Connor McConkie is not your average Boy Scout.
The 18 year old will receive his Eagle Scout award on Sunday, March 23 before an audience that may include Councilman Dion Bracco and garlic guru Don Christopher.
McConkie played four varsity sports at Christopher High School, sings in the elite Chamber Choir, sports a 3.7 GPA and donated dozens of service hours toward improving a Gilroy homeless shelter.
“I wanted to do something with physical labor that I could go back and look at,” McConkie said.
Connor led a team of at least 10 volunteers in painting 2,000 square-feet of cement floor, installing outdoor bike racks and dog cages and tiling a walkway from the shelter door to the new equipment.
The work helps the Gilroy Compassion Center, a nonprofit organization on Monterey Road that provides daytime shelter and resources to South County homeless.
Connor’s Eagle Scout project – the capstone project required for a Boy Scout to reach the highest rank of the organization –could probably have been fulfilled with just one or two jobs, but in his typical overachiever style, Connor choose to tackle four, explained Bill Faus, a member of the Gilroy Compassion Center board of directors.
“In between his very tight athletic schedule, he kind of shoehorned in this Eagle Scout project,” Faus said.
The Eagle Scout Court of Honor – a special ceremony in which Connor will be recognized with the new title – is Sunday and the list of more than 70 invitees includes Christopher who helped finance the project as well as teachers, volleyball teammates and close friends.
“ I’m really proud because he was just so busy all four years playing sports. It was really a push to be active in the scout troop and all these scout ranks,” said his father Burke McConkie. “He’s just a very ambitious man.”
The Boy Scouts of America recognizes a variety of ranks of scouts including: Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life – and the highest rank of all: Eagle Scout.
For McConkie, his affinity with Boy Scouts started when he was eight or nine and he participated in Cub Scouts – the precursor to Boy Scouts – with members of his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints youthgroup.
It’s been a crazy ride to all these achievements. When McConkie isn’t in school or volunteering, he plays sports: four of them. Throughout his high school career, McConkie played varsity waterpolo, volleyball, basketball and lacross.
“I hate to use the word ‘nerd’ but usually Boy Scouts aren’t known for being athletes,” said Burke with a chuckle.
The project was completed between May and August of last year.
“It’s a lot of late nights,” McConkie said. “I learned some good lesson about self-discipline.”
The idea to work at the Gilroy Compassion Center came up after Connor said he wanted to do a hands-on building project. A member of his church suggested he talk with the Gilroy Compassion Center.
That is when Connor met Faus, who handed him a list of a dozen potential projects on the center’s wishlist.
“It’s a long list that we kind of chip away at it as we have the manpower,” Faus said.
Taking on the Eagle Scout project turned out to be a good lesson in management and research, explained Faus. Connor researched dog kennels and bike racks to find the most cost effective and appropriate equipment for the center. He also looked into the details of painting concrete.
“I just remember having quite a few telephone conversations about prepping a concrete floor before you paint it,” said Faus with a laugh.
Connor painted the floor of part of the warehouse shelter bright blue to help clients know where they could go in the building.
“He’s just a very busy and very ambitious young individual. He wants to do a lot things,” Faus said.
Working at the Gilroy Compassion Center is not the only Gilroy community service Connor has done. A true Gilroyan, Connor has volunteered four consecutive years at the Gilroy Garlic Festival where he served sodas, chopped “parsley and cilantro for hours on end” and assembled peppersteak sandwiches.
Connor is one student who won’t be struggling to log the 80 community service hours required of Gilroy Unified School District high seniors this year. He logged an impressive 130 plus hours of service.
College acceptances are rolling in and Connor is planning to head for Southern California where he will play volleyball at the Orange Coast Community College while he studies business or biology. He is hoping that playing volleyball there will open up more volleyball options and perhaps some college scholarships.
When Connor returns home from college breaks, he’ll still be able to see the work he did at the Gilroy Compassion Center, which is just an hour walk from his Gilroy home.
“I drive by all the time, and I always see dogs in the dog cages and bikes in the bike rack,” Connor said. “It makes me feel good when I see it.”
