COE Student is Eagle Scout
Visitors to Quail Hollow Ranch in Felton can enjoy a much-improved equestrian
area thanks to Leigh High School senior Duncan Lindberg.
Duncan led a six-month project that earned him the rank of Eagle Scout, an
accomplishment achieved by only 4 percent of Boy Scouts. The honor is even more
remarkable when you consider that Duncan is the only deaf member of his Troop 633.
Duncan and his six-member crew replaced two 10-year-old benches, installed hitching
posts at the top of the trail and in the parking lot and created an erosion barrier to
stabilize a hillside. Duncan also raised money to pay for the materials.
One of the requirements to become an Eagle Scout is to demonstrate leadership skills,
a challenge perhaps more difficult for a deaf Scout leading a hearing crew. But it's a
familiar challenge for the 18-year-old. As assistant Scout Master, he leads other Scouts
in activities and games. And for the second year, Duncan is teaching younger Scouts how to
ski and snowboard so they can earn merit badges.
"Duncan is bicultural," said Leigh High School Principal Ginny Maiwald. "He knows two
languages and cultures and moves between the hearing and deaf worlds with fluidity. At
Leigh High School he is a role model for other Deaf and hearing students. He is dedicated,
high achieving and a friend to all."
Duncan has been in the COE's program for deaf and hard of hearing students since he was
an infant. The program focuses on academics, social and vocational learning and independent
living for students through age 22.
Duncan describes separate worlds this way: "In my home area, all my friends are hearing.
At school, all my friends are deaf."
Besides Scouting, Duncan loves to surf, ski, play soccer or tennis and go camping. Of course,
during the school year a great deal of his time is spent studying. He is a senior in AP classes
and is thinking of majoring in biochemistry at the University of California, Davis, or the
Rochester Institute of Technology. He'd like to be a veterinarian who focuses on wildlife.
Duncan became an Eagle Scout officially in a ceremony on December 19 in Felton before an audience
of 70 people. At the ceremony's end, troop members hoisted him up on their shoulders so he could
sign a Scout flag, a surprising tribute to his accomplishment.
"Scouting has given me the best friends I've ever had," Duncan said. "And I'm very grateful for that."
Date last updated: February 5, 2010 |
