Twenty five Scouts, ages 12 to 16, from Wisconsin and throughout the United States participated in a virtual survey merit badge class taught by raSmith’s senior project manager, Chris Tippery. The lessons for the class were built around a property survey completed by raSmith. Each class further developed the complexity and information for the parcel of property, from the initial angles and estimated distances, to closing the traverse and computing/resolving the included error, to finally determining the bearings and legal description of the parcel. Mike Ratzburg, raSmith senior project manager, also shared with Scouts what tools and education are needed to be a professional land surveyor using his extensive real-world experience.
Scouts had weekly homework assignments to demonstrate their skills, which were built on after each class. As with all merit badges, participants received a glimpse of the skills required, problems to be solved and the tools to do so. One student provided feedback for the class, sharing, “Thank you so much for taking the time to teach the surveying merit badge and making it so fun and interesting! It’s great that Mr. Ratzburg was able to join us and show us some really interesting aspects of surveying. Thank you for planning for each class so well and for arranging for Mr. Ratzburg to be our class guest.”
Through this class, raSmith also promoted the trades, highlighting various careers available to show participants that there are many options for successful and rewarding occupations. In addition, it was a great way to recruit for our surveying division, even at a young age!
