Chattanooga Eagle Scout Praised in Local Newspaper
"Eisa Eilertson - Not Your Typical Teenager"
It’s always rewarding to interview a young person who is talented, smart and knows exactly what they want to do with their life.
Debbie Hill, who serves as an assistant volleyball coach at Sale Creek with her daughter Erin, told me a few weeks back that there was a young lady on their team I needed to meet.
“She’s really a special young lady who is smart, athletic and is now an Eagle scout,” Debbie began.
“Her name is Eisa Eilertson and she moved to Sale Creek about five years ago with her family from Chicago. She’s a delightful girl who might make an interesting story. She's the third of five children with an older brother and an older sister and two younger sisters."
Opportunity came my way this week and I had a chance to sit and visit with Eisa at the end of the school day on Tuesday.
She’s not your typical teenager, although she still enjoys doing what most teenagers do. It just happened to be Halloween, so she was ready for an evening of trick-or-treating and even had her face painted for the occasion.
Eisa is a very personable young lady who is a 16-year-old junior. She’s been a valuable member of Sale Creek’s volleyball team and played an integral role in their winning a state championship two weeks ago.
She’s also a smart young girl who makes all A’s. She is always looking for a new adventure and that’s why she got involved in scouting. She started with Girl Scouts, but quickly changed to Boy Scouts and earned the top-level of Eagle scout as she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her older brother Magnus, who is two years older and also an Eagle scout.
“I just found it fascinating what they were doing, so I started sitting in on the meetings they had. Molly is a good friend of mine and she joined too. We now have about seven girls who are involved and we have our own troop,” Eisa smiled.
As you might expect, this young lady has fulfilled all the requirements and earlier this summer earned that Eagle designation.
“There was some adversity when we first started, but I always enjoyed hanging out with my brother and taking part in all the activities. We’ve always competed with each other, but I’ve been involved for five years. All I have learned and experienced has been a reward to myself,” she explained further.
Eisa came from a large school in Chicago, so moving to a small community like Sale Creek might have been a culture shock to most people, but not to her.
“I came from a big school, but I love it here as I’ve made a ton of good friends,” she continued.
Eisa was a gymnast before moving to Sale Creek, but is now involved in a variety of sports in addition to volleyball. Just last Friday, she was part of a Powder Puff football game where she scored three touchdowns and led her Junior class teammates to a pair of big wins.
She also runs track in the spring where the pentathlon is one of her favorite events.
“I’ve always followed in my brother’s footsteps and he set the bar high. He’s now a student at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. That’s where I want to go to school with the intention of becoming an engineer, a nuclear engineer like my parents of maybe an aerospace engineer."
“Volleyball has become a big deal for me and it’s still hard to believe we won a state championship. We’ve now started our club season. I would love to play volleyball in college, but academics are my main priority. I’ll probably apply to all the military schools, but I might try to become an exchange student as moving to another country might be fun,” she added.
Hill had nothing but good things to say about this young lady.
“We could tell when we first met her that she was special as she was so intelligent and coachable. She works so hard at all she does and she’s quite a player,” she said by phone later.
“She’s an asset to whatever she does and was definitely a game-changer for us this fall as she handles what comes her way very well. Her ability to block was big for us and she took some of the pressure off some of our big hitters up front. She’s also a great jumper, but she’s such a positive presence in whatever she does,” Hill added.
“Eisa is one of the most well-rounded individuals I’ve ever met,” said coach Briner later.
“Overall, she’s a great role model for our younger girls and she comes from a great family who is totally supportive of what she does. I’m convinced she can do anything she wants."
“She was a huge factor in our success and pulled off some athletic plays that left me wondering just how she did it. I’m just thankful she’ll be with us one more year."
“We have a good group coming back next year and I’m so happy that Eisa is one of them. She’s been a great player for us as her priorities are definitely in check. But she’s one of those young ladies you just love being around as she’s a positive influence on everyone,” Briner concluded.
The sky is the limit for this young lady. She has already proven that there are no boundaries to what she can accomplish.
And now some five years later, she’s made quite an impact on her teammates at Sale Creek High School.
