An Evans 17-year-old, Ethan Osborne, has earned all possible merit badges as an Eagle Scout with a total of 138 badges recognizing a variety of skills from geocaching to bird watching to oceanography.
This is a rare feat – according to a news release by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Heart of America Council, less than one half of one percent of Scouts earn all the merit badges available.
“It feels really rewarding, and it also feels like I just finished a book that took a really long time to read. Sometimes it just doesn’t really feed real,” he said about this accomplishment.
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Osborne first became an Eagle Scout, which is the highest rank attainable in the BSA, in 2021.
Scouting history and looking ahead to the future
Ethan Osborne is dual registered in Troop 620 Riverwood Plantation and Venture Crew 1, a program that focuses on high adventure activities.
“I really like to try to be an inspiration to my younger brothers and my younger sister,” he said.
He said the most challenging badge to earn was his last, the shotgun shooting badge.
“It was really hard for me to learn how to lead my target and accurately shoot it,” he said.
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Osborne has been working toward his goal of earning every badge for six years; he earned his first badge at age 11.
Not only does the Greenbrier High School student have no more badges to earn, but he is also soon to be 18, which will make him too old to be a scout. He said that he hopes to get involved in a troop as an adult leader.
Osborne’s future plans include entering into the healthcare field, and he is considering becoming a nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant or optometrist.
Military family background
“It’s immensely rewarding to see his effort come to fulfillment,” said the Eagle Scout’s father, Tony Osborne.
His father also noted that as a member of a military family, Osborne has been a member of a troop in North Carolina and a member of two separate troops in Japan before the family moved to Evans where he earned his Eagle ranking.
Continuing the tradition
Osborne said that it seems like scouting is “dwindling,” and that he wants to encourage others to carry on the tradition.
“My scouting experience really impacted the course of my life,” he said. “I want people to have the same experience growing up and being active outdoors that I had.”
His message to other scouts is: “Keep inviting people to scouts…keep passing the tradition on.”
