Adam Graham earned his eagle scout rank by completely rebuilding the dilapidated animal pens at Hemet High School.

Hemet High School had a problem. The pens that kept its sheep and goats from running amok were in shambles.
“The pens were torn apart,” said Adam Graham, 18, of Hemet. “The wood pieces were broken, the animals were getting out.”
So Adam took on the task of fixing the pens to earn his Eagle Scout rank. He kicked off the effort last spring by soliciting donations from local hardware stores, then hitting up family members and friends for donations.
Then one weekend last April nearly two dozen family members, friends, and fellow Boy Scouts from the Lake Elsinore-based Troop 196 converged on the high school’s farm area to tackle the project.
They replaced the animal pens’ wood frames, and put up new steel mesh. They built new doors for the pens, and replaced rotten support beams. In effect, the project served as a major renovation of dilapidated animal pens at the Hemet campus.
It went fairly smoothly -- except for when they accidently busted a water line, but that problem was fixed quickly -- and the end result was fantastic, Adam said.
“It turned out quite well,” Adam said. “Everything went according to plan. It looked exactly the way I wanted it to.”
Campus leaders said they were extremely happy with the renovation as well, said Adam, who added that the effort was well worth it.
“It made me feel happy that I was able to do something for my school, to give back,” he said.
Adam graduated from Hemet High in May, and earned his Eagle Scout rank in October. He now attends Mt. San Jacinto College, where he is studying physical education. He said he plans to transfer to a four-year college and ultimately earn an athletics training degree.
He said he enjoyed his time in the Boy Scouts, and learned a lot from the experience.
“It’s helped me with leadership, and work and communication,” he said.