The Impact of Scouting

The Transformative Power of Scouting

by

Mark Frederick, PhD

I was never the kind of boy people noticed.

A middle child in a family of ten, I lived in the space between noise and neglect, and in my own mind, I was little more than a shadow in a crowded room. At school, I sat in the back, quiet, careful, and convinced I was as unremarkable as I felt. One moment in third grade defined that belief. My teacher, in what I now think was her attempt to 'shame' me into changing, leaned in and said, 'You’re a stupid little boy, aren’t you?'

She said it with the kind of detachment that made it feel like a fact rather than a judgment. She was my teacher, an adult, a big person, so when she told me that, I believed her.

After that, I stopped trying. I didn’t raise my hand. I didn’t push myself. I became a background character in my own life, the boy who didn’t expect much from the world and assumed the world expected even less from him.

That’s why the call to serve as a Scout camp counselor for two weeks in the summer I turned 14 caught me completely off guard. I wasn’t supposed to be the one chosen for something like that.

A troopmate, more peer than friend, was going to attend a National Jamboree, and they needed someone to fill in for him as a counselor in the Nature program area. For reasons I still can’t fully understand, they asked me. Me, the shadow, the insignificant, the detached…asked to be a camp counselor? It still boggles my mind when I think back to that day.

I said yes, not because I thought I could do it, but because something stirred in me at the mention of it. The camp counselors I’d known and revered; those suntanned, fast-talking, confident, campfire-commanding demigods were my silent heroes. They had the swagger of older brothers and the charisma of movie stars.

They were everything I wasn’t.

And now… I was supposed to be one of them?

But from the moment I stepped into the role, something unexpected happened. I put on the staff neckerchief and felt taller. I introduced myself to the scouts with a voice I hadn’t used before, initially mimicking the behavior I had seen in staff members…confident, loud, even funny, but shortly thereafter, and no longer mimicking, I became just that. I made up jokes on the fly. I led songs and games. I made the younger scouts laugh and look up to me. It was like stepping into a costume that made me real.

I wasn’t pretending, though...I was becoming!

That first week, I was everywhere, guiding merit badge work, talking homesick boys into a place of comfort, leading a hike, jumping into the lake fully clothed just to get a laugh. I surprised myself again and again. And the strangest part? I didn’t feel like an imposter. I felt like I had finally stepped into who I was always meant to be.

After the first week, I went home between camp sessions. I remember standing in the kitchen, sunburned and smiling, telling my mom stories from the week. She paused, looked at me, and asked, 'What has happened to you?'

And I didn’t know how to explain it. All I knew was that I had changed and not just a little…I was literally transforming, and I felt its intensity in ways I’ve never again experienced. And I liked who I was becoming.

The second week only confirmed it. I was no longer the forgotten middle child or the boy labeled 'stupid' in third grade. I was someone who could lead. Someone others looked up to. Someone others could really see!

That summer didn’t just change how I felt; it rewired the course of my life. It gave me a glimpse of my own potential. A spark of belief. The tiniest voice in my head saying, 'Maybe you’re not who you thought you were.'

In time, that voice grew louder. I worked harder in school. I found purpose in helping others. I pursued psychology, earned a PhD, and built a life around personal growth in scouting and transformation, not just for myself, but for others too.

And yet, no degree, no career milestone, no accolade means quite as much as those two weeks in that one glorious summer. That little camp in the woods, filled with tents, firelight, mosquitoes, and the voices of boys becoming men, is still with me.

That place didn’t just dwell in my heart.

It helped me find it.

We invite you to share your scouting stories, reflecting on the personal growth in scouting and the impact it has had on your life. We want to hear YOUR story, as learning and inspiration come from discovering the experiences others have had in youth development.

While we may need to edit your submission for length or clarity, we’ll ensure to share the edited version with you before posting it to this page.

The link below should open your email, but if it fails to do so, please send your story to mark@parabolicvision.com.