Senior Satoshi Conway has showcased Algonquin’s history through his Eagle Scout service project, a display of artifacts from previous graduating classes.

Conway has been a dedicated Boy Scout since the first grade, when he became a Cub Scout, and has recently become an Eagle Scout after completing his Eagle project. Conway was tasked with his Eagle project around November 2022 and at the time, Principal Sean Bevan was in search of someone prepared to take on the challenge of conveying Algonquin’s history.

“The project is a permanent way to represent the school’s history since most Eagle projects now are really temporary,” Conway said. “This would be a long lasting thing.”

Bevan expressed that students are not up to date on the history of Algonquin. The showcase, which is located outside the Career Resource Center, gives students a visually illustrated example of how Northborough and Southborough united in one high school in the 1950s. 

“I think our school is lacking where anyone in the building, primarily students, doesn’t know much about the history [of Algonquin],” Bevan said. “The project will help people understand our school’s history of regionalization and how our two towns unified.” 

Conway collected various types of artifacts from the Northborough and Southborough historical societies and from the communities of Northborough and Southborough. He collected yearbooks, jerseys, old newspapers and some recreated artifacts. 

“Once I got the materials it was a matter of creating descriptions, researching the artifacts, viewing old archives and deciding what fit best,” Conway said. “I’m working on a slideshow now.” 

While Conway did most of the project by himself over the summer, he had outside help from scout troops, Bevan, Administrative Assistant Diane Egizi and Dr. Jessie Ryker-Crawford, a professor of museum studies at the University of Washington who specializes in display cases. 

Egizi commended Satoshi for his project.

“There’s a lot of history here, so it’s a nice way for the students to see what Algonquin was like and what we are like today,” Egizi said.

According to Conway, his Eagle Scout project shows students a visual of the history in a way students will respond to, one example being how he represented the recent retiring of the Tomahawk mascot.

“We showed the Native American [artifacts] and using flashcards, we showed how it was offensive and that it misrepresented a whole community,” Conway said. 

Conway’s showcase is in a location where it can be admired by students, faculty and visitors. Bevan believes the showcase is subtle but powerful and will continue to educate people and remain standing for many years to come.

“I’m really proud of Satoshi,” Bevan said. “He created something in our building that will last many years after he’s graduated.”