Three Long Island Eagle Scouts have earned Rep. Nick LaLota's nominations to three U.S. Military Service Academies.

Dante DeBenedittis, Joshua Prew and Matthew Donohue are all Eagle Scouts with Troop 7, which is based in St. James.

All three have earned this congressional nomination.    "It's kind of like a symbol of your own achievement," says Donohue.

"Without that, you really can't get in," says DeBenedittis.

DeBenedittis earned his nomination for his application and consideration for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point.

Prew earned his for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Donohue earned his nomination for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

"It's great to see the progression from wide-eyed fifth grade kids entering the troop and now showing how productive young men they are to the community," says Troop 7 Scoutmaster Mike Stencel. "We've all worked hard on our Eagle Scout project and then after that, we all had different ambitions going to different academies," says Prew. "You have to answer questionnaires, physical fitness tests, all these evaluations just to see if you're a fit candidate. So it's a very big challenge," says Donohue.

They all say lots of hard work went into earning these nominations, including their Eagle Scout projects. They all say it takes months of planning. "A lot of skills that I'll be able to apply to the academies and apply in my life and in the job field," says DeBenedittis. "These academies, you can't just wake up one day and say, 'I might want to do this.' This is something you want to have drive and a passion for it," says Prew.