The Stover Center for Constitutional studies and Moral leadership is hosting its annual Merit Badge University Saturday, March 30. The event costs $20 per scout. This includes a lunch, a patch and a shirt.

Teaching, learning and bringing people to the campus are the main purposes for bringing Merit Badge University to life. Sarah Bell, coordinator of Academic Communications, said.

“For the Stover Scholars to experience educating students in a field that they have been learning about,” she said, “and bringing more people to campus, that’s always a goal of any event”

Some of the classes that will be offered during this event will be Citizenship in the Nation, a required merit badge for the rank of Eagle Scout, and the Music merit badge.

“The Stover Scholars will be teaching both sections of Citizenship of the Nation, and Joshua Gurtner will be teaching the Music class,” Bell said.

Waynesburg University and Scouts BSA have a few similarities, one of which being a mission of service and learning. This is what helped bring both of these organizations together, Bell said.

“President Douglas G. Lee is an Eagle Scout, so I guess that’s where it all started,” Bell said.  “He is very passionate about scouting and the quality that it teaches. Scouts BSA aligns with the University’s mission, so in that way it is almost a perfect fit.”

There are several steps scouts must go through to complete a merit badge, District Chairman of General Greene District of Scouts BSA William Flenniken said. After deciding on what merit badge to get, scouts must complete any prerequisites. Then, they start working on completing the requirements.

“When they have completed the requirements they will mark the requirements down on the card, sign it and hand it over to the advancement chair or the scout master. Then, either one of the two will enter that online,” Flenniken said.

Obtaining a merit badge is difficult, but finding a counselor for the merit badge is much harder, Flenniken said.

“A lot of times, the greatest impediment for scouts getting a merit badge is finding a counselor that teaches that merit badge,” he said. “Especially in our rural communities like this, many times you have to go a great distance to find a counselor. Here they are all gathered under one roof,” Flenniken said.

“I just want them to come and have a good experience here,” Bell said. “The main takeaway is an academic experience and actually learning what they are supposed to be learning and getting there requirements met.”