GREENVILLE, Pa.—In late June, Nicholas Thompson, a senior at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., participated in ArrowCorps5, the largest national service project conducted by the Boy Scouts of American since World War II. The project, sponsored by the Order of the Arrow, the BSA’s national honor society, and the U.S. Forest Service, involved more than 5,000 Order members and five national forest sites over a five-week period.

Thompson, a history major from Scarsdale, N.Y., volunteered at George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia from June 21-28 along with 700 other scouts. Part of the “James River Crew,” he helped build 10 to 11 miles of multi-use trails in the more traditional national forest operation. The second crew, “Warm Springs,” constructed a trail from the park marina to the beach, refurbished minor trails and cleared campsites of invasive plant species.

“Scouting has always been an important part of my life,” says Thompson. “It felt great to be part of a nationwide project that is making a real difference in our national parks.”

Thompson began scouting in the third-grade and reached the rank of Eagle Scout at 17. He has been an assistant scoutmaster in his hometown for four years. Thompson is the son of Linda K. Killian of Scarsdale.

The ArrowCorps5 project aims to make a significant and positive impact on the national forests. It also serves as a precursor to the Boy Scouts’ 100th anniversary celebration in 2010. The other forests in the project include Mark Twain in Missouri, Manti-La Sal in Utah, Shasta-Trinity in California and Bridger-Teton in Wyoming.

Thiel College, located in Greenville, Pa., is a liberal arts, sciences and professional studies college related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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