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LAPLACE — The installation of new benches adds quiet spaces to relax and pray at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in LaPlace. As part of his Eagle Scout project, St. Charles Catholic senior Devon Rucker spruced up the grounds surrounding the school and church to improve quality of life in the community.

New benches sit in front of the gym and behind the church on concrete slabs poured by Rucker and other boy scouts in Troop 312. Rucker cleaned nearby statues and added new mulch and blooming flowers to surrounding flowerbeds.

With the service project complete, Rucker officially achieved his dream of becoming an Eagle Scout. It’s the highest rank attainable within the Boy Scouts of America program, and only four percent of scouts have soared to Eagle heights since its inception in 1911.

“It was pretty crazy once I finally got it because I’ve been in scouting for a little over 11 years now,” Rucker said. “One of my goals ever since I first joined was Eagle. Everybody was always building it up and teaching us about how important it would be to get it. It’s been a major part of my life. I wouldn’t be the same person I am, at all, without scouting.”

Eagle projects can take anywhere from a couple of months to an entire year to plan and execute, according to Rucker. The main stipulation is that the project positively impacts the community. Rucker knew he wanted to involve his church and former school community at St. Joan of Arc. He contacted rectory receptionist Jackie Cupit, and the two took a walk through campus to see what could be improved.

The hardest part, according to Rucker, was moving the project forward at a steady pace without slowing down or stopping.

“Once you stop, it’s really hard to start again,” Rucker said. “You have to take that momentum and just keep it going. There were a lot of setbacks. I had a lot of support the entire time in school, out of school and at home. Any time I was getting too relaxed, someone would say hey, you need to get moving.”

Knowing that a lot of scouts age out of the program before they make Eagle was motivation to attain the rank while he still could. Other Scouts in Troop 312 were happy to help the project reach completion.

Scouting has led Rucker to build a strong friendship with fellow SCC students Luke Ringe and Dominick Boesen. The boys have revived a patriotic tradition at the school, according to SCC assistant principal Mike Scalco.

“I’ve never had to worry about the flag,” Scalco said. “They have taken care of raising it, lowering it and folding it the entire time.”

Rucker doesn’t plan on giving up scouting any time soon; He will continue as an adult leader in the troop. Sometimes overseeing the younger scouts is like supervising a rowdy middle school field trip, but Rucker said the boys are respectful and show great potential as future leaders.

“I was worried that the troop was going to go under after Luke, Dominick and I left,” Rucker said. “But then those kids showed up, and they are the life of the troop now.”

At St. Charles Catholic, Rucker is part of track and cross-country. He prefers long distance running and participates in the 3200-meter race.

Once he got to SCC, Rucker was dismayed to learn there wasn’t a cross-country team. He brought the concern to then-Principal Andrew Cupit, who challenged him to find enough students interested in forming a team. When Rucker followed through with that request, Cupit found a teacher to coach the new team.

“Once you start running, you don’t really stop,” Rucker said. “You’re learning how to pace yourself. I think that’s a good way to think about a lot of things. You don’t want to overwork yourself, but if you go too slow, it’s a waste. It’s about finding the middle ground.”

Running isn’t Rucker’s only passion. He’s also been a writer and a voracious reader ever since he picked up the “Eragon” book series in sixth grade.

After graduation, Rucker plans to attend Southeastern Louisiana University and pursue a career in the publishing industry.