Not every boy scout who joins a troop ends up earning the Eagle Scout rank.
However, for Odessan Thomas Shreves, he’s now one of the select few who has earned the highest rank in the scouts.
Shreves, who officially became an Eagle Scout last year, will be honored for his achievement along with four other Eagle Scouts as the Boy Scout Troop 232 in Midland holds its Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony.
Shreves is currently a senior at Odessa Collegiate Academy.
The event will take place at 7 p.m. Monday at First Baptist Church of Midland located at 2104 W. Louisiana Ave.
“It’s definitely a privilege,” Shreves said. “Our troop does a lot for our scouts. They don’t just let them sit around. There’s a large statistic of kids that join scouts that don’t complete their eagle. The men in our troop encourage us and talk about the benefit and the experience and not just that but they help us with that process too. All along, it’s a privilege to be called an Eagle Scout. I’m extremely happy with the skills It’s brought me.”
Shreves will be honored along with Caleb Maxey, Carter Callaway, Alex Khouri and Rhett Snider.
Shreves is not the only member of his family to be in the Boy Scouts or to receive Eagle rank.
“My family has been in scouting in general. I have two older brothers that went through, one of them got their eagle. Ever since we moved here, we looked at troops in Odessa and we had church friends suggest 232 for us. After the first meeting, all my brothers were hooked. It was a bunch of guys and we were hooked.”
His older brothers, Noah and Joshua, helped him throughout the years in the boy scouts.
“They stood with me all the time and they were there to help me every step of the way,” Shreves said.
Coming from a line of scouts has helped Shreves and his family deal with nearly any problem.
“Anytime a bad situation occurs, especially in the family, it’s likely that we know what to do,” Shreves said. “There have been times where we’ve been stuck in a situation and instead of everyone moaning and griping, we knew how to fix it. we could deal with any problem that occurs. It’s beneficial in the way scouting has taught me to work with my family and understand how important they are in my life.”
Shreves did his community project in helping build book shelves for the Friends of the Library in Midland which is a nonprofit bookstore that’s located next to where Troop 232 holds its meetings.
“They do scholarships for people,” Shreves said. “They pay for a lot of things. My mom was shopping there half a year before I did my project and we were just walking around, browsing and I want to be a teacher when I grow up. Education is important to me. When I heard they do scholarships and give educational resources to teachers. They work with people who need that resource and I said I had to do my project there because they’re an investment to the community and I wanted to see what I could bring to them.”
It may come as no surprise that Shreves plans on becoming a teacher.
He is planning on attending University of Texas of the Permian Basin where he plans to study kinesiology.
“I thought about teaching mathematics,” Shreves said. “But I’m actually waiting for UTPB to respond to my application. I’m going to the physical science so kinesiology. I’m not sure if I’m going to go straight out of the gates teaching it because I’ve been interested in other subjects.”
When he graduates this month, Shreves will earn his Associates Degree in General Studies and two weeks later, he will then earn his high school diploma.
“It was really stressful,” Shreves said of completing both his associates and high school education. “I was one of the kids who got it right at the last minute. I did everything just seconds before it was too late and that was because I was dealing with the stress of school. I go to Collegiate Academy. It’s college and high school classes. Dealing with all of that was problematic to me. However, I used my teachers as a resource where I needed to because of the process of doing your service project, you have to have an application and there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it that you’re not used to doing, especially if you’re a kid. but I had teachers on all sides. Before I did the project, three weeks before, I was in my math teacher’s room plotting out a 3D model of the book shelf in order to be better prepared for it. I got a lot of help. It was stressful but I made it.”
Shreves has earned the respect of his leaders and masters in Troop 232.
“He’s a fine fellow and I know that he’s on the road to being a significant Christian mentor to the people that he’s around,” Assistant Scout Master Jack Hood said. “We’re pleased to know him. he came in the troop with his two older brothers. They learned a lot of good skills in our troop.”
Hood praised the leadership and the way the troop is organized for being able to produce another class of Eagle Scout ranks.
“The Boy Scouts is developing boys with the idea of turning them into leaders,” Hood said. “Along the way, they learn skills that they can find a use for and use for their own health and well-being. They have a good introduction to many different things. One thing about our troop is that it’s organized very well. It’s a committee that formulated a plan for us to follow throughout the year. We have a good scout master and the dads have been very good with helping out.”
As for Shreves, he says the leadership and experience that he learned in the Boy Scouts will help him in college and beyond.
“A lot of getting your Eagle Scout is the leadership position,” Shreves said. “When you’re an eagle scout, there is responsibility on you to complete the project and that requires you to control a team of young volunteers. It can be hard at times but I’m lucky that all of my volunteers were my friends and I knew them well. You have to stand and watch people and make sure they’re doing things right but it can be beneficial to your growth because it taught me to lead and I’ve applied that in school.”
If you go:
>> What: Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony
>> When: 7 p.m. May 9
>> Where: First Baptist Church of Midland
