Shining Bright Like Diamonds

When I think of diamonds I think of words like ‘brilliance’, ‘sparkle’, ‘illuminating’, and these are just some of the words I could use to describe our two latest achievers Hannah and Cora who are now proud holders of the Chief Scout’s Diamond Award – the highest Award in Scouting and just one step away from the Queen’s Scout Award. These two Explorers are great role models for the Explorer group and through their actions they show what can be achieved with a little hard work, organisation and willingness to be actively involved in their growth as responsible contributors to society. The awards require development in the areas of Service, Physical Ability, Skills as well as projects to develop leadership and explore areas of International/Environmental/Values. In addition to these there are the Expeditions that each person is required to plan and execute. I am particularly proud of this achievement as it represents the first Diamond Level awards that I have handed out as an Explorer leader and I hope that this achievement will encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

Here’s what they had to say:

HANNAH 

Doing my Chief Diamond Scout Award was challenging, fulfilling and extremely rewarding. It pushed me to get out there and prove to myself that I could achieve what I set my mind on. Having completed my award is a huge confidence booster. Thanks to all the activities I took part in, I can confidently say that I have developed many extremely useful skills without having to “study”. The skills I have now acquired are all down to trial and error. I can. Confidently say that I have developed and improved many skills such as; teamwork; organisation; planning; risk management; communication; adapting to unforeseen circumstances and so much more. The requirements of the award pushed me out of my comfort zone which had a huge positive impact on my self-confidence. I now know that I am capable of running successful meetings for the Cubs Section, I can plan an expedition in February and come out of it alive as well as happy! One of the biggest lessons I learnt out of doing this award is that it’s actually not that hard to complete, all it takes is a small amount of initiative in the beginning and then it’s just a question of having fun whilst you complete the requirements. Once you’ve taken that first step, you’ll never look back! I would highly recommend doing any scouting award as not only is it a lot of fun, you will also walk away with an award which will make you stand out for university applications.

CORA

I was so glad to have been given the opportunity to achieve my Chief Scout Diamond award. Above all, it allowed me to develop life skills that you wouldn’t usually have the chance to work on at such a young age. For instance, I particularly enjoyed working with the Cub scouts to help them obtain an environmental badge. This meant that it was up to us Explorers to plan and then lead several sessions, and work together to make sure everything ran smoothly (risk assessment, working with leaders, gathering material,…). It really gave me;

*… hands on experience in working with young people, which I love, and acting as a young leader for them. I also enjoyed planning and carrying out our expedition. Thanks to the flexibility of the award my team decided to make it a city camp, which involved us making our own way there, planning our meals and getting together a plan to go out and gather the material to achieve our mission, which was to create a Macro-Monopoly game in Antwerp. Needless to say, preparing for the expedition was greatly helped by my previous experience in Scouting, and helped me further develop my planning, time keeping, and teamworking capabilities. I also enjoyed working towards the service part of the award, which consisted of spending one year as Chairperson of the Explorer Executive Committee. This was a huge learning curve for me as it allowed me to work with the other members of the Exec to discuss ideas and make plans for our troop. It felt great to have an official role that really meant that we were contributing to our troop’s future- and it was an added bonus that the title sounds so important! I would definitely recommend the Award to my fellow Explorers as it’s a fantastic opportunity to develop new skills, try new things, work with other poeople (older and younger!) and go on adventures that YOU plan on your own. It was really a great experience that taught me a lot, and I can only hope that other Explorers get as much out of the experience as me.