TOWAMENCIN- Next time you’re passing through the breezeway that connects K-pod and F-pod, make sure to take a look down at the F-pod parking lot and you’ll be sure to see white stones arranged in the shape of the North Penn music logo. This creative new edition to North Penn’s campus can be credited to senior Thomas Lloyd, who designed and created it for his Eagle Scout project.

Boys between the ages of sixteen up until eighteen have a chance to obtain the Eagle Scout rank, although only few attempt it. The Boy Scouts of America describes the Eagle Scout rank as a “milestone of accomplishment—perhaps without equal—that is recognized across the country and even the world.” Since he has demonstrated a high level of Scout Spirit on a daily basis, Lloyd hopes to achieve the prestigious rank by the end of this school year.

“To get here, I had to have already earned the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, and Life, in that order. Now all I need to do is finish working on merit badges and submit my paperwork for this project and my Eagle application and hopefully I’ll be an Eagle Scout by the time I graduate,” explained Lloyd.

Lloyd has marched with the Marching Knights for the past three years, so he felt that it was important to give back to the organization — especially the Music Aides.

The Music Aides are an organization of parents that help out with North Penn’s music programs, but more often than not, they are helping the Marching Knights. Parents in this group are responsible for making props, chaperoning at competitions, and supporting students in the marching band, and countless other tasks.

“The North Penn Music Aides have been giving to me for the past three years with my involvement in the Marching Knights, and now I felt like it was appropriate for me to give back to the Music Aides,” said Lloyd. “The Music Aides are so unbelievably great in what they do, and they deserve so much in return. I wanted to give back in some way for so long now, and I finally got my opportunity.”

Lloyd began brainstorming last school year and went through multiple ideas until he reached the final project. He originally got approval from Dr. Bauer in April to plant flowers along the wall outside of F-pod until he received the support of Mr. Heller for a bigger idea. Then, he decided to plant flowers in the shape of the North Penn music logo, but by the time Lloyd and his team could get around to planting flowers, the weather was already unforgiving.

“We figured that December 1st would’ve been too late in the year to do any planting, even with perennials. So, we came upon the final plan: lay down landscaping rocks to make the logo, use black rubber mulch as a background, and line the whole thing with pond rocks. Mr. Nicholson and the groundskeepers approved, and finally, after months of planning we got under way,” explained Lloyd.

After the new project was approved by his Scouting District and Mr. Nicholson, Lloyd got together with a few fellow Marching Knights and other Scouts from his Troop. Even with facing cold weather and multiple setbacks, Lloyd was able to leave his mark on North Penn in a creative way.

“The support I’ve gained while working on this has not gone unnoticed,” added Lloyd. “I’d like to thank my Boy Scout Troop, Troop 152, for helping me out and providing me a nice group to spend countless camping trips, service projects, service days, and competitions with. I’d also like to thank the Marching Knights, and the Music Aides in general, for giving me something else to do every night.”