They wanted to give back to their school.
So Inderkum High School seniors Chris Roberts and Alejandro Avila chose to complete campus projects in meeting Eagle Scout service requirements. Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in Boy Scouts.
Both 17-year-old students, enrolled in Inderkum’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program, put the finishing touches on their community service projects Sunday (Aug. 13):
· Alejandro sanded, built, stained and installed four 6-foot wooden benches near the Inderkum High cafeteria so that current and future students will have more options for outdoor seating at lunchtime.
· Chris replaced an entire deck of 2-by-12 foot wood planks on the varsity baseball backstop, painted it, and revitalized a dirt path leading behind home plate between the home and visitor dugouts.
“I feel like Inderkum has made me what I am today, so I want to give back as much as possible,” Chris said. “It’s a good feeling knowing you did something good for your community.”
Alejandro agreed, adding that he wanted his project to be something that Inderkum students could use now and for years to come.
“I wanted to be able to come back and say, ‘I did this,’” he said, smiling. “I wanted it to be something people would remember. … It feels good to give back. It’s my school, too. They taught me, and I can give back by creating these benches.”
Both Chris and Alejandro had a little help from friends in their service projects. Alejandro and about 10 friends cumulatively logged nearly 160 service hours in building the benches. Chris hasn’t totaled his team’s hours, but he was assisted by a group of about two dozen students, adults and Scouts throughout the day Saturday (Aug. 12).
Besides being top-notch students at Inderkum, Chris and Alejandro are varsity athletes: Chris plays on the football and baseball teams, while Alejandro competes in soccer. The two longtime friends belong to Sacramento’s Boy Scouts Troop 1.
The Tiger duo have their sights solidly set on college: Chris has not yet picked out a college, but he’s considering a career in Finance or Engineering. Alejandro wants to study Business or Finance at New York University or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
