He made headlines more than a decade ago as the Moraga teen who was denied his Eagle Scout Award because he was gay. This Pride Month, the newsmaker contemplates the lessons learned and a memento that remains cherished to this day.
"It's so emotional. That was such a different place I was in back then," Andresen said.
"Getting my Eagle Scout taken is devastating. Hearing this happen to other scouts is also devastating," the teen said in a news conference back then. "That was a really hard time. So to have a wall like this, where so much harassment happened...I mean, I got beat up in that bathroom right there. And now, this is here for them all to see. That's amazing," Andresen said.Andresen reads some of the tiles,"Be the change you want to see. Peace, respect. Be true to you."
"It really just kind of solidified the way that I felt -- as a lower class member of society that didn't deserve the same as others deserved," Andresen said."To go on the national platform the way I did, so early, I certainly did receive a lot of hate, in addition to all the praise I was receiving," said Andresen.
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