Written by Seah Zhang Qi, Edited by Chey Jedd
The Chief Commissioner's Award is a prestigious award that is presented only to the most outstanding Scouts to recognise their commitment and remarkable achievements. This award is the highest level a Scout can achieve and it represents the accumulation of all their achievements in scouting thus far. Below are the words of the 2020 Senior Patrol Leader, current Venture Chairperson and recipient of the Chief Commissioner's Award Seah Zhang Qi.
Road to success
Our road to achieving the Chief Commissioner's Award was a 4-year long journey which began all the way in Secondary 1. We had stepped into scouting not knowing much, with most of us going with the flow and blindly listening to our teachers, unknowingly completing the checkpoints to the Scout Award Tier badge along the way.
As we grew older and progressed to Secondary 2, we had already gone through multiple camps and engrossed ourselves in countless training sessions. At that point, we all had shared a deeper love and understanding for scouting, birthing the fire of the want to improve within us. The accumulation of those experiences and growth, being the Discoverer Award Tier badge.
Stepping into Secondary 3 was a whole new experience for us as seniors and leaders for the younger Scouts. With most of us taking up leadership roles, there was suddenly a whole new chapter for us to break into, with so much more things to learn, not just about ourselves, but also about the rest of the Patrol as well. Many of us had to learn how to guide, how to motivate, how to lead an entire Patrol. With this deepened sense of responsibility and higher level of expectation placed upon us, we diligently fulfilled all the criteria to the third Tier badge, the Explorer Award.
Now, stepping down from our leadership positions and stepping up into the unfamiliar position of being mentors, we now had a new role placed upon us filled with new responsibilities. We planned training for the younger Scouts, provided advice to them when they were in need, and acted as role models for them to follow. This all led up to the attainment of the Voyager Award.
Chief Commissioner Award
With our growth and fiery passion for scouting, we had applied for the Chief Commissioner's Award, putting our 4-years of experience and growth into this one award. From being inexperienced Scouts who only went with what our Patrol Leaders said, to mentors and role models for others to follow, this award represents our hard work and achievement throughout these 4 years.
And I am proud to say that Loh Feng Ryan, Siauw Yu Hern, Kaiser Koh, Joshua Low, Daniel Ong, Audric Tan, Li Shu Heng, and I, Seah Zhang Qi, have all successfully attained the Chief Commissioner's Award. I am always, and will forever be grateful to those who have helped me along the way, guiding and pushing me to achieve higher than before, to be a better me than I was yesterday.
The next checkpoint
However, this is only one checkpoint along our scouting journey, one which affirms us that we are going in the right direction. As Catholic High Scouts, we will always strive for greater improvement and greater progress. As the saying goes, 'Without continuous effort, there cannot be continuous achievement'. This is only one point along our journey in scouting, and just the beginning of our next chapter.