I’m sure a lot of you have noticed the recently improved landscape area by the front office, but how much do you know about the story behind these changes?
The mastermind behind this project is none other than Eren Sarikcioglu, a Mission Viejo High School senior whose Eagle Scouts project was to spruce up the area and repair the National Honor Society Bench near the parking lot.
The goal of this project, which consisted of clearing out all of the old bushes, plowing and tilling the ground, laying down the gravel, and planting the new succulents, was to “make a ripple that could become a wave — it could trigger changes,” Eren explains.
Originally, he had a few different ideas for his Eagle Scout project: planting trees in San Bernardino for post-fire relief and even rehabilitating seals in Laguna Beach. Unfortunately, these ambitious ideas were not permitted by time, so he had to look elsewhere for inspiration.
“We were very crunched on time. We were pushing the envelope. I was terrified. I thought, ‘We’re not gonna make it. We’re gonna lose this one,” he says. Finally, and with the help of Principal Osborne, Eren found his project: repairing the National Honor Society bench near the front of the school.
Yet, a determined Eren didn’t just want to repair the bench: he decided to reimagine the whole area. Deciding to keep the tree, he changed the surrounding ground to native landscaping. This was on top of preserving the bench, which involved power washing, sealing, painting, and getting a new plaque.
Along with Principal Osborne, he worked with numerous people on this project. The drama team, especially, who provided the project’s funds from concessions and helped to spread awareness. “I could not believe just the compassion, the joy and just the generosity of everyone, and the help,” Eren says of his team.
Even though it wasn’t the project he initially had in mind, Eren explains that “it was still something that made a difference and something I’m proud of.”
Eren has also left his mark on the school in several other ways, including participating in the Umbrella Club for neurodivergent students, the Unified Sports program, MUN, and, of course, drama.
In my interview with him, Eren talks about how drama is a “party” and how much he respects his fellow peers, saying “I’m grateful to each and every one of them. They’re such a talented, intelligent, intellectual bunch and I’m amazed they want to put up with me every day.”
During his time here at MVHS, Eren has participated in several plays, his first being Bully Plays. He explains that even though the play seems to be disliked by drama, he has “a sentimental spot because it was my debut.”
He also participated in the Shakespeare play, as well as Bad Auditions by Bad Actors, in which he played a puppeteer with a puppet named Zippo. “They kept auditioning me for character after character, and they kept saying ‘We don’t have a character that has this type of energy.’ And finally, they found this puppeteer guy… it was such a good and fun character. Such a bold character. I had such raw energy that you just fed off of it and you got such a kick from it. You just got a charge… It was such a fun show.”
Another play he was involved in was Cinderella, in which he played the minister. He auditioned for the role by singing “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby, saying “I love the crooners. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James. I’m such an old soul.”
The performances he did weren’t always on stage, however: he mentioned a story about playing this character to help his nervous friend feel confident to perform at the school play. He says, “I love doing characters. I love anything with physical comedy, anything, which just bold character, I love it.” Not only has he been a performer, but he has also enjoyed working on sets and props for some of the shows.
Overall, Eren seems to have a lot of great memories tied to MVHS drama. “I take a lot of rehearsal, but once I’m on show night, it’s lightning in a bottle. We’re off. We’re cruising. We’re surpassing altitude. We’re sky-high past the Rockies,” he says.
Eren has also had other accomplishments, like getting Spirit of the Diablo a few times. He tells the story of the award’s significance to him: “I was very close with Ms. Mello at the time, and she had recommended me into Spirit of Diablo. It was still the pandemic…I needed that. I was kind of in a bit of a depression over COVID. I had lost everything overnight in middle school and then high school… It was a rough patch coming in here at the height of the pandemic. But we landed on our feet. I always say ‘You hit rock bottom and there’s only one place left to go and that’s orbit. You’re gonna head right up and you’re gonna surpass the moon.”
Overall, Eren’s biggest takeaway from high school has been, “Know when to react. Know how to react. Know it’s not what you meant to do, or what you meant to say. It’s what you did do, or did say. That has probably been the greatest lesson.”
Outside of school, Eren does a lot of scouting, which includes campouts, hikes, excursions, barbecues, banquets service projects, and helping to plan for events. He’s been involved in Scouts “since almost forever,” starting in late kindergarten and all through now.
“It really became a family, especially with the past two troops out here. It’s been a real family. And a lot of them actually came out from my last troop, from 603, for the project and helped me out. We talked, schmoozed. Just had a lot of fun.”
His first participation with Scouts began in Illinois, where he was born. He lived there up until about nine years ago, when he moved to California. He says he misses it “incredibly” and that his family is still there. Eren goes back there to visit once a year in the summer.
This summer, his “big trip home to Illinois” is already on the books. He’s going to go for about a month, when his family will have big barbecues, have parties, go boating, go swimming, and small trips, such as to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, and the Wisconsin Dells.
A bit further into the future, Eren plans to go into politics. He is trying to become a Senate page and is applying to programs in Springfield, Illinois, and Sacramento, along with the civilian Climate Corps.
What inspires Eren day-to-day is a quote, made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that says: “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.” Eren explains, “It lives with me today. I very much live by that quote.”
To describe himself in a few words, Eren says he is kind, caring, considerate, determined, diligent, optimistic, and…“humble.”
At the end of the day, Eren’s captivating storytelling and unique personality are evidence that he is truly a great person. No matter what he does in the future, I wish him the best. Needless to say, no matter how much time goes by, Eren has certainly left his mark on Mission Viejo High School, and we are all greatly thankful for his contributions.
