"I realized that if you like it or you don't, it's going to be beneficial to you," Recksiek said. "I wasn't going to get that close and not finish two of them."

Fortunately, there were more merit badges to like than ones to dislike.

Among Recksiek's favorites were Horsemanship, Aviation, Oceanography, Model Building and Entrepreneurship.

It was a little tough for Recksiek to turn 18 last month. That's the age that disqualifies a Scout from progressing in Scouting.

"Suddenly, it ends and there's nothing else you can do," he said.

But that leaves some more time for school, though one could argue that Recksiek, with a 3.99 GPA, likely spends enough time on homework already.

After graduation in the spring, Recksiek plans on serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then enrolling in college.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com