Recently minted Eagle Scout Ron Goodrich is the type of person who comes to mind when one hears the phrase, "part of the solution."

For his Eagle Scout project, the Wareham resident raised funds and worked hard to build a new playground at his church, the Tabernacle of Praise.

Addressing his fellow scouts at his Eagle Scout ceremony at the church on March 23, Goodrich said: "It took a lot, but I finally made it. You guys should too, so don't quit."

Goodrich knows how tempting it can be to quit, and says that his road to earning the highest rank in Boy Scouts -- and, along with it, letters of congratulations from President Obama and the Pope -- was not without stumbling blocks.

"It was a rough road for me," he said.

He began the project in his sophomore year of high school. Goodrich, now a senior in the electrical program at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School, raised money by collecting donations and holding a car wash.

"Everything that's in that playground is the result of the scouts, volunteers, and hard labor," said Scoutmaster Al Barthe during the ceremony.

Goodrich's English teacher, Lisa Martin, spoke affectionately about a young man who came into her classroom with a warning from others.

"He was described to me as a potential challenge," she said.

However, as time went on, she watched him grow into what she described as an insightful, inquisitive, and inventive person.

"You are a compassionate young man. … I've seen you, even when you struggle, stick to your plan," she said.

Goodrich also works at the Wareham Fire Department through a work study program, and plans to attend Cape Cod Community College next year.

His mother, Nancy Goodrich,  said that there were distractions along the way, especially when he started high school.

"You don't want people to know. The cool kids don't think it's cool," she said.

Being an Eagle Scout gives a young man a leg up in college admissions and the military, and makes him part of a lifelong brotherhood.

"To say 'I was almost an Eagle Scout' gets nothing," Goodrich pointed out.