As a member of South Paris Troop 130, Avery Monahan has found opportunities at every level of the Boy Scouts from the time he first joined as a Cub.

His background in Scouting will continue to benefit him through college and follow him into his chosen career path in the Maine woods as a game warden, he says.

“I was drawn to Scouts as a way to spend time with my friend, and be outdoors,” Monahan says. “It helped to connect with more people in the community.”

Monahan, a senior at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris and in his third year of Oxford Hills Tech School’s law enforcement program, recently attained the top rank of Eagle Scout, earning 26 badges along the way.

His next stop will be Central Maine Community College in Auburn, where his studies will focus on conservation law and criminal justice.

When the COVID-19 lockdown happened, it became an opportunity to use the pastimes of his youth and build on his outdoor experiences. 

“I’ve become really involved in hunting and fishing since then,” he said. While his parents are not hunters, he started going with his uncle and grandparents. “It seemed like the only way to be outside and stay active. I’ve harvested a deer every year” since.

Earning several hunting- and fishing-related badges, as well as geocaching and lifesaving, have helped him further connect with the outdoors.

Other badges, including environment science, citizenship, fingerprinting, first aid and wilderness survival, will support his studies at CMCC and beyond.

The most challenging badge to earn? Communications, and it is the one he uses daily.

“It has helped me meet more people, and connect with community leaders,” he said. “I learned that talking to people I don’t know isn’t really so bad.

“I had to make a five-minute speech to earn it. I chose fishing — something I really like and that I know about.”

Further polishing his way to a career outdoors, Monahan chose to do his project at the Norway-Paris Fish & Game Association, where he had already participated in activities that compliment his Scouting skills.

“Being a Scout has been a big part of working toward my goal to be a Maine state warden,” he said. “It’s given me experience with different outdoor experiences, learning first aid, navigation, things like that.”

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