Service

For my Eagle Scout Project, I wanted to impact a community that was in need so I partnered up with Sustainable Roots, a non profit organization working from Cosanga, Ecuador to build a Gazebo for the community through fundraising. The goal was that the Gazebo could increase tourism to the area and provide people with an area where they can meet and birdwatch despite the frequent rain in the area. I spent 8 days in Cosanga leading a team of 10 in the construction of the Gazebo. We were fortunate enough to be able to borrow tools from Sustainable Roots and a few community members were also happy to help. I achieved the Rank of Eagle Scout later on in that same year. Since the construction of the Gazebo, the community has had various meetings there because of its central location to the village. Through this experience, I gained crucial leadership skills that I have used and polished ever since.

Near the end of my Junior year of High School I had gotten the idea to team up with my Robotics team (FRC) to do a service project in Ecuador that is centered around spreading ideas of STEM and starting various robotics teams in the area. The goal of spreading ideas of STEM is to inspire the children of Ecuador to learn about technology and someday enter into the tech industry themselves. I gathered a team of 10 from my Robotics team and we spent the month of July in Ecuador doing this outreach. One of the more memorable outreach activities that we engaged in was the restoration of an orphanage in Quito where we rennovated the children's broken down playground, painted the walls with fun designs, and re-stocked their supplies with new blankets, toys, food, etc. The outcome was starting 9 teams in 1 month, coordinating 2,500 hours of service, communicating with 20 academic administrations, and impacting a total of 300 children.