DOWNEY — Stephen Joshua Kobata, son of Robert and Shulamite Kobata of Downey, grandson of Steve and Sumi Kobata of Long Beach, and member of the Boy Scouts Los Angeles Area Council, Downey Troop 2, received his Eagle Scout award with Gold Palm at his Eagle Court of Honor on Dec. 15.
To earn the Eagle Gold Palm, Stephen stayed active in his troop as troop guide for another six months after earning his Eagle Scout rank and earned an additional 10 merit badges before his 18th birthday.
Stephen has spent ten years in scouting, beginning in Cub Scouts, and participated in 15-plus Eagle Scout projects and countless hours of community service. Scouting has toughened him and instilled the values of good character and service to others.
For his Eagle Scout project, Stephen planned and led a team of 22 volunteers, totaled 186 volunteer hours, solicited and received $395 worth of donated materials to build three custom wood storage shelves, retrofit old shelves, and earthquake-proof all the existing shelves in the Downey Council PTA H.E.L.P. Room Food Bank.
These new storage shelves provide the Food Bank more space to store food, better storage organization, and a safer working environment.
Stephen is a senior at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos and is an accomplished tennis player. He is a USTA member and a USTA-ranked tennis player. He has been the #1 singles player on his high school’s varsity tennis team since his freshman year, served as team captain last year and this year, received the MVP award for 24 consecutive wins, received the First Team All League award, and has helped his team win two league championships.
Stephen’s other passion is computer programming. He has two published games for iPhone in Apple’s online App Store: “Electric Forager” and “Ball Runner Lite.” Both are free downloads. He is continually learning and advancing in his programming skills. More game apps are on the horizon.
He is planning to major in computer engineering at college in the fall.