Conroe Courier October 3, 2023

Kristian Rau was sitting on the bleachers when he noticed two of his classmates arguing over a basketball game at Magnolia ISD’s Bear Branch Junior High. Then he saw a student pull out a pair of scissors, break them in half and chase the classmate into a storage closet.

Without hesitation, the then 14-year-old Rau rushed over with friends to the storage closet. He grabbed his classmate with the scissors by the wrists — allowing the other to escape — and managed to lock him in the closet. 

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“It was probably the first time I’ve done something like that,” Rau said, now a 17-year-old student at Magnolia High School.

Boy Scouts medal

Nearly three years after the 2020 incident, Rau was honored with the rarest  Boy Scouts of America medal — the Honor Medal with Crossed Palms. 

Since 1911, the medal recognizes boy scouts “have performed an attempt to save a life or to recognize notable acts of service that need not involve attempts of rescue or risk to self, but put into practice scouting skills and, or ideals,” according to the organization’s website. On average, three boy scouts per year around the country. 

More than 300 boy scouts have received this medal, according to information from the organization. 

Rau was honored by the organization during a Sept. 11 ceremony, according to a Magnolia ISD release. He was also recognized the same day by the State Board of Education.

His act of bravery also put him the spotlight in the community, with Montgomery County Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley recognizing him during a Sept. 26 commissioner’s court meeting. Montgomery city officials also recognized Rau. 

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Riley honored Rau with the Distinguished Community Neighbor of Precinct 2, a first of its kind. 

“We have been trying to figure out how we were going to honor people in our precinct,” Riley said during the commissioner’s court meeting on Sept. 26.

Rau’s parents said he’s the youngest of five brothers and is planning to get his Eagle Scout award, the highest rank in the organization.

If he receives that award, he would join two of his brothers who also achieved the rank, said Rau’s father Charlie Rau.

Handling new fame

Rau was soft spoken when he was younger, said Dariece Rau, his mother. 

After the incident at junior high in 2020, he came home as if it was a normal day, she said. It wasn’t until a friend’s mother that the parents discovered what happened.

“We had to drag it out of him,” Charlie Rau said. 

When asked about how she felt about her son’s heroic deed, Dariece Rau said she had “mixed emotions.”

“It’s like I am proud of him, but then also I was like ‘holy crap, that could have been bad.'”

Being recognized by his community has helped Rau gain some confidence, the parents said. 

“He had an interview with (KHOU) Channel 11 and he handled it, I think, pretty well,” Charlie Rau said. “I think it’s really helping him mature.”

While Rau doesn’t enjoy the limelight, he agreed that it is helping with his communication skills.

After his new fame, his friends now introduce him as “hero,” he said.Â