As we started thinking of individuals who made a difference
in the community we came up with an individual named Chuck Ryan, a volunteer at
BYU. He was awarded Volunteer of the year in 2012. And as we had the time to
document him it quickly became apparent what a good and positive citizen he is.
Chuck has a passion for BYU sports and his enthusiasm is very contagious. While
documenting one of his tours around the BYU sports facility, he showed his
friendship and positive influence to those around him. I found it very
reminiscent to a section of the readings we did in class entitled Human Rights and Culture: From Datastan to
Storyland. It said, “ In storyland we understand that the resilience that
sustains communities in times of crisis is rooted in culture, in the stories of
survival and social imagination that inspire people to a sense of hope and
possibility even in dark times.” This reminds me of Chuck as I interviewed him
for this assignment. He is an outstanding citizen that does just that. He would
tell stories of survival as he would tell about the athletes who had overcome
certain obstacles in their lives and he read a quote by Muhammad Ali, that he
said he reads everyday. He talked quite a bit about human accomplishments and it
gave a sense of excitement and positivity. I also think about missionaries who
go out into the world and teach stories of survival and give people a sense of
hope in dark times. I also recall the film The
Man who Planted Trees. This is a short animated film of a man who looked
into the future and decided to plant trees that would most definitely out live
him. But as he thought of how future generations would enjoy the areas in which
he planted many trees. This is a perfect example of a concerned citizen.
