Miami Lakes native Broderick Schwinghammer earned the prestigious Eagle Scout Award from Boy Scouts of America, and was celebrated at his Eagle Court of Honor in September.
Schwinghammer has been an exceptional scout honoring the Scout Oath every day, and honoring his community which was reflected in his Eagle project, the creation of a new park, the Miami Lakes Poetry Park, where he led a team of volunteers to turn an abandoned isolated lot on Sable Drive into a waterfront environmental preserve fostering writing.
The new Eagle began his scouting career in 2001 as a first-grader with Cub Scout Park 660. Over five years, he earned his Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos badges, with 16 activity badges, the World Conservation badge, and Cub Scouting’s highest honor, the Arrow of Light.
In the fifth grade, he joined Boy Scout Troop 566 chartered to Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church. During his time in Troop 566, he participated in 51 nights of camping, white water rafting, hiking over 250 miles with the troop including three Barefoot Mailman hikes of 35 miles each, five Old Cutler Trail hikes of 12 miles, and 35 miles in the mountains of North Carolina.
He attended four summer camps and did a 44-mile kayak adventure in the Everglades backcountry earning the Historic Trail Badge. He traveled to Minnesota to trek 75 miles into Canada on canoes from the National Boy Scout Camp known as the Northern Tier, earning the Boy Scout 75 miler award.
Schwinghammer hosted a dozen Flag ceremonies and Flag retirement ceremonies for the town and community, went cave diving and zip lining, water skiing, and got into Boy’s Life magazine for surfing with Troop 566.
He successfully completed National Youth Leadership Training and was inducted into the Order of the Arrow, the Boy Scouts’ National Honor Society.
During his scouting career, he has kept his duty to God front and center. He earned the My Faith and Promise religious emblem, the St. Paul Patch, and then completed the two-year program for the Ad Altari Dei Catholic religious emblem.
While in Troop 566, he served as Troop Chaplain, Librarian, assistant Patrol Leader, Troop Historian, Patrol Leader, Scribe, assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, and Senior Patrol Leader.
“Scouting has been a huge part of my life and the experiences and challenges have made me the person I am today,” Schwinghammer said.
Scouting skills were beneficial to Schwinghammer’s activities outside of scouting. He just graduated from the MAST Academy with a 5.6 grade point average, and received the PTSA Young Writers Award fro his school. He was a member of JROTC, the Salsa Club, and treasurer of his class.
He was a four-year varsity swimmer going to district competitions twice, has become a life guard and scuba certified. He has been a page in the Florida Legislature and successfully completed an internship at the University of Miami Medical School, passing medical school classes and certifications at 15 years old.
In the community, Schwinghammer has volunteered hundreds of hours, especially as a member of the Youth Advisory Committee of the Children’s Trust, executing community-based programs and lobbying in Tallahassee for Miami-Dade’s children. He served on the Youth Advisory Committee’s executive board twice, once as secretary and this year as president.
Regarding his Eagle Project, Schwinghammer knew he wanted to serve his hometown, and creating a space to foster writing and enjoying nature was a clear reflection of his personality and commitment.
“Achieving Eagle was much more difficult that I thought it would be, but it made it that much more worth it,” he said.
For his next frontier, Schwinghammer just began his freshman year at the University of Florida.