FINISHED PRODUCT — Catholic Central High School senior Andrew Rohde stands with the Thomas “Oatz” Kanzelberger Theatrical and Liturgical Shed at CCHS, the construction of which he coordinated as his Eagle Scout project. -- Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — The rank of Eagle sits atop the advancement ladder for members of the Boy Scouts of America.

Achieving Eagle status, which must be done before a Scout turns 18 years old, denotes years of dedication and hard work on the Scout’s part. Ideally having developed leadership experience and numerous skills along the way, a new Eagle shares in life-long fraternity with other Eagles and enjoys preference for his college and job applications.

One such fledgling Eagle Scout is Andrew Rohde of Troop 401, who achieved his crowning rank on June 18.

Part of the path to the status is completing an Eagle Scout project — essentially a capstone project that demonstrates a Scout’s leadership and ability to coordinate and carry out a plan with many moving parts.

For his project, Rohde constructed an outdoor shed meant to alleviate Catholic Central High School’s theater equipment storage dilemma. Rohde credits robust community involvement for the successful venture, which benefited CCHS and honored a recently deceased alumnus.

“Thank you to all those that were able to help out and all those that were supporting,” said Rohde, who’s been involved in Scouting since the age of 8. “I think that played a pivotal role in this experience and allowed me to achieve the rank of Eagle.”

A Steubenville resident, Rohde began planning his project in the spring of 2023. He wanted to involve Steubenville Catholic schools, which he’d been attending since kindergarten.

School administration informed him that CCHS needed a shed to house equipment from its theater when not in use, as well as the altar for Masses. The idea seemed perfect to Rohde, whose older brother had constructed a similar shed for Bishop John King Mussio Elementary School as his Eagle project.

Rohde spent the summer and fall organizing plans for the project — determining the final location, planning necessary materials and acquiring requisite permits. The final cost was determined to be $10,000.

Come winter, Rohde began reaching out to local businesses and fundraising for the project. He received help from 40 different supporters, who contributed more than his goal, rounding out at $10,500.

Rohde was “super excited” in the spring for his project’s next step — construction — but had to pivot when his anticipated carpenter became unavailable. Instead, Rohde had contracted with a team of Amish workers, who knocked out the project in six hours.

A community painting day saw many come to help color the shed, which would later receive a priestly blessing.

As work was wrapping up, the community learned of the unexpected death of 2023 CCHS alumnus Thomas T. Kanzelberger on June 9. Rohde, in turn, decided to name the newly constructed shed in Kanzelberger’s memory.

“His two loves in life — in the eulogy that I listened to — were liturgy and theatrics. And the project was called the Liturgical and Theatrical Shed, so I thought it was absolutely the perfect thing to put in his honor,” Rohde said. “I spent the leftover funds putting together a nice sign with (Nelson Fine Art and Gifts) and we got to put the shed in his honor.”

Now able to appreciate the fruits of his labor, Rohde said, “Overall, the project turned out 100 times better than I could’ve ever anticipated, and that was all thanks to the community effort.”

CCHS Principal Thomas “Bo” Graham said that the shed, which sits just off stage right outside Lanman Hall, is “very beneficial to the school.”

“It houses a lot of our Mass equipment and our theater equipment as well, with some band equipment. It’s really in a nice, close vicinity where we can get easy access to any of that stuff we need.”

Graham added that CCHS is “very appreciative” of Rohde — a “great kid” who’s displayed academic excellence, dedication and loyalty.

Rohde is a senior and expects to graduate this spring. He is the Student Council president and a youth ambassador to the Jefferson County United Prevention Partnership, for which he serves as the Youth Coalition president.

Additionally, Rohde has served as captain of the soccer and cross country teams, and he’s played on the basketball and track and field teams.

He recently participated at the state level for cross country and finished in the top three — with the top four all breaking a state record — and participated in the Nike Cross Nationals regional championships, finishing 13th out of 1,600 runners.

Rohde has committed to Ohio State University, where he will run cross country and track and study biochemistry in the pre-med program. Scouts reportedly helped Rohde realize his passion for helping others and introduced him to first aid. He expects to begin EMT training soon.

Rohde already officially earned the rank of Eagle but will be recognized for his achievement on Monday at his troop’s Court of Honor. Those gathered will hear a “Scoutmaster minute” from Ron Bolster, scoutmaster of Troop 401, who will challenge Rohde to tackle the trials of life like he did in Scouts.

Bolster said that he has “a great deal of confidence” in Rohde’s leadership ability, as demonstrated by his Eagle project and the many years he spent in Scouts. Despite other time commitments, Bolster said, Rohde exercised discipline and pulled off the project with time to spare — guided by adult leaders and assisted by the troop’s younger Scouts.

“It’s a real privilege for me to work with Andrew. He’s accomplished a great deal,” Bolster said. “What I see from him in the Scouting realm — that you don’t always see in a young person as gifted as he is — is his willingness to bring the other Scouts along. He never hesitated, as busy as he was, to teach, to bring along, to coach the younger Scouts.”

Rohde has been a great role model for those younger Scouts, including Bolster’s own sons, the younger of whom has looked up to Rohde as a big brother. Now only has Rohde “never left anybody behind,” but he’s also shown tremendous potential in the classroom and initiative in the community at large, Bolster said.

“This is a guy who really exemplifies what the Eagle rank is about,” Bolster said, adding. “I think he’s going to do great things.”

Rohde said, “Knowing that it’s now in my capacity to put together something as large as this with the help of others, it’s motivating to myself, and it should be motivating to others that we are able to do pretty good things and help out the community, no matter our age or no matter our situation.”