By: Anokhi Luthra
On February 1, 2019, the Boy Scouts of America began accepting girls as members and was renamed Scouts BSA. One of the characteristics of scouting is that no matter when you join, or what rank you reach, the Scouting experience prepares you for life. And for some, the height of their Scouting experience is to achieve the highest rank - Eagle Scout. It is estimated that roughly about 6% of all scouts attain Eagle rank, which is about 2.5 million awards since 1911, a year after the Boy Scouts of America was founded. Many scouts take around five years to earn the rank of Eagle, however, members of the inaugural class of female Eagles have done so in less than two years. Any female who completed their board of review between October 1, 2020 and February 8, 2021 was considered a member of the inaugural class of Female Eagle Scouts.
To preserve the integrity of the Eagle Scout rank, no exemptions or waivers of any of the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank were permitted. All requirements had to be completed while continuing to be a registered member of Scouts BSA or as a member of a Venturing crew or Sea Scouts ship after achieving the First Class Rank in Scouts BSA. This meant completing a minimum of 21 merit badges, requirements of all seven ranks, planning and executing a large scale community project and passing all required Board of Reviews on time. It is quite a challenging feat considering last year was lost to the pandemic! It was a historic achievement when almost 1,000 female scouts were recognized on February 21st, 2021, through a virtual celebration highlighting the positive impact that Scouts make in their communities every day, regardless of their gender.
Our Troop 220 was fortunate enough to have contributed to this number and three of our scouts are in this inaugural batch of female Eagles. Our very own Melody Fewx, Rachel Fewx and Sofia Petrova were among the proud recipients of this honor. They have been crucial in getting our troop started and in training all of our current leaders. Our troop celebrates these amazing girls who have so much perseverance and inspire us to not be afraid to chase our dreams!