What do you do as a District Executive for Boy Scouts of America?

I oversee the operation of the non-profit youth programs of Scouting in my district territory covering the city of Folsom, El Dorado County, and Amador County, California. Working with over 20 local volunteers, I provide the resources and guidance to personally ensure the sustainable growth of the program. To achieve this, I focus on achieving objectives in strategic areas such as community fundraising, volunteer recruitment, youth membership recruitment, and program events such as day camps and camporees. My day to day work usually includes networking and building relationships with various stakeholders interested in the positive development of youth, including local Scout packs and troops, schools, businesses, service clubs, and other community organizations.

How did your UC Davis education prepare you for this work?

The opportunity to focus on the study of economic inequality and social mobility within the Economics program has proved particularly helpful to my work. By having developed the skills to understand the lack of economic opportunity in the rural areas of the district in which I serve, I have found success in promoting Scouting's reputation for developing young leaders of character in the outdoors. I also find myself making frequent use of the data analysis skills I learned in the economics program, especially as it relates to event budgeting, evaluating membership and fundraising data, and presenting such data in a comprehensible format to community leaders.

Are there any classes or activities from Davis you found particularly helpful?

I would say a combination of different courses--when put together into the larger picture of the Economics program--ended up being useful to my work. The first was an ECN 190 course on Inequality and Social Mobility during my first quarter that developed my awareness for the wide variance in levels of social mobility across the United States and even within California. Later on, ECN 102 in Analysis of Economics Data and the ECN 194H Honors Study program developed my proficiency in economics research and, more relevantly, data analysis.

Do you have any advice for current students?

Don't get me wrong, internships and work experience are important to finding meaningful work after graduation. But also important is volunteering your time to activities that stoke your passions and help others. The most satisfying moments I've had as a student and as a working professional have not always been ones in which I celebrated my own success, but ones in which I felt part of a team effort filling a helpful part in a bigger picture. It's a kind of positive attitude that brings a group together and brings out a kind of selfless satisfaction for the goal at hand. In my experience, that attitude and a willingness to serve others is the stuff of life.