New Eagle Scout Louis Holt will graduate a semester early from Marion High School. While his classmates finish their high school studies, Holt will be in basic training for the Kansas Air National Guard.

“I’ve always wanted to serve in the military,” he said Friday.

He considered applying to one of the service academies or joining the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at college, but he said the best officers are ones who enlisted first.

Later he plans to participate in Air Force ROTC at Kansas State University to earn his commission.

Holt began working toward the Eagle Scout honor as a Cub Scout. His older brother, Andy, is also an Eagle Scout, so he always planned to earn the award.

He said his family didn’t pressure him to be involved in Boy Scouts.

“They supported me if I wanted to do it,” he said. “I love the outdoors: hunting, camping, and fishing.

“Coming from an outdoorsy family, it’s the kind of stuff we do,” he said.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in Boy Scouts. Only 2 percent of Boy Scouts ever earn the Eagle Scout award.

To earn the Eagle Scout award, a scout must take a leadership role in his local troop. He also must earn at least 21 merit badges, some of which are specifically required, including camping, first aid, and citizenship in the nation.

Another requirement for Eagle Scout is the leadership service project. A scout who wishes to earn the Eagle Scout badge must organize and lead a service project approved by the Boy Scouts of America.

Holt organized his fellow Boy Scouts and other volunteers to replace a broken and uneven sidewalk in front of Marion resident Laurel Gilbert’s home on May 2.

The biggest boon Holt has found in Boy Scouts is the chance to be a leader. It has taught him how to take charge of situations, a skill he plans to use in his career, he said.