Alex J. Rouse recently earned the Eagle Scout Award with Troop 33 in DeKalb. Eagle is the highest advancement rank presented by the Boy Scouts of America.

Rouse, a freshman at DeKalb High School, has participated in many Boy Scout activities over the years. Winter activities included snowshoeing in the Apostle Islands,exploring ice caves along Lake Superior, snow camping and dog sledding.

Summer activities included camping, bicycling, canoeing, rafting, swimming, caving, plus summer camp sessions at Camp Lowden near Oregon, Ill.

High adventure experiences included touring Central America in 2008. Panama provided dolphin watching, coral-reef snorkeling and exploring a secluded beach on a far away island. Adventures in Costa Rica included visits to a volcano, waterfall, butterfly sanctuary, river safari, rain forest hikes, zip line tour, whitewater rafting, plus nights in jungle lodges, home stays with families, and tours of San Jose.

Following Hurricane Ike, Rouse traveled to Galveston, Texas, in December 2008 to help cook meals and remove storm debris. He returned to Galveston in 2009 during spring break to continue relief work.

He traveled to Minnesota in 2009 for a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters, where he enjoyed camping, paddling and fishing.

In spring break 2010, he traveled to Kentucky for a service project to help transform an abandoned high school into a national disaster resource center. The center will provide relief training classrooms, emergency housing and a distribution center to provide support for upcoming disasters.

His Eagle service project involved developing a landscaped living classroom area behind the Midwest Museum of Natural History in Sycamore.

Scouts must earn 21 merit badges to achieve the Eagle Scout Award. Rouse earned 36 merit badges

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