Shaler Area High School senior Connor Bauer found his love of cooking in Scouting.
“There weren’t many things I had enjoyed cooking or baking at home. The first time I really enjoyed myself making any food I had made lasagna with another member in my troop,” said Bauer, 18. “It was an amazing experience. It kick-started my enjoyment in the culinary world.”
That interest drew him to the culinary arts program at A.W. Beattie Career Center, which in turn fed back into Scouting, said his mother, Kirsti Bauer.
“I find it sort of funny how once he discovered Beattie everything fell into place for him,” she said. “Once he went to Beattie, he started excelling in school and found his niche in baking. His motivation for Scouts picked up in short order.”
That motivation led to Bauer earning the rank of Eagle Scout, which he accomplished just ahead of his graduation from Shaler Area High School. In the fall, he plans to begin studies at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, where he will study pastry and baking and has the long-term goal of owning his own bakery.
“The opportunities at the Culinary Institute are just wild,” Kirsti Bauer said. “He could go in any direction.”
Ken Morehead, a pastry arts instructor at Beattie, has been Bauer’s teacher for two years. He also is a former scoutmaster.
“I have never given him a project that he hasn’t tried his best at, and he succeeds almost 100% of the time in doing whatever you put before him,” Morehead said. “The fact that he is an Eagle Scout, I have an appreciation of kids like that that have that kind of an ethic to do good. I consider that to be a really good quality showing the character of the student.”
Bauer said enrolling at A.W. Beattie was one of the best decisions he has made.
“It was a blast every day,” he said. “We were making something new or I was learning more skills to help me understand the pastry side of the culinary world.”
Bauer, perhaps obviously, considered doing a bake sale for his Eagle Scout project but found it wouldn’t meet the requirements. So instead, he knocked on the door of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9199 in Shaler and asked what he could do there.
The post has been the beneficiary of a number of Eagle Scout projects over the years, said its commander, Tim Rothwell. Others have involved construction of a fire pit, a POW chair and benches at the fire pit, and flag poles, including one for the newest branch, Space Force.
Rothwell told Bauer that his members who play horseshoes at the post could use a shed to store their equipment. Bauer led the project, clearing and leveling an area for the shed to be placed and rehabilitating the horseshoe area itself.
“He did a really good job,” Rothwell said. “Connor is a really good kid.”
Shaler Area Superintendent Bryan O’Black said Bauer “exemplifies the very best of our Shaler Area community.
“Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is an extraordinary accomplishment that reflects years of dedication, perseverance, leadership and service to others,” O’Black said. “Connor’s project at VFW Post 9199 demonstrates not only his strong work ethic but also his deep respect for those who have served our nation. By improving this community space for local veterans, he created something meaningful that will have a lasting impact for years to come.”
Bauer said doing his project was an amazing experience.
“I did not know a lot going into it. I’d never seen a shed getting put up. I never put one up myself,” he said. “Going into it was hectic. I really didn’t know what I was doing. Everything came out amazing.”
While having achieving Eagle Scout is an accomplishment that may look good on his resume, Bauer said there is more to it than that.
“It helped me to become the person that I am now and the person I want to be in the future, which I see as more important than just something to put on your resume,” he said.