Cody Odekirk

Focus Services, Coach Roy Site

 

Below is the essay that Cody wrote in his application to be part of the trip to Guatemala:

Focus In Guatemala

            When I first learned that Focus gave humanitarian aid in Guatemala, I did not totally understand what the purpose was.  Shortly after Victor Ramirez went to Guatemala last year, I started attending Weber State University and not knowingly signed up for a service based learning English 1010 class.  On the first day of class, we were told that we had to perform 25 hours of community service in our own community to see the hardships of poverty.  After the class I knew why Focus would do such a thing.

            Where I worked at the Roy site of Focus, I could walk to the Boys and Girls Club which is in the same Iomega complex.  Working at the Boys and Girls Club for one hour a day, on my break from Focus, gave me the best feeling in the world.  When I discovered how much giving to the children at the club made me feel, there was not words to describe it.  At the club I was able to help children with their homework and bond with them by playing sports and activities.  I believe that in encouraged one boy there to eventually go to college so he could be like me.

            Since donating my time at the Boys and Girls Club, I have looked into what I can do to serve not only my community, but the global community as well.  The first place I looked into was the Peace Corps.  The Peace Corps has a very lengthy process for joining and they like to only have college graduates.  I look forward to joining the Peace Corps after I have graduated college, however, I realize that I am so eager to help the world now, and my own employer gives humanitarian aid to a village in Guatemala. 

            I feel that going on Focus’ expedition to Guatemala will greatly change my life and perceptions of the world for the better.  Here in the United States, compared to Guatemala, I have everything where they do not.  I am willing to perform service for people thousands of miles away because I am able bodied, and want to help those not as well off as myself.

            The experiences I will have gained from helping the world community would be like no other.  I can take everything I learn in Guatemala and apply it here at home.  Almost all of my friends are serving missions for the LDS Church, and I feel the life lessons they will learn in the two years could not match anything else.  Where I am not a member of the LDS Church, I have looked into programs where LDS missionaries perform service only.  Before I commit 2 years of my life to a service only mission for the LDS Church (or any other faith), I want to experience it with fellow colleagues from Focus.

            Upon telling my grandparents that I was going to submit an application to go with my work to Guatemala, my grandma told me about a story of her friend doing the similar in Tibet.  The story was of her friend who was a professor at Utah State University.  The professor went overseas to perform service very often, mostly to teach.  The humanitarian groups he went with not only taught, but physically helped as well.  While in Tibet, the professor helped in building a mud-brick stove for a local village woman’s home.  With the stove they could cook and have heat.  My grandmother told me that the woman and her family were so grateful for the stove and that it would improve their standards of living significantly.  This story warmed my heart.  If I could improve someone’s life just by building something they would use every day, my heart would be forever warm. 

            At home, I have experience in building structures.  If building homes or something of use is what Focus will be doing on this expedition, my presence will be quite helpful.  Here in Utah I have built a hangar, a deck, and have made repairs to hangar doors at the Ogden Airport.  I am very handy with tools and have the strength to move supplies.  I can use a chainsaw and weld effectively also.  I am not sure what exactly I would be asked to do in Guatemala, but I would be happy to do absolutely anything. 

            I am conversationally fluent in the Spanish language, so I feel not only would I be useful in service, but may also be able to bond with people there.

            Humanitarian efforts around the world are extremely important and I feel grateful to work for a company that is willing to help so much.  I also appreciate that Focus is willing to bring an employee along for the experience and hope I am that employee.  Thank you for the opportunity to even apply for such a great expedition.

Cody Odekirk

A website has been set up where you may leave a note of condolence or a memory of Cody Here.

If you would like to add photos of Cody to the photo album please email them to bwiser@focusservices.com.