Living 50 Plus 2021

in prison, so that program has, perhaps, the greatest
human impact, but it also has a great societal and
economic impact.”
A third accomplishment that Scruggs is honored to
have been a part of is the information technology
community college that he led a team of faculty
members to set up in Afghanistan. Because of their
efforts, the citizens of Kabul, Afghanistan are able
to learn and attain workforce development type
degrees. Their first class of graduates consisted
of 36 individuals, eight of which were women,
which Scruggs said is remarkable since women had
been basically shut out of education in that area of
the world.
“I have a great job. I’ve got a great boss. Life for me
could not have been designed any better if I had
designed it myself,” Scruggs said. “I could not imagine
my life being any better than it is. I’m an incredibly
blessed man.”
His sense of joy and tone of gratitude almost became
confusing as he continued to speak, but eventually, it
all became clear.
“I find myself at a different place in life. I recently
found out that I have an unusual form of cancer.
I’m going through chemotherapy right now, and
something like this changes your perspective,”
Scruggs said. “I think my prognosis is good enough;
it’s fine. I’m not worried about the future. But things
like this make you look around and discover what
really matters. I am a Christian, so the first thing I
asked when I got this news was, ‘God, have I honored
all that you’ve blessed me with? My gifts, my
resources, my time—have I spent them doing what
Christ called us to do, which is to love God and serve
others? Have I done that?”
Continuing, he added, “I can tell you this; God could not
have put me in a better place or a better community
organization for me to do that while earning a living
doing it. I get to do all of this incredible stuff, and
I get paid for it. Every day, I’m in an environment
where I get to, and I get to see other people change
lives for the better. Every day there is a story of
someone saying, ‘Thank you for the difference you
made in my life.’ They don’t always tell me directly,
but I hear them, and at the end of the day, that’s what
it’s all about.”
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