Nazareth High School Senior Serve Community During Pandemic

If this year is like any other normal year, Thomas Xing, a senior at Nazareth Area School District would have started his journey of traveling the world to fulfill his bucket list before moving on to the next chapter of his life: college. His planned first stop was a volunteering trip to Portugal.

But the year 2020 is far from normal as a pandemic not seen in a century is challenging every fabric of human life we knew and took for granted. One of the most severely impacted areas of life is travel, especially to international destinations.

Asked whether he’s frustrated about the botched plans, Thomas replied: “No. I am trained to look for opportunity in a crisis. Why waste time on things that I have no control over? It is perfect mental training to prepare me for a career at USMMA that I am so looking forward to. And the circumstances made me appreciate the trips I took last summer. They have never felt more precious and amazing than how I am feeling now”.

During summer of 2019, Thomas travelled to all 4 continents by himself. An opportunity to represent a US Youth Basketball team at the United World Games took him to Italy, Germany, Slovenia and eventually the game site: KLAGENFURT, AUSTRIA. His team won the bronze medal for the US team at a game that gathered 15,000 youth athletes from over 40 countries.

Hardly home from Europe, the volunteering trips took him to Lima, Peru; Quito, Ecuador; and Antigua, Guatemala. He visited grand Cathedrals on scales that he only saw in European countries before, stood over the equator, and hiked Volcano Acatenango (he survived a sub-zero night in shorts miraculously without frost bite).

Resting only a couple days back from South America, Thomas boarded the flight for Osaka, Japan, where he got his first taste of a fascinating harmony of modern technology and rich, multi-façade ancient culture.

The world throttling summer provided the perfect prelude to his senior year, which centered around the intense process of choosing the right college and getting in. The experience of having to face the world on his own greatly accentuated his self-confidence and provided insights on himself he would surely miss if he had chosen to stay home. It also highlighted his uncanny sense of spatial intelligence and yearning for knowledge of the world. It did not take too long for him to set his sight on United States Merchant Marine Academy, one of the hardest Service Academies in terms of academic rigor and physical demand.

Asked how he arrived at the decision to pursue USMMA, Thomas reflected: “Ever since I was a kid, my mom always encouraged me to figure out what piques my interests, what excites me and what makes me happy. I was prodded and tremendously supported to pursue my interests and work the hardest to be the best I could be at anything I do. But only in the last year, my mom changed her tune. She enlightened me about the true meaning of life: a life centered on oneself is a small one. Only when one devotes his life to love and service to others, his/her life would be fulfilled beyond the limit of the small self. Her point is that: understanding oneself is only the first and necessary step of self-discovery. To find true meaning, one should decide to whom and what to devote his/her life. To me, USMMA provides the best challenge to me as a person and the tremendous opportunity to serve. I am ready.”

Thomas received the Letter of Appointment from USMMA on February 25th, 2020. He is the first alumni in history of Nazareth Area High School to attend this service academy.

With his travel plan sidelined, Thomas is making the most of the summer before indoctrination by running and training with weights every day, working two jobs and maintaining a free neighborhood pantry that he and his younger sister started to help the neighbors in Nazareth to weather the hard times. He said: “I am sure when I look back in the future, 2020 will be the most significant year of many people’s lives. I am not going to waste it.”

In a year that will surely go down human history as the most extraordinary, a young soul is embarking on an extraordinary life journey at the doorstep of USMMA.