Aedan Stevens ’28 saw a need and had the perfect way of filling it at Padua Franciscan High School.
When the Fredecker Lobby was constructed at Padua Franciscan High School in 2017 and unveiled in 2018, bricks bearing the names of Padua benefactors were removed. After their removal, they remained at the school, but not on display. Not until now that is.
A rising junior, Stevens chose to fulfill his Eagle Scout Project requirements by helping Padua’s community remember its past. Stevens leveled off ground around the picnic tables outside of the Thomas Kohuth Atrium and installed the bricks honoring those who have supported the school.
“I really wanted to do something for Padua because I saw this school as a welcoming community,” Stevens said. “They, by that time, had already given so much to me, and so, I wanted to give something back. I felt like the Eagle Scout Project was the least that I could do.”
“The project itself was a wonderful experience. Principal Bob DiRocco was so kind and helped me with so much, and the grounds crew, as well. They got out the bricks and helped me to get all that set up. Just putting them in, it was a lot about leveling the ground and getting all the different layers in, but once it was done, I think it was just a beautiful addition. It was a lot of hard work, but it was definitely worth it.”
Stevens worked on his Eagle Scout Project last summer and finished it right around the start of the 2025-2026 school year. After completing the planning and installation, Stevens took his project before the board to approve his rank of Eagle Scout.
“I had to go to my scoutmaster, the leader of my troop, and have a couple of meetings with her, get her to sign off on the different parts of the project packet, which is the information about what I did, how I executed it, the supplies, budget, et cetera.”
“After that last requirement, I sent in my application for Eagle Scout to the Lake Erie Council.”
Originally a member of Troop 221 associated with St. Charles Borromeo Church when he joined in sixth grade, Stevens now belongs to Troop 204.
“I really wanted to be in the scouts because I wanted an experience that would allow me to serve my country, but not in the militaristic way, just to learn survival and the basic skills that I feel help in life, even though we’ve gotten more technologically advanced.”
“It’s been an amazing experience over the years,” Stevens said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time, camping, doing First Aid, doing merit badges, and really, just spending time with friends and those who have those similar goals as me. It’s really been great just going from being taught how to do stuff to being able to be the one who teaches others how to do stuff.”
Rather than being done with the Scouts after completing his Eagle Scout Project, Stevens wants to give back to the group that gave him so much.
“After you become an Eagle Scout, there’s really a lot of things you can do,” Stevens said. “Some say, ‘Well, that’s the end. You can leave Boy Scouts,’ but since I’m still 15, I have time left that I can be a Boy Scout, and I still want to use that time to learn more from others, and also, teach others because I’ve had all of these wonderful experiences, and I want others to learn from that as well.”
