Southmoreland graduate represents Boy Scouts of America at international conference

Charles Echard

Writer at Tam O'Shanter
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
Charles Echard

Southmoreland graduate Michael Conroy joined scouting as a small Cub Scout and the scouting program has offered plenty of opportunities for Conroy. But he never thought scouting would take him overseas.

“I was truly shocked and humbled,” said Conroy as he described his reaction to his selection as a representative of the Boy Scouts of America to the Interamerican Leadership Training (ILT) at Campo Escuela San Jorge Muxbal in Guatemala.

Conroy left Pittsburgh International Airport Dec. 28 for a flight to Atlanta. From there he flew the remaining three and a half hours to Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Upon arriving at the camp, Conroy was introduced to representatives from every National Scout Organization in the Americas, with the exception of Cuba.

One of Conroy’s favorite parts of the training was that he had the opportunity to host a booth about scouting in the United States during one of the nights at the conference, alongside the other Scout representative from the Boy Scouts of America, Shannon Mulligan of New Mexico.

“Shannon and I wanted to make s’mores for the other scouts,” said Conroy, “because they’re not as universal as you would think.”

In order to get all of the supplies for s’mores to Guatemala, the two scouts needed a source of heat admissible on an international flight by the TSA. The solution: candles.

“Yes,” said Conroy. “We really made s’mores over candlelight.”

Mulligan explained that even though the international cuisine was exciting, her most memorable part of the event was pizza night.

“They had Pizza Hut delivered, and I don’t think [Michael] and I had ever been happier to see American food!” Mulligan said.

In addition to bonding with his American counterpart over candlelight s’mores and Pizza Hut, Conroy was able to test out other countries’ cuisines and learn about their various cultures. He also made some friends.

“It’s a little cliche,” said Conroy, “but once I got to know some of the scouts, I felt like I didn’t even leave Scottdale. Scouting really brings people together.”

The scouts were divided into teams for the conference, and it was in Conroy’s Blue Team that he got to know fellow scouts the most. One of those scouts was Raphael de Taranto, a representative from Brazil’s National Scout Organization.

“We had a WhatsApp group and talked a bit over there, but met each other in ILT and started to get closer,” said De Taranto.

Conroy and De Taranto’s team had opportunities to explore local attractions and work together, even if the language barrier between team members was sometimes challenging.

“I think the best part for me was our team: we developed a really good teamwork and had fun even without understanding each other 100 percent. I remember some people only spoke Spanish, and Michael and others only spoke English. So, I decided to play the translator role and had a lot of fun with that and those guys,” said De Taranto of his experience with Conroy and the rest of the team’s language barrier.

At the conference, Conroy also had the opportunity to meet and befriend the other Scout representative from Brazil, Maria Clara Marotti. Marotti and Conroy were paired up in an activity in which scouts would interview each other and share their life stories, and their mutual friendship with De Taranto allowed the two to become even closer friends.

Conroy managed to get close to several scouts at the Interamerican Leadership Training and says he even opened up his home to them should they ever visit the United States. This notion was echoed by Marotti in respect to her own home in Brazil.

Conroy says that befriending scouts from different perspectives and cultures was, “an enlightening and refreshing experience,” and one he won’t soon forget.

About Charles Echard
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Martin Luther King, Jr. "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire

1 Comment on Southmoreland graduate represents Boy Scouts of America at international conference

  1. Great story! Very thorough and interesting. What an awesome opportunity for him!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*