HARLINGEN — Since he was a fifth grader, Christopher Ringheanu, 16, has been a Boy Scout.
Ringheanu said he is looking forward to hopefully becoming an Eagle Scout, which is the highest rank for a Boy Scout to achieve.
In order to get that rank, a Boy Scout must complete a community service project.
“You can do it at a school or a church or anything like that, a place that needs help. I thought about the school first because I go there, you know?” Ringheanu said.
He currently attends Harlingen High School South and believed it had the most potential for a project. Ringheanu found the teachers’ work room to be the perfect opportunity.
“It was not a one man project. Myself, a few of the fellow Scouts in the troop, my brother, my parents and I worked on it. I also had sponsors in the project who were all very helpful,” he said.
Ringheanu needed materials and other items to remodel the room, which required several hands.
His idea began in April 2020, but he could not start until the weekend of Jan. 8 to Jan. 10, when he was able to go in with his team.
“There was a lot of planning that went into it and buying the material. My brother, my mom and myself went in every day for a week, but on those three days is when we had most of the work done,” Ringheanu said.
The walls were rundown and scratched up, so they were repainted.
Ringheanu did white paint on two walls and green and orange on the other sides to represent the school colors.
The kitchen area was also remodeled; the countertops were redone and given new handles.
“We cleaned the room and completely reorganized it; we added plants and filing cabinets. We had a sign made with the school logo that really went with the room,” he said.
“The three main components were reorganizing, painting and refurbishing,” Ringheanu said.
For him, the school campus is already nice looking, but the teacher’s lounge is a room for everyday use which was perfect for a project.
Ringheanu met with the school principal and other administrators who told him they had given up on the room. They said it was nice to see it come to life again after the renovations.
“Personally for me, I am going to go to this school for the next few years so it is nice to have a little part of me there,” he said.
He has not been appointed the Eagle Scout rank yet, but in a few months, Ringheanu will write a report to the board of review on how the project went.
“I have been in Scouts for a really long time, and this is just the finish line. You can stop being a Boy Scout, but if you get the Eagle Scout ranking you have that for life,” he said.
Ringheanu added he would not have been able to complete his project without help.
“I am really thankful for all the help that I got. I could not have done this on my own definitely,” he said.
