Mr. Ray Moran:

Good morning. My name is Ray Moran. I live on a council estate in Dublin 7 with my mam. I am 26 and have been in scouting for the past 19 years. I am a leader of the cub scout section in Dublin 7 that I grew up in. It is a pleasure to be here today to share how scouting has changed my life.

I grew up in a disadvantaged area where the easiest thing to do was just to get into trouble. My mam knew this. She enlisted me in scouts with my two older brothers just to try to keep me busy and out of trouble. Without doubt, scouting has been the foundation of my upbringing. I have experienced so much while growing up in scouts. I have travelled the world, befriended so many different people and learned to be a good person. One of my most memorable experiences was when I travelled to Romania to assist in an orphanage for mentally and physically disabled children. Experiences like this form a strong foundation of leadership, volunteering and teamwork. Scouting taught me to aim high, learn from failure, succeed beyond expectations and that, no matter how difficult things may appear, a solution always exists.

I have volunteered with several other causes. I am currently months from finishing my PhD in computational biology. I have been relentless in achieving my goals. I will be the best in the world at what I do and I will change other people's lives. I am determined that this will be so. Scouting has given this to me. It has taught me that I do not need to be the smartest person in the room. If I work hard, be prepared, do my best and am helpful, I will succeed. I consider myself lucky for growing up within a local scout group. Without it, I would have followed the path in front of me rather than creating my own and succeeding beyond my expectations.