As I begin my journey into the world of service, I find myself reflecting on my past service experience. For my Eagle Scout project I built a boardwalk in the University Wisconsin Waukesha Field Station. The boardwalk is part of an ongoing effort to improve the land after it was originally donated to the university as a small plot of farmland. Throughout the project I had to learn to manage myself, money, and others. Raising money for the supplies, organizing workers, and keeping myself organized was a challenge, but it certainly has helped me develop important leadership skills. Service can be a great way to improve yourself because getting out in the world and taking on a task or an issue will force you to develop new skills or force you to draw on thing you may have not used for a while.
One of the lessons that I learned while part of the Order of the Arrow, scouting’s honor society, was the value of cheerful service. Their motto of cheerful service has propelled me to learn to enjoy my service to the community. Service can be enjoyable. Viewing how your time commitment, effort, and talent have made a difference in the life of others has taught me to respect the concept of service and learned to value what it teaches you. Of my most enjoyable service paths has been my service at my high school scene shop. It takes a lot of work to build quality scenery for our community shows, but it is always worth the effort. To see how someone can turn a pile of lumber into a bench, or a shelf, or a staircase has always captured my interest, and knowing that you are doing it for others is something special. Even though it was a thankless job, it was rewarding in its own way. I’m excited for October break when I’ll get a chance to go back and help out around the shop again. I am also excited to get my start with Habitat for Humanity here in Lafayette. The mission of Habitat for Humanity is a great mission and I’m excited to have a chance to help out and use some of the construction skills that I learned in my past volunteer opportunities. I hope that I am able to get as much out of this service project as I have in my past service projects.
