Matthew Per, a senior at High School South, recently completed his Eagle Scout leadership service project and is on his way to earning the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest award in Boy Scouting.##M:[more]##
For his service project, Per chose to build a garden to enhance and protect the stained glass windows of Congregation Beth Chaim, visible from Village Road East. He demonstrated leadership in his project by recruiting, motivating, and working with 35 youth and adult volunteers, including members of Beth Chaim, Troop 40, and his family and friends. He took into account many facets of landscape architecture including plant selection, growth properties, soil condition, and esthetics. He and his crew put in more than 225 service hours in one week, including the replanting of more than 400 square feet of excavated turf throughout the temple grounds in areas that were in need.
Per, the son of Steven Per and Kim Wishnow-Per, has lived in West Windsor since he was five years old. He joined Cub Scouts as a wolf scout in second grade, and was one of the original eight boys who started Pack 48. In fifth grade, he bridged into Boy Scouts and joined Troop 40.
Over the years he has enjoyed high adventure outdoor excursions including winter camping where a group scaled a 4,”000 foot ice capped mountain in the Adirondacks in February, and he spent a week on a 46-foot sailing yacht at the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base where he sailed with a crew more than 150 miles in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico around the Florida Keys.
At South, he has played both soccer and lacrosse. He also plays recreational soccer and basketball. He is active in the Beth Chaim Temple Youth Group where he currently serves as senior class representative. For three years he served as a teaching assistant or “toran” at Beth Chaim and has participated in the Jewish Community Youth Foundation (JCYF), a program that challenges high school students to learn firsthand about philanthropy and the role of various non-profit organizations and agencies. In the JCYF program, students contribute their own money which is matched and applied toward community programs and educational initiatives.
He earned his Red Cross Lifeguard certification in 2006 and worked as a lifeguard for the Princeton YMCA. This past summer he was selected for an eight-week leadership program at Camp Harlam in Kunkletown, Pennsylvania. The previous summer he went on a five-week program in the Czech Republic and Israel.
Per’s Eagle project advisor is Michael Schuit, also a West Windsor resident. Congregation Beth Chaim Rabbi Eric Wisnia, executive director Brian Chartock, and house committee members Elana Berlinger, Joyce Kalstein, and Steve Schiffer provided support and suggestions. Per is also indebted to Frank Mendes, owner of Quakerbridge Landscaping for his hands-on guidance.
