Eagle Scout’s impact on display
By Ari Hakkarinen
When Laina Moles attended Finnish American Society of the Midwest (FASM) events, something about the merchandise table presentation got her thinking about similar ways to showcase Finland for larger area cultural events.
For context, Laina, daughter of FASM Director Terhi Tuominen, has grown up in the Chicago area Finnish-American community - attending Suomi Koulu, Scandinavian Days, and several FASM events throughout her youth. As Laina entered her senior year of high school and embarked on her Eagle Scout project, all of her Finnish-American experience inspired her to create a Finland booth to allow visitors to experience Finland with their senses. For Laina, the culmination of this work would be to represent Finland at the Stevenson High School World’s Fair, but beyond that she envisioned a booth that could be easily disassembled and transported to allow future use representing Finland at Chicago area cultural events.
To become a full Eagle Scout, all scouts must complete a community service project. For her project, Laina chose to create a Finnish display booth for FASM. She imagined a booth with beautiful display units that would be made of birch trees, with multi-tiered shelves to display merchandise as well as items to touch, smell and taste. To be user friendly, Laina designed a booth that was light, modular, and easy to put together / take apart. When disassembled, the pieces can be stored in 2 bins weighing less than 20 pounds each so it’s easy to carry. This booth enables any FASM member (including Laina!) to honor their Finnish heritage and share their enthusiasm for Finland.
From start to finish, the project took approximately three months, including presentations to FASM and the district, acquiring materials, and two weeks of active construction. Laina had to first find a way to finance the project, which she did via community fundraising (family, friends, and scouts) and asking hardware stores for plywood donations. Then, leveraging her leadership skills from the National Youth Leadership training, Laina organized several work nights with the other scouts to build the display units. Scouts sanded and varnished the units and wood burned the signs. They even helped make lots of paper snowflakes for decor. Laina’s dad was the biggest help, operating the power tools to cut the pieces of wood for the scouts to put together.
During the winter break while the scouts were working, Laina’s family was thrown a curveball when her grandma fell and broke her back. The family of course dropped everything to help, but as a result the project was delayed and work days rescheduled. But the scouts came through, getting together again after the winter break to finish the project in time for the World’s Fair! On January 24, Laina represented Finland at the Stevenson High School World’s Fair using her newly made booth. Students and families enjoyed the Finnish items - smelling Finnish essential oils, touching reindeer fur and knitted mittens, listening to some Finnish music, and of course tasting some pulla and other baked goods! The booth was a huge success and a great new asset for FASM going forward. Laina’s beautiful, functional, and perfectly Finnish booth will be ready for Scandinavian Day at Vasa Park on September 13, and for FASM events beyond. Reflecting on her experience, Laina learned that becoming an Eagle Scout is to choose leadership, service and perseverance. An Eagle Scout leaves their community better than they found it.
To become an Eagle it is earned — not given. Laina was able to show younger scouts how to lead a detailed project, while gaining their participation and teaching woodworking skills. Her new booth benefits the broader community, including FASM members who can use it for various events as well as attendees who will have a better experience of Finland. Laina is guided by a desire to inspire others, especially girls, to become Eagle Scouts. On April 14, Laina Moles was officially granted the rank of Eagle Scout. The first female Eagle Scout in her troop, Laina is one of only about 6,000 women who have earned this distinction. As she moves into her next chapter, Laina continues to lean into her pride for her heritage. She wants to cherish her Finnish-American identity in her future. Laina is getting ready to make her impact at University of Vermont in the fall, studying molecular, cellular and developmental biology. She hopes to help develop better diagnostics and treatments for genetic diseases. Laina is embracing the thought of a long educational pathway through medical school by telling herself that she has enough sisu and she has prepared for life as an Eagle Scout should.
And of course, she will always be satisfied knowing the FASM community she leaves behind will continue to benefit from a piece of her work for years to come.
