A central Iowa Boy Scout has accomplished something only four other Scouts in state history have achieved — he’s earned every single merit badge.
Charlie Stevens, of Ankeny, only needed 21 of the badges to earn the top rank of Eagle, but decided to broaden his experience by working to acquire every one — all 138 merit badges. Stevens, who’s 17, says it took him almost nine years to finish the feat.
“I was doing merit badges for the longest time just because it was fun, and then after I’d gotten a bunch in a row, people started asking me if I was trying to get all of them, so I decided why not?” Stevens says. “Then I just tried to get all of them, and as I succeeded, it became more and more attainable, the longer I worked towards it.”
From Astronomy and Archery to Wilderness Survival and Woodworking, Stevens learned a wealth of life skills during his quest to earn every possible patch. “SCUBA diving was an interesting one. That was fairly hard to get because you had to find somewhere to do it and once I did find one, I found it at the site of an old rock quarry,” Stevens says. “It was just really fun to learn that skill and now I have a diver’s license, which I never knew I’d get.”
When asked if he considers himself an overachiever, Stevens compared his accomplishment in Scouting to how he is in school, as there are some classes he enjoys more than others.
“I really just have fun with those classes,” Stevens says. “Right now, I’m in a class where I’m 30% of the way done with the course for the entire year, even though it’s a couple of weeks in, just because I have so much fun in that class. I don’t consider myself a better student, I just think it’s fun, so why shouldn’t I do as much of it as I can?”
After he graduates from Ankeny Centennial High School next year, Stevens plans to attend the University of Iowa and major in computer science engineering. “I’d like to do something in systems analysis or maybe cybersecurity, just so I can help people be more safe online,” Stevens says. “That’s always just interested me.”
For his Eagle Project, Stevens created the Agape Garden at Ankeny First United Methodist Church, which is an ecumenical faith garden that donates fresh produce to area food pantries. He hopes to complete his remaining Eagle rank requirements next month.
Officials with the Mid-Iowa Council say only a few hundred Scouts nationwide have earned every merit badge in the history of the Boy Scouts of America, which was launched in 1910.