Post date: Feb 26, 2017 5:10:14 PM
Troop Family,
Congratulations to Troop 1657's newest Eagle Scout, Nicholas Christian.
On Friday, February 24th, 2017, Nicholas completed his Eagle Scout Board of Review having presented his Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project on Bikes for the World and having addressed all questions. Upon completion of the review, the Eagle Board unanimously voted that he has earned the rank of Eagle Scout. As a result, Eagle Scout Nicholas Christian becomes the 62nd Eagle Scout from Troop 1657 at First Baptist Church of Glenarden.
Nicholas is a home-schooled freshman who has a strong belief in the value of education. He is not certain where his future will take him but he plans to be prepared by working hard and ensuring the he gets good grades. In the near term, his goal is to become a life guard and possibly apply for an internship opportunity with the Audio Visual Ministry at FBCG.
Nicholas demonstrates the qualities of a servant-leader. From a very young age, he has served as an usher at FBCG, he also volunteers as part of the Feeding the Hungry Ministry and participates with many other organizations throughout the community to aid those who are less fortunate or in need. He has supported the DC Veteran Affairs Medical Center Christmas Shop, First Baptist Church Harvest Festival, BSA Scouting for Food, and the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission Christmas lighting ceremony. At the Veterans Hospital, he helped to wrap presents for veterans and also delivered gifts to those veterans who were unable to be present.
Eagle Scout Christian is very passionate about the Scouting program. Below is an excerpt from his Eagle Scout Ambition and Life Purpose Statement:
Scouting has developed my leadership skills and increased my passion for volunteering and serving others. It has allowed me to experience things I never envisioned myself doing before and exposed me to different opportunities and careers that I never knew existed. I feel that I am capable of meeting any of life’s challenges due to the skills and experiences that I have learned while scouting. For these reasons, I plan to give back to scouting by being teaching others the skills I have learned. My goal is to combine the skills and experiences I have learned while scouting into a career to benefit others.
Nicholas chose a project working with Bikes for the World. Bikes for the World is a nonprofit organization and volunteer network that collects thousands of used bicycles, as well as bike parts and tools, and delivers them to community programs in developing countries. These reconditioned used bicycles represent an affordable and effective means of transportation in many parts of the developing world, providing essential access to work, school, and social services. In addition, to transportation, they also help to create jobs (repair, distribution etc.) within the receiving country.
Nicholas states that he loves bikes and wanted to share this love with as many people as possible while providing assistance in any way possible. Nicholas set a personal goal of collecting and donating 100 bikes. On the day of his project, he had collected 50 bikes. However, he is proof that perseverance does pay off. Prior to the day of his project, he had established a partnership with the Prince George’s County impound lot, although they were unable to provide any donations on the day of the project, shortly after they were able to donate 37 bikes. But, more importantly, Nicholas was able to broker an ongoing relationship with the PGC Impound Lot and Bikes for the World where the County will continue to support this worthy charity though bike donations in the future.
Nicholas is a young man with a future that is truly boundless. This Eagle Award is merely the first step in a long and meaningful journey that will make a change to this world. His Assistant Scoutmaster stated that “Any task or project that Mr. Christian is involved with, he goes in 110% in getting the job done and ensuring that the task or project is successful”. To support this, his parents state “Nicholas is very determined. Once he sets a goal in his mind on doing something, he sees it through to the end.” They go on to tell the story of Nicholas’ Webelos ceremony where two Eagle Scouts spoke and inspired Nicholas to make a commitment to become an Eagle Scout on that day. We now know that he has lived up to that commitment. So the only thing left is to offer congratulations to Nicholas and the Christian family.