Consumer Ben Decker inducted into National Honor Society

Ben Decker, now a senior at Norwell High School who receives PAC services through BCS, was inducted into the school’s National Honor Society on Oct. 10, 2021.

“The induction ceremony was pretty great,” said Ben, who is the son of Bi-County Music Therapist Karel Decker. “I felt, like, amazed. For someone with autism – and with red hair – I just felt like I beat the odds.”

National Honor Society is just one of Ben's many accomplishments. He is also an Eagle Scout who continues to work on merit badges, earning both his Gold Palm and Bronze Palm awards and is closing in on the Silver Palm award. Only 5 percent of all Boy Scouts make it to Eagle Scout. And only 0.1 percent of all Eagle Scouts make it to the Silver Palm award, he said.

One of his projects was doing a traffic study of the Hardee’s intersection in Bluffton for his Engineering merit badge. That project not only gave him extra insights when he received his driver's license, it also helped prepare him for his future plans of studying civil engineering at Purdue-Fort Wayne after he graduates next year.

For now, Ben is currently working on volunteering through Vocational Rehab and to earn hours for National Honor Society. He's volunteered for a long list of social service organizations, including the Wells County Friends of the Library, the Elks Lodge, Family Centered Services, the Dream Team, and BCS, just to name a few.

Ben is excited about all his projects and proud of the progress he’s made the last few years. The National Honor Society ceremony, he said, made him feel like “I’m one of the cool guys now. I felt like I was more accepted, you know?”