Ever since fifth grade, Edina High School senior George Thomas has been aspiring to become an Eagle Scout. Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America.

“Only about two in every hundred scouts achieve it, so the prospect of becoming one interested me,” said Thomas. Before starting his pursuit of Eagle Scout, Thomas had to achieve many merit badges along the way. Merit badges are earned by completing a requirement or a set of tasks such as First Aid, Swimming, Personal Fitness, and Citizenship in the Community.

Becoming an Eagle Scout is not for everyone because of the amount of work and commitment it requires. “There are a lot of merit badges to do along the way that many scouts don’t want to do,” said Thomas.

Thomas has been working on achieving Eagle Scout ranking for the past two years, and has recently brought his work to the EHS community. Thomas is working with an organization called People Serving People that is based in downtown Minneapolis. People Serving People is a transitional housing facility that assists its residents in many ways to help them get back on their feet. One of the things they do for their residents is provide them with business or job appropriate clothing for use in job interviews, and other professional ventures.

Thomas, along with five other scouts, performed renovations on the clothing closet at People Serving People. Thomas carried out clothing drives at both EHS and Our Lady of Grace church in Edina to donate to People Serving People. “I did this project because it will help out people who are not as fortunate as us here in Edina,” he said.

Thomas has to earn one more merit badge, and then participate in the board of review, which, according to Thomas, is basically “a big interview.”

The amount of time and effort he has put into achieving this honorable status will surely pay off. Becoming an Eagle Scout is a large task, but when you are determined to do it, it can become a reality.