DARIEN — A Darien Troop 35 alum and former Eagle Scout returned to teach the next generation of Darien Scouts about virtual technology and mental health.
Matt Golino, 29, who graduated from Darien High School in 2011, walked Scouts from Darien’s STEM Venture Crew 353 through meditation with Zen VR, a program he has been working on for years.
Developed as part of Golino’s master’s thesis at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ZenVR is a program that teaches meditation through virtual reality. Golino said he was inspired by his experiences with meditation and the real-life applications of virtual reality as a therapeutic treatment.
“We’re taking this novel technology (and) we’re creating a space where people can learn from the comfort of their own home,” Golino said. “They don’t have to go find a Zen teacher. They don’t have to climb a mountain and sit there for days at a time. This is accessible.”
After the pandemic halted in-person experiences for STEM Venture Crew 353 — a high school Scout unit for boys and girls interested in the STEM field — advisor Frank McGarey invited Golino to teach students what he considered a topical lesson combining mental health and technology.
McGarey had watched Golino grow up, first as a Scout in his son’s troop and later as a student at the same college McGarey’s daughter attended. To McGarey, Golino was an ideal candidate to speak with the Scouts.
“Here’s a kid who combined technology and video virtual reality — which a lot of kids are into — and now mindfulness and using that tool as a way to be able to manage their mental health,” McGarey said. “I thought that was a great, very timely way to talk about that technology and ways it can be used.”
Speaking over a video call from Atlanta, Golino led students in a hands-on meditation session through a shared virtual space. All of the Scouts were equipped with a VR headset, and adults were welcome to join in while watching the monitors.
It was Venture Scout Will Laird’s first time practicing meditation, an experience he fsaid he ound especially beneficial fresh out of his junior year exams.
“I think it’s actually really helpful,” Laird said. “A lot of times, people who are in the greatest need of mental help don’t have the motivation to go and find those places, or a secluded spot, or they just don’t have access to a quiet place where they can relax and meditate and just clear their mind. This gives them an alleyway where they can do it.”
Golino said he was glad to see so many of the Scouts receptive to the meditation exercise and actively participating, since “it’s not an easy thing to learn, especially at this age group.”
To this day, Golino credits a lot of his values in leadership and perseverance to his time in Scouting, a quality he still sees in the younger generation a decade later, he said.
“It’s cool to be giving back to the community that brought me up into this in the first place,” he said. “I will always say ‘yes’ to give back to Scouting.”
McGarey said he was fortunate to have so many alumni, or “near peers” as he called them, willing to come in and share their journeys with the younger generation of Scouts.
“To see a kid who walked their walk just a few years ahead of them and the things they’re doing is much more impactful than anything we could do,” he said.
“It was inspiring to hear all that he’s done,” Laird said. “It was also a relief, because I now have kind of reassurance that someone who’s like me was in Scouts and went to DHS has made it in life and has found success in the STEM field.”
