Throughout Bishop Noll’s history, many alumni have generously donated to the school as a way to give back to the school: scholarships, the remodeling of the Whelan Activity Center, the remodeling of the auditorium, and the sale of bricks from the A Wing building are all courtesy of Bishop Noll’s generous alumni. Soon to be alumni, senior Daniel Cuevas, is purchasing new athletic benches for the soccer/football field in an attempt to give back to the school he loves. He is buying the new benches as a part of his Eagle Scout project.

  While considering ideas for his project, Cuevas decided to give back to the school he loves so much.

  “I decided to dedicate my project to BNI because I love this school. Since my sister introduced me to BNI, I’ve been bleeding blue and gold ever since. This school has given me so much, and I realized I just had to give back to this establishment,” he said. “But to do my project to make new athletic benches for the soccer teams, it just hit me before the end of school last year. I knew soccer conditioning was coming up, and I was still brainstorming for project ideas. I then remembered the wooden benches during the soccer season. I knew it was time to change out the benches, so I took action and moved forward from there.”

  Cuevas has been a part of his Eagle Scout troop since grade school, and kept with it throughout his high school career.

  “A few of my close friends had already been asking me to join Boy Scout Troop 7 at our school, St. Stanislaus, for a while. After a few months, I decided to go to a meeting and I was hooked. Everybody there, including the Scoutmasters and the Scouts themselves, were so very welcoming to me,” he explains. “I stayed with it because I was simply enjoying myself with the hikes, meetings, and my fellow Scouts. Plus, I’ve lately been one of the “senior” members in the troop, and just how the “senior” members when I was a new Scout helped make me feel welcome and guide me, I want to do the same for the new Scouts now. I want to continue to make an impact on my community because it is our job as citizens on the local, national, and global level to make these positive impacts.”

  To raise money for his project, Cuevas started out with simple bake sales, but at first it wasn’t enough.

   “I sent out more than 50 different letters to local councilman, the Hammond mayor, the East Chicago mayor, the Foundations of East Chicago, local businesses, and more,” he said.

  But it wasn’t until this past summer that Cuevas realized a more fun way for everyone to fundraise.

  “I don’t think bake sales will be too effective for making more than $3,000. But I thought to myself, “What can I offer to people? What skills do I have?” I thought about how I’ve been playing guitar for about 2 years and how I’ve been posting cover songs on Facebook since last December. From there, I decided I would have a fundraiser concert. That was definitely something out of my comfort zone, but I knew this would be key to making some big money for my Eagle Scout Project.”

  While Cuevas was the one to come with all the ideas, he also gives credit to his family and friends.

  “With fundraising, many people donated baked goods to me to sell at the bake sales I had. With the concerts, I had some family donate food and refreshments to provide to my guests. My long-time friend Cassandra Marquez here at Noll even donated 2 full-sized cakes to my concert, and she offered her help out of the blue. I was so thankful for those people who donated their time and effort to help me fundraise.”

  Now that the fundraising is over, Cuevas is moving into the final stages of his project. “I plan to order the new athletic benches within the next few days. I would predict that construction will begin in early-mid September,” he said. “And despite the adversity I’ve been facing to complete the big project I’m doing, I’m not the person to give up on my dreams.”