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Ethan Christiano began going to the Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces when he was in kindergarten and continued for the next 10 years. One of the groups he participated at the club focused on leadership and giving back to the community.
Now 17 and a junior at Las Cruces High School, Christiano is putting some of those lessons to work. A Life Scout with Troop 180 in Las Cruces, his Eagle Scout Project is to build a pergola and place new gravel at the Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces, 330 W. Las Cruces Ave.
The pergola will give teens at the club a new place to gather. With the shade it will provide, they will be able to come outside during warmer weather.
“It’s been a big part of my life, giving back to the community,” Christiano said. “It’s something that I plan on forever. It’s a great feeling when we work hard for something, especially when you help someone out. I’m really thankful to get this opportunity. This is awesome.”
“We’re excited,” Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Ashley Echevarria said about Christiano’s project. Adding more shade to the property will be a benefit to the club and especially to its teen area, she said.
Christiano’s sister was also a regular Boys and Girls Club client for eight or nine years, he said, and now their two younger brothers regularly visit the club.
After graduation from LCHS, Christiano plans to attend the University of Denver and study business analytics, focusing on cyber security or computer information systems.
He wants “to pursue a career in music on the side,” Christiano said. His passion for music is something else he found at the Boys and Girls Club, even joining with some friends there to form a band.
Since middle school, Christiano has played bass and guitar, and said he also “dabbles in” keyboards. Christiano also sings and writes music in collaboration with a friend. He recently got a studio-level microphone and recording software.
Christiano has started a GoFundMe page to help him raise the $2,500 needed to build the pergola. You can donate at www.gofundme.com/ethan-christiano-eagle-scout-project to help pay for materials and installation.
He hopes to have the project completed in May.
“This is a project that I have been working on for multiple years and is dear to my heart, as this has been a lifelong goal that can be extremely beneficial for a group that supported me along the entire journey,” Christiano said on his GoFundMe page.
