Warren Khan, Eagle Scout
Total Volunteer Hours Worked: 19
My project provides stress-reduction resources for the George Mason University (GMU) students in the Mason Autism Support Initiative (MASI) program. Students with autism experience higher levels of stress, due to sensitivities to loud volumes, crowds, the need to communicate effectively, and organize. The impact of my project is to reduce stress, by providing useful coping strategies, such as ear plugs to reduce noise, fidget and stress ball to distract anxious moments, and contact information for campus resources, such as Disability Services and Counseling and Psychological Services.
I created an Amazon wishlist of needed supplies and sent an email to neighbors, asking if they’d contribute to my project by purchasing needed supplies. The wishlist was fulfilled and all supplies were purchased/donated and delivered.
Observations and Challenges
I was able to get permission from my Scoutmaster to have the Eagle Project held at our Troop 20 meeting. Scouts were notified by a Troop email blast and several volunteered to help. My parents and I transported all supplies to the Troop 20 meeting, where we assembled Scouts, set up stations, and delivered instructions.
I found communication to be the most challening part of the project, because of my disability. To prepare in advance, I typed a narrative, which I read to the Scouts, so everyone was clear on the instructions for the project. During the project execution, we realized we were had a shortage of business cards with contact information for campus services. As a result, I went home and printed more.
Changes (from Original Proposal)
There were no significant changes noted.
Leadership
I demonstrated leadership in many ways. I was able to speak to the GMU staff about my project and explain why it was a helpful idea. Next, I communicated with neighbors and asked for donations, communicated with Troop 20 Scouts, asking for volunteers, and lastly, I supervised the execution of the project. During the project, I answered all questions from the Scouts.
The most difficult part was organizing and planning the stations, so that the Scouts could do their tasks in an assembly line fashion. This required me to think about the best way to sequence the tasks and have them make sense and easy to execute. The other difficult part was verbal communication, because of my disability.
The most rewarding part was being able to see the project to its completion. I have only had a few leadership roles and I would like to have more opportunities to develop these skills. I learned that with good planning and a good strategy in place, a team can be led to task completion. My skills were further developed because I got to practice speaking to a group, which I rarely get to do.
Scouts working to assemble the MASI kits using the supplies provided.
Exemplars of the finished MASI kits.