A Mansfield resident since he was three years old, Pratik Kc, was recently recognized as an Eagle Scout for Boy Scout Troop 61 in Mansfield, CT. Family, friends, fellow Scouts and community members gathered to help recognized Pratik at the ceremony, held at the Eagleville Fire Station on Nov. 10, 2013.
For his Eagle Scout project, EO Smith graduate, Pratik planned and carried out the construction of a walking bridge in the Lion’s Memorial Park/Dorwat Preserve. The project consisted of building a 16-foot bridge over a creek, building a log bench on a trail and clearing the invasive species of plants surrounding the creek.
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The idea came after meeting with officials from the Town of Mansfield. “I met with Jennifer Kaufman, who is the natural resources and sustainability coordinator with the Mansfield Parks. She described the project as one that the Town had been trying to do for some time and didn’t have the budget for,” Pratik said.
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“This seemed like a great project, and I really wanted to do something that gave back to nature,” he said. “The project has a lasting legacy on the trails and I’m very proud about how it turned out.”
Pratik provided the plans and organized the labor to design and build the project. It took a few weekends to accomplish the project with the help of fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 61.
He first became involved in Scouting when he was nine years old as a Cub Scout and worked up to earn the Arrow of Light. Pratik most recently served as webmaster for Troop 61 of the Nipmuk Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which is sponsored by the Eagleville Fire Station. Not only did Pratik earn the required 21 merit badges for earning the Eagle Scout rank, but he also earned an additional six merit badges.
Pratik’s favorite merit badge was "Sports" because it involved playing a variety of his favorite sports which he really had fun doing. “My favorite scouting memory was playing basketball against the counselors at JN Webster summer camp and winning as a troop,” he recalled.
Currently a freshman at UConn, he is majoring in management information systems. “My plans after college include pursuing a position as an IT security consultant as well as continuing to develop my computer security business,” he said.
Pratik is involved in UConn campus activities such as the Information Management Association, Breakdancing Club and he works for HuskyTech, which is the student tech department at UConn.
