BELHAVEN — Stephen Sparrow has come a long way.

Once a bit of a troublemaker in school, he’s since matured and learned the value of hard work. His family couldn’t be more proud.

The 18-year-old Northside High School senior was recently awarded his Eagle Scout designation, as well as the Hackney Award, an Eagle Scout project award given to one person in a five-county region.

Sparrow’s Eagle Scout project involved moving a structure onto a concrete slab and then turning it into a picnic shelter for his church to use — a project he estimates took about 450 hours of manpower.

“I wanted to do something for my church since they have done a lot for me,” Sparrow said. “I was always that kid getting into trouble. … It made me feel good to know that I could accomplish something that meant a lot.”

Sparrow said he had a lot of help along the way from family members, as well as support from Scoutmaster Paul Harris and girlfriend Emily.

He said he was completely surprised when he learned of his receiving the Hackney Award. Sparrow is one of 29 people to ever receive the award.

His work isn’t finished, either. Sparrow said he hopes to keep working on the picnic shelter, filling in some cracks in the concrete and installing hooks to hold tarps in bad weather.

“I’m going to go back there in a little while and do a few other things I want to do to make it better,” he said.

His mother Stephanie Sparrow said she wants him to know how important his accomplishments are. Both she and husband Stephen could only say they are “extremely proud.”

Sparrow is planning to join the United States Coast Guard once he graduates high school in May. The lessons he learned as a Scout, however, will carry over into the rest of his life.

“It actually meant a lot to me because I never expected anything like this,” he said. “It was that confidence boost that I feel like I probably needed.”