Five-year-old Christopher's wish is a lot like the wish of 7-year-old Chris Greicius, the boy who wanted to be an Arizona police officer. Back in 1980, Chris Greicius was sworn in as an honorary patrolman and the experience sparked the creation of the Make-A-Wish Foundation®. Twenty-one years later, Christopher wished to be a certified graduate of the United States Coast Guard Elite Rescue Swimmers School. The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Eastern North Carolina and the U.S. Coast Guard combined efforts to make Christopher a member of the coveted fraternity.

Christopher's adventure began with a plane ride – along with his mother, father, grandmother, and two sisters – to Virginia. From there, a limousine took the group to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, the site of Christopher's wish. Before Christopher could start his training, the family was greeted by Santa's elves at their hotel. Inside, there was a Christmas tree with refreshments, gifts, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Training would have to wait as Christopher had an opportunity to personally hand over his Christmas list to Santa.

The next day, Christopher and his family traveled in a Coast Guard police cruiser to the base. The excited boy was issued his flight gear and uniform, including a new leather flight jacket complete with unit patches. Next, Christopher and his assigned Coast Guard "buddy" participated in and observed rescue swimmer training. For a break, they toured the air station, taking a close look at the different types of aircraft used by the Coast Guard in law enforcement and search and rescue.

After a lunch and briefing, Christopher and his family headed to the hangar for their H-60 Jayhawk flight to the Outer Banks, a chain of sand islands and peninsulas along the North Carolina coast. Their whirlwind adventure switched from air to sea after the Jayhawk flight with a ride on a Coast Guard patrol boat. From the boat, Christopher watched his fellow swimmers perform training exercises to simulate a rescue mission at sea.

Finally, the time came for Christopher to be honored. He was escorted by his fellow rescue swimmers to the air station hangar to attend an awards ceremony conducted by the commanding officer and executive officer of the air station. The young recruit was presented with his certificate of graduation from RescueSwimmerSchool by a member of the AircraftTechnicalTrainingCenter. He was also pinned with his "rescue swimmer wings," thereby making him the first-ever honorary graduate of the United States Coast Guard Elite Rescue Swimmers School.