 21 merit badges minimum, 10 of them required? Plus passing a Board of Review?

Lowell: Absolutely.

What were some of your most and least favorite requirements on the road to earning the rank?

Blake: My most and least favorite were both the same thing: the merit badges. There were some that I enjoyed, like Pioneering, First Aid, and Camping—but I wasn’t a fan of the citizenship badges: Citizenship in the Community, Nation, and World.

Neither was I.

Blake: They were the toughest. But plenty of others were fun to get.

It’s funny how scouting slowly evolves over time. There are new merit badges now that have only existed for, say, a decade, and others have been discontinued. Composite Materials, Fly Fishing, even Nuclear Science—those are all new. Some of the best discontinued ones, I think, are Consumer Buying, Interpreting, and Small Grains & Cereal Foods. I don’t know about you, but I earned the Shotgun Shooting merit badge.

Lowell: Yeah, I earned Rifle Shooting.

How long have you been in scouting?

Lowell: I joined in 1st grade, as a Cub Scout. My dad, Jeff Berg, is an Eagle Scout himself.

Where are you and your brother in school—and what about your father?

Blake: I go to Syracuse University; I’m a sophomore studying mechanical engineering. Lowell is at Ohio University, studying Sport Management. My dad went to Cornell.

Fun fact: the first Eagle Scout, Arthur Rose Eldred, in 1912, also went to Cornell. And many people don’t know that Neil Armstrong was an Eagle Scout, along with 10 of the other 12 men who have walked on the moon. Also James Lovell of the Apollo 13 mission; Alfred Kinsey, the pioneering sexologist; Steven Spielberg; and two laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics. What else do you think people might not know about Eagle Scouts?

Blake: I don’t think they realize how many skills one can learn. ‘Eagle Scout’ is something nice to have on a resume, but people don’t realize what’s inside an Eagle Scout. A boy’s leading and not merely doing. And it’s not just about leadership and learning problem-solving skills. I was working towards this since 6th grade. It’s the biggest personal project I’ve ever taken part in.