Advaith Pillai, a member of Livingston’s Boy Scout Troop 12, was inducted as an Eagle Scout during his Court of Honor on January 4.
In order for a scout to attain the rank of Eagle, he has to demonstrate his capabilities in skills ranging from wilderness survival to leadership and management. They are also encouraged to support their community through participating in various community service projects. Additionally, a scout must organize a project of his own to help the community.
Pillai joined Troop 12 in September 2017. As a Boy Scout, he took part in multiple camping trips and hikes. He also participated in over 200 hours of community service, doing activities such as shoveling driveways for senior citizens and cleaning up trash from Canoe Brook. In the troop, Pillai has served as both an instructor and a patrol leader, honing his leadership and mentoring capabilities to teach new scouts basic scouting and life skills.
Pillai’s most memorable experience in scouting was participating in a sleep out event, where participants slept in cardboard boxes to simulate the struggles of being homeless. The challenges that Pillai faced that night causedhim to develop a strong empathy for the homeless, and he began to thinkofways he couldhelp other less fortunate people in his community.
For his Eagle Scout project, Pillai was in contact with multiple nonprofit organizations, trying to find a unique way to make a positive impact on the community. Eventually, he decided to organize a Food Drive with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, offering to collect food items that were low in stock. With the help of fellow scouts and donations from other Livingston residents, Pillai ended up collecting over 700 pounds of food, helping many struggling families around the state.
Beyond his scouting endeavors, Pillai, who is a graduate of Livingston High School, excelled in academ (Continued on Page A-6) (Continued from Page A-1) ics and extracurricular activities. He was an active member of his high school’s varsity tennis team, orchestra programs, Fire Robotics team, speech and debate team, and the Science Bowl club. He was also selected as a National Merit Finalist.
Eagle Scout
In his Eagle Court of Honor, Pillai thanked multiple mentors who played a crucial role in both his scouting and life journey. These included his parents; Richard Waxman, committee chairman of Troop 12; Ravi Mukkavilli, current Scoutmaster of Troop 12; and Gurmeet Grewal, the scoutmaster when Pillai first joined the troop.
At the ceremony, Pillai was commended by Town Council member Ketan Bhuptani for his accomplishments. Pillai challenged other scouts in his troop to always strive to take the lessons in leadership, practicality, and character that they learned in scouting and apply them to their everyday lives to help both themselves and their community.
Pillai is currently a freshman at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he is majoring in electrical engineering and minoring in computer science. He hopes to take the lessons in leadership, community service, personal management, and communication that he learned in scouting and apply them to the real world.
Anyone interested in joining Troop 12 may contact committee chairman Richard Waxman at 201247-4351, or scoutmaster Ravi Mukkavilli at 201-388-2474.
