The Adventures of Ethan Hartz

Sitting down with Ethan, I expected our conversation to revolve primarily around his time as Vice President, but to my surprise, we focused more on what made Ethan Ethan. If there was one thing I learned in our interview, it’s that Ethan is a guy of many angles; from his time as an excellent Boy Scout to his many memorable travel adventures, there is a lot to know.

Ethan is a family man. Throughout Ethan’s entire life, the Hartz clan has been on many family vacations all around the world. His favorite memory from these glorious trips is the last day he spent in Tanzania. Ethan told me the moving story of a fallen bird who had an arrow stuck in it’s back. Ethan’s dad courageously pulled the arrow out and began directly applying ointment to heal the bird. On a video, a young Ethan narrates the event, showing up close and personal the gash on the bird’s body. At the end of the video, the rescued bird prances away into a field. This was Ethan’s 12th birthday. Ethan nostalgically recalled that this was “absolutely” the best birthday he had.

It is these heroic, compassionate skills that made me realize that Ethan was perfectly fit to be a Boy Scout.

Never having participated in any scout related activities myself, I am a novice as to what actually goes on in “The Scouts” as Ethan called them. I had always associated the idea of the Scouts with the little boy from the Disney classic Up. But I was wrong. There is so much more to them. Scouts are compassionate, dedicated members of society, and to be one, you need to have a many positive characteristics. On the remarkable day of May 29, 2016, Ethan received the highly coveted Eagle Scout certification. Ethan, just 14 at the time, had received the highest achievement attainable amongst the iconic Scouts. Some may say he had peaked, but I would disagree.

In the time since Ethan became an Eagle Scout, he won the desired Vice Presidency of the Galloway Student Association. Ethan speaks humbly about his victory, saying that “everyone else did a very good job.”  He diligently serves Upper Learning alongside Shawn Pollack, who he says he has a “great co-leading thing going on” with. During his tenure as Veep, Ethan hopes to destroy the notion that Student Association does not do anything other than dances. I think this is ambitious, but with a guy like Ethan on board, attainable.

My final question to Ethan was what event he was most excited for this year with SA. I think his simple response embodied his persona as a whole: “The event I am looking forward to the most will not be disclosed at this time.” Ethan Hartz continuously leaves us wanting more.

By Vivi Melkonian