But the recent Tonganoxie High School graduate is one of those freshman who has a rare accomplishment to his credit, one that he had to preserve through the COVID-19 pandemic to accomplish.

Spiker, who graduated from THS in May, became an Eagle Scout in September 2016. At the time, he had completed 30 merit badges.

Overall, Boy Scouts of America offers 137 merit badges. Scouts are required to earn 21 merit badges to earn Eagle Scout distinction. Many earn more than that minimum requirement, but less than one-half of 1% finish all 137.

Last year, Spiker, a member of Troop 357 in Tonganoxie, became a member of that exclusive group.

Just more than a year ago, he put the finishing touches on earning all 137 badges. And on July 17, 2020, he officially completed his goal of finishing all of the badges.

“I’ve been in scouting a lot of my life,” Spiker explained. “After becoming an Eagle Scout, I thought that the merit badges could be a good way to stay involved in Scouts.

“I wasn’t absolutely sure I could get all of them. There was a lot.”

There also was a global pandemic.

And like many aspects of life during the pandemic, some adapting was necessary.

But with more time spent at home during earlier stages of the pandemic, Spiker also was able to satisfy requirements of certain badges at home. In some cases, that meant hopping online and ordering a kit or other supplies to work on the badge there.

“There was not much else to do at that time,” Spiker said.

Asked about some of his favorite badges, the recent THS graduate said he really liked working on his horsemanship badge, along with small boat sailing.

Spiker reflected more on his badge work, noting that the winter sports merit badge might have been one of the hardest to complete, partly because he did the badge work at a summer camp at Lake of the Ozarks.

That badge required some simulated work because, well, it was done at a summer camp.

“That was pretty hard,” Spiker said. “I had never really done anything like that.”

Spiker also excelled in extracurricular activities at THS.

He competed on the THS debate team and went to state three years, medaling with teammate Jacob Howell twice.

He participated in forensics and played the trombone in jazz band. In addition, Spiker competed in soccer and swimming at different points in high school.

Now he turns his attention to college.

Spiker soon will start classes at Kansas State University in Manhattan where he will major in biology and pre-dentistry.

“I’ve always liked science and what not,” Spiker said. “I thought I would do something in biology.”

A merit badge in dentistry actually piqued his interest a bit in the field. That interest continued to grow, so Spiker thought he would work toward a degree in that field as well.

Getting all of those merit badges meant honing his time-management skills, which likely will come in handy as he tackles his studies at K-State.

“It felt pretty good when I got all of them done,” Spiker said. “Sometimes it seems odd. I know that I did 137 merit badges, but a lot of them, they blended together.

“It’s a little bit hard to think about sometimes.”