Turning Difference into Discovery

The Elm Fork District of Scouting America recently honored Avi Aggarwal ’28 with its Eagle Project of the Year award. The project is based on the personal lessons he has learned in the face of unique challenges. In some ways, this project started before Avi was even born.

Most people first encounter their origin story through baby photos or birth announcements. For Avi Aggarwal ’28, it began with an ultrasound and two extra toes.

“My mom pointed them out right away,” Avi says. Born with polydactyly, a condition involving underdeveloped extra digits, Avi underwent surgery before the age of one. The procedure resolved the medical concern, but as he grew older, his body continued to shape how he experienced the world.

Learning to walk did not come effortlessly. Shoe shopping required creativity. While in Lower School, Avi discovered he was left-handed and had a slight lisp, differences that made sports, swim tests, and public speaking more challenging. Yet again and again, he encountered teachers, coaches, and mentors who helped reframe those experiences.

“Every time I doubted myself,” he says, “I met someone who made me see my deviations not as limitations, but as variations I could turn into potential advantages rather than flaws.”

Those lessons became tangible through Scouting. From backpacking at Philmont and snorkeling at Sea Base to speaking at events for children with prosthetics, Avi learned to trust his body and adapt to uncertainty.

“Scouting taught me to appreciate how much our bodies do for us,” he says. “How they beat, breathe, sense, recalibrate, and protect us every day without a conscious thought.”

Moments of adversity often became moments of clarity. While hiking at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, Avi and his patrol found themselves miles off course at high elevation. With no technology to rely on, they locked arms, counted steps, and sang together to stay focused.

“In that moment, I understood how our bodies can unite us in just being human,” Avi says. “In that, I was never alone.”

Over time, those experiences reshaped how Avi viewed the human body not as something to be judged, but as a precise, high-performing system capable of remarkable coordination and resilience. That realization became the foundation for his Eagle Scout project, The Science of You: And Why That Matters.

An Eagle Scout project represents the capstone of a Scout’s journey — a sustained, youth-led service initiative that must be conceived, planned, and executed by the candidate, demonstrating leadership and meaningful community impact. Avi’s project did exactly that, combining his interests in biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering with a mission to build self-esteem and body confidence.

Teaching students at United to Learn and Wesley-Rankin Community Center, Avi brought science off the page and into their hands. Using real medical devices and physical models, animated heart demonstrations, pacemakers and defibrillators, DNA helix builds, nervous system tracings, and musculoskeletal physics, he helped students connect scientific concepts to their own lived experience.

“Watching them connect science to themselves was incredibly rewarding,” Avi says. “Instead of focusing on appearance, I saw them recognize their bodies as capable, coordinated systems worthy of self-care and respect.”

Earlier this year, The Science of You was named Eagle Project of the Year by the Elm Fork District of Scouting America. The honor recognizes projects that demonstrate exceptional leadership, originality, and community impact, as well as the ability to inspire others to carry the work forward. When Avi learned of the recognition, his thoughts immediately turned to gratitude.

“I immediately thought of all the people — the late-night emails, the scans and signatures, the encouraging words,” he says.

That recognition has opened the door to what comes next. This summer, Avi has been selected to teach The Science of You at the Brendan Court ’06 Summer Enrichment Program, St. Mark’s outreach camp, where he will continue developing the curriculum and introducing new modules to younger students.

“My goal,” he says, “is to keep using science to empower my peers to view their bodies as agents of empathy — and ultimate champions of each other.”