DLIFLC students and faculty admire the newly built Asian cultural garden in 1965, one of three cultural gardens sprinkled around the campus.
Leadership, history and customs are more than just time-honored military traditions. They are the foundations of leader success, influencing ethical standards, strategic decisions and unit cohesion.
So when Laura Stavesky was looking for an Eagle Scout candidate project on the Presidio of Monterey, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center was happy to afford her the opportunity to learn military leadership skills first-hand, by revitalizing the Asian Garden.
Volunteers work on the revitalization project of the Asian cultural garden that Eagle Scout candidate Laura Stavesky oversaw.
The garden, built in1965, reflected the Japanese artistic elements of hill, pond and stream.
“For scouts working to achieve the Eagle Scout rank,” Stavesky said, “the goal is to plan, lead, and utilize volunteers to execute a service project to benefit your community.”
It took a few months to look around and decide not only what would be best but also what she would be passionate about, before she decided to take on the Asian Garden project, one of three cultural gardens at DLIFLC.
Volunteers work on the revitalization project of the Asian cultural garden that Eagle Scout candidate Laura Stavesky oversaw.
“With my mom working at DLI and my dad being an Air Force veteran, I decided that I would love to clean up the garden and fix things up to honor my parents, along with the active military community of Monterey,” Stavesky said
DLIFLC’s culture gardens, according to Command Historian Cameron Binkley, were “…a deliberate attempt to create physical settings for language learning more connected to the target languages.” Over the years, the nature of the Asian Garden changed and upkeep fell by the wayside.
The challenge of restoring the Asian Garden was not just a service project, but a masterclass in organizing volunteers, logistics and resource management where Stavesky had to carefully plan and coordinate with leadership.
In addition to landscaping and power washing the sidewalks and hill, the plan was to repair, replace and seal the mini bridge. She would also dig out and replace walk-way stepping stones, spread black mulch, replace missing stones to the rock tower, and seal and paint the damaged pond.
The newly revitalized portion of the Asian cultural garden that Laura Stavesky and her team of volunteers worked on in early November.
The Asian cultural garden before the revitalization project, one of three gardens across DLIFLC. Over the years, the nature of the gardens changed and upkeep fell by the wayside.
It was an ambitious plan, which meant this leadership opportunity included being a project manager. “I gathered volunteers and recruited some of my friends to help me out,” she said. By the time she completed the project in the beginning of November, Stavesky led a dedicated team of seven.
One of the important aspects of leadership projects is the growth that comes with learning personal capabilities.
“There were a lot of risks that I was being told by many different people about how it could be difficult to get volunteers on base, or how it could be difficult to get permission to complete a project on base,” Stavesky said. “By being persistent, I stuck with my plan and worked through the issues with DLIFLC leadership and my advisors, thankfully without many problems.”
Laura Stavesky shows DLIFLC Chief of Staff Mark McLeod the changes she and her team of volunteers made to the revitalized Asian cultural garden.
To Mark McLeod, DLIFLC Chief of Staff, the project was more than just a successful cleanup; it was confirmation of the impact young leaders have on our leadership environment.
”This impressive effort not only honors her parents and the creators of this space 60+ years ago, but it refreshes our daily journey, reminding us of the dedication needed to succeed, as thousands here have over our 85-year history. Thank you, Laura, for your persistence, hard work, and contributions to our mission here at DLIFLC.”
