The Fox by Mark

The Fox by Mark - July 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I did a Ted Talk it would be on one of the first radical environmentalists, emerging in the late 1960s and 1970s. James Phillips found dead animals in the local Fox River. Incredibly saddened he found that the cause of the deaths was a soap factory nearby polluting the river with waste from the factory. Shortly after finding this, in the cover of darkness, he blocked the sewer pipe with wood beams. To mark this success, he carved a fox paw in the wood after blocking the pipe. Phillips then anonymously tipped off the press to the deed. This act put the waste removal in public light. Shortly after the factory was shut down, and The Fox was born. Phillips saw this success at a chance at a second, secret career. Backed by much of the town, some police officers, and a government official, The Fox quietly defaced and exposed polluting corporations, starting with the nearby steel company, always alerting the press afterward. James Phillips ended up at the EPA, working for the environment now through legal and illegal methods, both necessary. The Fox’s career ended when breaking and entering a corporation to place dead fish in the office, led him to realize the illegal methods were no longer possible. With a family and a career to handle, James Phillips hung up the title of The Fox and quietly retired. Mr. Phillips should be now remembered as a hero to not only the Fox River, but to many habitats that could have been destroyed.
James Phillips is the inspiration of my new idea for a future career. All of my life I have wanted to be a civil engineer, following the footsteps of my father. After hearing the story of The Fox, it inspired me to follow an environmentally centered career. It shows that only one person is needed to make a change and that one person can show others the right path to follow. I wish to change the world much like James Phillips did, with the exception of illegal methods.