Eagle scout hopes to fly

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on October 4, 2019

Tom Hansen is still sorting out his future. Does he go to Penn State next fall or does he go into the Navy? Whichever it is, he’s already moving in the right direction. The Unionville High School senior has earned the rank of Eagle Scout and he’s proud of the achievement.

Eagle Scout Tom Hansen taps out some rhythm on the music wall he built for his Eagle project at Chadds Ford Elementary School.

The new Eagle built a music wall where people can knock out some percussion in the east side playground area at Chadds Ford Elementary School. He said he wanted to build a fixed structure that people can enjoy.

He chose to go for the rank of Eagle Scout because Troop 31 encourages all its scouts to achieve. Tom added that earning the rank will look good on future resumés, in getting into college or getting a good job.

“People see that you’re and Eagle Scout and they know you’ve accomplished something,” he said.

He chose to do the project at CFES because his mother, Silke Hansen, works there as a special education paraprofessional and it’s where his younger brother — now a seventh-grader at CF Patton — went to elementary school.

Tom said planning the project took several months but that the actual labor took about 30 hours over three weekends with the help of fellow scouts. He said it was a learning experience.

“I learned that sometimes teamwork is more important than leadership,” he said. “You can’t just stand over people giving orders. You get more done helping do the work.” He added that he also learned persistence, that he shouldn’t underestimate the time it takes to do something.

Tom isn’t the only one proud of his achievement. His mother is, too: “I’m super proud of him. I didn’t expect him to plan it and do all the work of keeping track of everything on his own,” Silke Hansen said.

As for his future, Tom said he’d like to go to Penn State at the main campus but he’s also thinking about enlisting in the Navy so the government will pay for his education. He wants to be a pilot.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.