Achieving Eagle Scout Rank
Presenting a model of my planned Eagle Scout Project, which was designed to maximize ease of accessibility for people with disabilities, to Travis Mills, a Quadruple Amputee Wounded Warrior
Developing and Applying skills for an important cause shaped my life more than I had realized.
I originally became involved in Competitive Sporting Clays at the age of 13, when I was qualifying for my Shotgun Merit Badge in Boy Scouts. Naturally, this Merit Badge required a trip to a range, and during the time spent at the range to qualify for the Merit Badge, my instructor claimed that he noticed a natural knack for the activity. Then, much to the delight of an outdoorsy 13 year old boy, the instructor enthusiastically recommended I join an instructional class for the same youth competitive team his son was participating in. This team dubbed "So Cal Top Guns," had one of the most profound positive impacts on who I am today, and still affects the way I live every day in regards to attitude, work ethic, and personal development. My coach in this program, Jim Porter, was one of the longest survivors of the vicious disease known as Lou Gehrig's. Jim was given 6 months to live upon his initial diagnosis, yet through creating an overwhelming sense of purpose and a hyper-positive emotional attitude, he survived with the disease and it's resulting health conditions for another 22 years. I am beyond blessed to have been mentored by a man of this caliber, and even as a young teenager, I halfway understood that he was truly creating a lifelong impact on me as a person. Jim was the original reason I wanted to create a more accessible station at the range for my Eagle Project, as he spent many hours each week teaching young kids the positive values necessary for success in competition and in life, from a wheelchair.
One weekend a year, a very kind philanthropist would organize an event-filled vacation weekend to benefit the recipients of the Wounded Warrior Project's amazing charitable efforts. One of the events of the weekend every year was an afternoon of instruction at the range on behalf of all of the competitive shooters volunteering. I would spend the afternoon not just giving instruction, but also socializing with all of the participants, most of them single, double, and triple amputees who had lost their limbs in combat overseas. The man pictured above, Travis Mills, was one of 16 people to ever undergo a Quadruple amputation as a result of combat operations and I was quite honestly shocked at his positivity and humor, even in the face of the unfathomable challenges he faces every single day of his life. It is truly extraordinary to be around someone with this extreme of a positive outlook in life as a young teenager, and from this day on I knew that every occasional "Bad Day" I had was simply a result of my own attitude and perception, as my challenges would forever be weak in comparison to the things many others deal with while still maintaining a positive attitude. I knew that my Eagle Project was not just a physical and metaphorical way to give back to my coach that had given so much to me, but it was also a way to help many other inspirational people positively effecting everyone around them.
The Project Brief
An Eagle Scout Project is the last requirement to complete your journey through the ranks in Boy Scouts, by achieving the pinnacle rank known as "Eagle Scout" . At the time that I needed to formulate an Eagle Scout project, I was competing in Sporting Clays tournaments around the country with my teammates. At the local range our competition team practiced at, my coach (who happens to be one of the longest survivors of ALS) would host an event every year for charity recipients of the Wounded Warrior Foundation to receive instruction, have a little friendly competition, and enjoy the overall technical experience of participating in Sporting Clays (I always described it as "golf with a shotgun"). I noticed many of these Wounded Warriors had the same dilemma as my coach, being that it was a struggle to shoot out of the existing stations due to the lack of space for a full sized outdoor powered wheelchair. This major observation is what inspired me to build a larger handicap-accessible shooting station for my coach to teach out of and the Wounded Warriors, who were all heroes in my eyes. This project took hundreds of man-hours to complete under my design, fundraising, material sourcing, and leadership. The station still stands today at Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises in Corona, CA.
”Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart, and finding delight in doing it.
Meister Eckhart
Founding A Fraternity Chapter
Delta Sigma Phi, Eta Lambda Chapter Founding Class, Chapman University
A new type of creation for me- one with a focus on people.
Entrepreneurial Skills Practiced
During my tenure at Chapman University, I served as a Founding Member of a nascent Fraternity Chapter, a role that significantly enriched my proficiency in business development. Spearheading the establishment of a new Fraternity paralleled the complexities involved in fostering a burgeoning business. This endeavor demanded the cultivation of a positive brand reputation within the community, the strategic recruitment of high-caliber "A Player" individuals to be associated with, and the adept management of operational challenges during the initial stages of growth—a period fraught with common organizational teething issues.
I take pride in my substantial contribution to the robust development and steadfast stability of our fraternity chapter, facilitated through the adept execution of diverse leadership roles. My commitment to these responsibilities not only reinforced the organizational fabric but also showcased my ability to navigate and optimize the multifaceted dynamics inherent in organizational growth.
Involvement
I was heavily involved in multiple Fraternity leadership roles throughout my Undergraduate Studies at Chapman University. The first Fraternity leadership position I took on after nomination was a seat on the Standards Board. The Standards Board holds private hearings with members that had been suspected of violating standards of conduct, potentially leading to subsequent meetings for the eight Standards Board members to cast private votes on effectuation of any fair disciplinary action(s), as well as facilitating support towards better conduct in the future for the accused. After, I held the position of Social Media Chair, which entailed the responsibility of managing all Social Media Accounts for the Fraternity. During my 1 year tenure as Social Media Chair, I grew our Social Media Engagement by 360% through strategic changes I was able to make after implementing analytics tools to get a more in-depth picture of performance, which helped me make better-informed strategic decisions. I made sure the job was easy for the next Social Media Chair to excel at by creating easy to follow guidelines, themes, concepts, and content templates to help increase sustained engagement on all of our Social Media profiles. When my tenure in this position was up for election, I decided to pivot and run for the position of Social Chair instead. I was elected to Social Chair by a large margin of votes, which meant I was now responsible for planning all fraternity-wide social events involving not only our members, as well as other Fraternities and Sororities at Chapman University, but also Delta Sigma Phi chapters at other schools around the country, all while adhering to a strict budgetary requirements. Serving in this role was a great hands-on learning experience which helped me become more resourceful with each dollar I had available, and significantly improved my shrewd negotiation skills with various parties we transacted with, such as venues and vendors. Negotiation skills were especially critical for a Social Chair at the time, as we were operating with a very tight budget due to Delta Sigma Phi being a new Charter on campus, which meant that we lacked a significant funding source that almost all other other Greek Life Organizations on campus were able to take advantage of, Alumni Donations.
”Be willing to be a beginner every single morning
Meister Eckhart