NATCHEZ — Hunter Voss, a senior at Cathedral High School, has followed in his family’s footsteps through forests, rivers and up mountain trails — and in doing so has achieved the highest honor in Boy Scouts of America.

As of Sept. 13, Voss stands among the 4 percent of BSA members who achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, and he soon will be honored with a ceremony and receive his Eagle Scout badge.

Though the time and location of the ceremony is still to be determined, Voss has been waiting for his moment to shine, he said.

“My grandfather (Freddie Voss) was a Scout master for a very long time,” he said. “He was an Eagle Scout, my dad (Van Voss) was an Eagle Scout and my brother (Nolan). It’s basically a family thing. … It’s my turn to do it, too.”

Voss said he had always been an active Scout up until his grandfather died Sept. 6, 2014.

“I kind of slowed down and didn’t do much after that,” Voss said. “Then I realized I had to keep going. I had to do it for my grandfather because he always wanted me to be an Eagle Scout. So I just kept going and that’s how I got here.”

The BSA presented a lot of unique activities and experiences for Voss, he said, that challenged him physically and mentally and can help him succeed later in life.

“We did a lot of campouts — sometimes three to four a month,” Voss said. “We do hiking, canoeing and two summers ago I went to New Mexico and did a 116-mile hike in two weeks — no shower. It was a great experience though.”

Voss said many of the things he experienced with the BSA, particularly the hike in New Mexico, were unforgettable and different from what he could’ve imagined.

“It was very hot, but it was a dry heat so you didn’t really sweat much,” he said, “but up on the mountain when you get to the top, there is this one little patch that’s cold and a 10-foot pile of snow that you had to walk through. It seemed completely random. … I once saw a lightning bolt strike a tree right in front of me and it exploded the tree. … (In BSA) you see a lot of things, and you get to enjoy nature.”

Voss is the grandson of Pat Voss, the son of Melissa Robinson and Van Voss and the stepson of Jennifer Voss. He also is a member of Cathedral High School’s football team and plays middle linebacker and left tackle positions.

He has volunteered with the Natchez Children’s Home, nursing homes and the Stewpot ministry and is dual-enrolled in college algebra at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Voss said when he graduates from Cathedral, he hopes to attend Louisiana State University or the University of Southern Mississippi and explore different career options through his college experiences.

Voss said he followed in his family’s footsteps to join the Boy Scouts, but in the end, he finished because he wanted to.

“Them doing it makes me feel like I needed to do it, too, but I did it for myself also,” he said. “My dad told me, ‘I don’t want you to become an Eagle Scout for just me and your grandfather. You have to want it for yourself.’

“It made me the person I am today. I live by the BSA laws, as grandfather always preached. … ‘A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.’”