Eagle scout aims to give back and leave a lasting mark on BHS

For some teenagers, summer break is a time for relaxing and staying as far away from school as possible. But for Bigfork High School student Kegan Driver, this summer isn’t about either of those things.

Driver is currently working on his Eagle Scout project, lettering for the exterior of BHS near the main entrance by the principal’s office to let people know which building is the high school. His goal is to have the lettering up before the first day of his sophomore year, the day after Labor Day.

“People are always getting confused at basketball games and volleyball games and they go to the middle school thinking it’s the high school,” Driver said. “Some people don’t know the high school and middle school are separate buildings.”

This means he has about two months to raise an estimated $3,000, order the lettering and get it installed before the first bell rings for fall semester. However, he has been working on plans for the project since the second semester of last school year with the help of BHS Principal Matt Porrovecchio and his scout leader Brian Sugden.

“He’s really taken ownership and come up with a quality idea that will really add to the school,” Porrovecchio said. “It’s a nice way to set them (the schools) apart, and the way he has planned it is aesthetically nice and adds to the structure.”

On June 25 Driver attended the Bigfork School Board’s meeting to present his idea to the trustees. The trustees all expressed their support for his project and trustee Dave Carlson gave the first $20 donation to Driver’s project.

Porrovecchio said BHS used to have a “slider sign similar to Dairy Queen’s” but wasn’t sure what happened to it. He guessed the reason BHS no longer has a sign is because it is common knowledge among Bigfork residents which building is the high school.

Driver said he came up with the idea when he was thinking about ways to give back to those that had an impact on his life and noted the “real world” lessons taught in Steve Melkioty’s shop class.

“Lessons that you need to do a good job, if you’re going to do something, don’t just do it halfway, do it all the way,” Driver said. “Then I thought about the school and I would like to do something that would stand out a bit more and last.”

Driver said the biggest challenge other than gathering the funds is going to be taking a leadership role while working on the lettering. He hopes to get help from local handimen when hanging the letters, which he is ordering through Woodland Manufacturing.

“We were really proud, a lot of kids wait until the month before 18,” Kegan’s mom, Sarah Driver, said. “He just finished his merit badges and he could have taken off for a couple of years, but he is seeing it through and not putting it off and we are very happy about it. We’re glad he is giving back to the community and giving back to the school.”