HOUSTON – Eagle Scout John Gray is proud of his latest accomplishment, and proud he should be. He has earned all 138 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America, becoming only the 271st Boy Scout since 1910 to achieve the goal.
"There's been, in the history of Boy Scouting, 52 million Boy Scouts," said Troop 599 Scoutmaster Adam White. "To think that only 271 have been able to accomplish what he's done, that's pretty incredible."
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Gray's fellow Scouts recognized him Tuesday night in the troop's honor court. It took the high school senior eight years to gather all the badges, but he said he didn't really make it a goal until about a year and a half ago.
"Really persistent, and put in the late nights and weekends to get where he is," said his mother Nancy.
From kayaking, to scuba diving, to climbing, Gray methodically set out on a path to knock out the remaining badges. He said it entailed fun, hard work and even life-altering moments.
"One of my first merit badges was nuclear science," Gray said. "And because of that merit badge, I'm pursuing nuclear engineering at West Point. So that one merit badge sort of changed the course of my life."
Gray has become one of the leaders of his troop. As his time is set to end, he hopes to leave a legacy.
"It's something I will remember for the rest of my life," Gray said. "I will definitely encourage my fellow Scouts to pursue the same goal that I did."
Gray also serves as his troop's Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.