Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a relatively rare feat for Scouts, and rarer still is earning the rank of Eagle Scout while not actually being on U.S. soil. Thomas W. of the Boy Scouts of America Transatlantic Council recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the U.K.

In 2015, 54,366 Scouts earned the rank of Eagle, and  the Transatlantic Council accounted for 143 of those Eagles. The Transatlantic Council serves Scouts located in the U.K. as well as all over Europe, which illustrates how rare these U.K. Eagles usually are.

Making the occasion of earning Eagle even more unique for Thomas was that his Eagle ceremony was held at Brownsea Island in the U.K. Those who know their history will recognize Brownsea Island as the place where Robert Baden-Powell held a campout for youth in 1907 that led to the formation of the Scouting movement.

Thomas credits Scouts with teaching him some key values.

“Everybody needs help along the way,” he said. “[Boy Scouts] taught me to be aware of my surroundings and to be prepared for whatever weather or environment I was camping in.”

Speaking of camping, Thomas also talked about some of his favorite places his Scout troop has camped – the kind of places that would make just about any Scout pretty excited.

“My favorite camp outs were Scotland, the Lake District, Brownsea Island and Hadrian’s Wall,” he said. “They weren’t just fun, I got to learn lots of neat things about the United Kingdom, too.”

For his Eagle Scout project, he improved an outdoor polytunnel classroom, which included cleaning the space, building animal cages, putting in topsoil for flower beds and placing hay bales inside for seating.

To learn more about Thomas’ project and Scouting in the U.K. area of the BSA Transatlantic Council, be sure to read the full article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

To learn more about the positive impact that Scouting can have on young people like Thomas, be sure to check out this article on the recent Tufts study, and watch this video: