Gavin Burseth

Gavin Burseth, 16, is an Eagle Scout from Bartlett, IL. He is a junior at South Elgin High School and has been recognized for his high GPA while taking Honor and AP classes. He started the Bass Fishing Club during his freshman year and has since been a leader of this group.

Burseth is a member of Troop 408 out of Trinity Lutheran Church in Roselle, IL. He has been in Scouting since first grade and has advanced over the years while earning 49 merit badges and several special awards: God and the Church Medal; the Duty to God Award for both Sea Base and Northern Tier High Adventure; Historical Trail Award; International Activity Award; National Outdoor Achievement Award; SCOUT Strong PALA; World Conservation Award; Sea Base Captain's Club Award; and Northern Tier Lake Monitoring Award. He displayed leadership skills by planning the High Adventure trip to South Dakota. He was Senior Patrol Leader for two high adventure trips. While Chaplain Aid, he trained Scouts to be ushers at the church and wrote a guideline for ushering. Besides his Eagle project, he is working to earn the Hornaday Award by planning three different conservation projects and badges for this award.

In addition to Scouting, Burseth runs two businesses: Thor Goat Eco Lawn Care and Burseth Farm Goat Milk Soap with his older brother Derek. If he is not grazing goats or making goat milk soap, he is putting up fences, taking care of goats, or selling soap at craft shows. Burseth's goal is to become a veterinarian.

Burseth is also a numismatist or coin collector. He has exhibited two different times with his collection, "A Century of Honor, Boy Scout Coins, and Medallions." His exhibit was chosen most educational out of 300 exhibits at the 2014 Central State Show, and won first place at the 2014 ANA money show. Burseth is a member of the Elgin Coin, ILNA, and Central State coin club.