A colorful section of painted asphalt at Florence Bowser Elementary School has put a Nansemond River High School rising sophomore in contention for Eagle Scout rank.

Ryan Pentecost said he decided to undertake the project after seeing a need at the school where his mom Holly Pentecost works.

“This is the place where I knew I wanted to do something,” the Boy Scout Troop 911 member said.

Ryan said he and a volunteer team of about 20 helpers — other Scouts from the troop and their families, plus his surveyor uncle — completed the paint job Saturday.

“There are letters and numbers they can learn from. The shapes are from their SOLs (Standards of Learning), so they will know what they’re like and learn them better,” he said.

“The hopscotch just gives them a game to play, and the eagle is the school mascot.”

One of Ryan’s first steps was to consult with Florence Bowser’s outgoing principal Fran Barnes.

“We started talking about it last year,” Barnes said. “I don’t recall making any particular suggestions, except that it was age-appropriate.”

Then there was paperwork to tackle before the concept was approved, Ryan said. After that was squared away, he set about designing a survey for Florence Bowser teachers.

“Some of the suggestions they gave me were a little more complicated then what I could do … (but) all of them agreed with what I wanted to put down,” Ryan said.

The parent-teacher association at Florence Bowser supported the project, donating money to purchase supplies such as paint and paintbrushes, he said.

“I had a couple of teachers help me draw up the stencil,” he said. “My uncle came and surveyed — we made the chalk lines and mapped it out.”

The Board of Review will decide whether Ryan attains the rank of Eagle Scout in the coming months. Meanwhile, he said, he has some paperwork to take care of, documenting the project.

“I thought it was going to be a lot of fun, and I was right — it was,” Ryan said.

A Scout for nine years, Ryan is also on his school’s swim team, a Taekwondo black belt, and an ROTC cadet.

His goal is to attend the Air Force Academy, but otherwise he said he’s aiming for an ROTC scholarship.

Holly Pentecost said she and Ryan’s dad, Michael Pentecost, are both very proud of their son.

“He’s worked hard and gotten through a lot of trials and tribulations to get here,” she said.

Ryan said he is looking forward to visiting Florence Bowser in the fall to see his creation in action.