ShawneeDispatch.com

When other boys his age dropped out of Boy Scouts, Nolan Howlett stuck to it.

His dedication paid off recently when the Shawnee Mission Northwest senior earned his Eagle Scout rank in Troop 358.

For his service project, Nolan built a walkway at his church, Overland Park Church of Christ.

Elaine Howlett, Nolan's mom, said her son came up with the idea because the church is building an addition in the back of its building.

"He worked with the landscaping person that is in charge of it in church, and he was like, you know this is kind of a blank piece of area here, maybe you can do something with it," she said.

Nolan used the skills he learned in school and created a computer-aided design with AutoCAD. He said finishing his project was rewarding.

"I was just relieved and excited to finally make Eagle," he said.

Next year, Nolan will attend Kansas State University where he will study engineering, although he hasn't decided which area of engineering. He was awarded Kansas State University's Foundation Scholarship and an engineering scholarship for the 2008-09 school year.

The Foundation scholarship was for $1,000 and is renewable. The engineering scholarship is for $1,500, with 50 percent of it being credited against his tuition.

Howlett said she was proud of her son for reaching his Eagle Scout level, although he was the only Scout in his age group.

"I think it was something that was a goal," she said. "He is pretty goal-oriented."