Ryan Hoexter already achieved the highest Boy Scouts of America rank, but his journey is not over.
Black Hawk College student Ryan Hoexter, who became an Eagle Scout in August 2019, continues to be involved with BSA by giving back as a volunteer.
“I love being a leader and someone the scouts can look to for advice in their lives and for help,” he said.
Hoexter volunteers as an assistant leader for Troop 425 and is training to become an assistant scoutmaster for the troop.
The assistant scoutmaster role includes additional responsibilities, such as organizing trips and merit badge clinics.
Learning at Black Hawk College
Before graduating from Sherrard High School in 2019, Hoexter got started at Black Hawk College by taking dual credit and online classes his junior year.
Hoexter decided to continue his BHC education after graduating because of small class sizes, the affordable price and to stay close to family and friends. He doesn’t regret his decision.
“It is easy to make friends and the teachers really do seem to care about their students,” Hoexter said. “It is very easy to get help from teachers.”
His favorite BHC instructors are history/political science professor James Larrabee and anthropology/archaeology assistant professor Dr. Rachel Horner Brackett.
“Professor Larrabee was a great storyteller and made his history classes very interesting,” Hoexter said. “Dr. Horner Brackett loves anthropology so much that it starts to rub off on her students.”
Hoexter is earning his Associate in Science degree. After graduating, he will transfer to a four-year university to pursue a degree in electronic engineering.
He has always loved technology, but realized he wanted to make technology his career while working at Best Buy.
“I realized that technology can solve so many people’s problems, from as simple as giving directions while driving to monitoring one’s pulse and sleeping habits,” Hoexter said.
After college, his goal is to open his own company and create problem-solving electronic devices.
Journey to Eagle Scout
Hoexter’s scouting involvement started young – his older brothers were Cub Scouts so he went along for meetings, and his dad, Dave Hoexter, is the scoutmaster for Troop 425.
Soon, he was a Cub Scout, too. Childhood memories include attending meetings, camping trips and other scouting adventures.
The troop meets at Preemption United Methodist Church, which is the place Hoexter selected for his Eagle Scout project.
“For my project, I decided to give back to the church,” he said. “I did a technology revamp.”
He created a website for the church, worked on the church’s Facebook page, and made a manual about the church’s technology and equipment to guide people unfamiliar with it.
Hoexter’s troop had an unusually large amount of scouts earn Eagle Scout rank in 2019 for its size – six. The Boy Scouts of America describes the Eagle Scout award as a performance-based achievement. It requires fulfilling requirements in leadership, service and outdoor skills.
“I wanted to become an Eagle Scout because I wanted to be a part of something larger than myself,” he said. “Only about 6 percent of scouts earn this high honor.”