Diversity in Scouting Bryan Fok

When I first joined Boy Scouts in fifth grade, I was the only person of color in my troop. I didn’t have a mentor who looked like me. I became aware that many minorities like me don’t have a role model to look up to, so I decided to be that model. Through my leadership and efforts, I’ve been able to make the communities I belong to more diverse and inclusive.

As I got more experience in my troop, I took on various leadership positions. Being a senior scout, I served as a mentor for a new generation of leaders. It was in this capacity that I worked to make my troop more diverse. I gave presentations, talked with prospective scouts and parents, and fostered a welcoming community to introduce people from minority communities to the brotherhood of scouting. My efforts paid off when I gave a presentation on knot-tying in front of a multicultural stew of new scouts.

While I continued my pursuits in Boy Scouts, rising to the rank of Eagle, I also realized that I could make an impact in my school and community. When I became the co-captain of the quiz bowl team at my school, I forged one of the most diverse teams in the region and elicited the strengths of each member, giving every member of the team a voice. Every team decision is a...