Hiding under a blanket on a bus at a Chinese military checkpoint in the Himalayas, Sophia Conroy had letters and photos in her backpack. She was determined to…
The prestigious rank has long been reserved for boys Rebecca Wright. (Lily illustration; Photo courtesy of Megan Wright) Lateshia Beachum
Feb. 24, 2021
Rebecca Wright was on a Zoom call when she found out she’d be part of the inaugural class of young women to become Eagle Scouts.
While she sat at her computer in Wisconsin, her parents and older brother were in a virtual waiting room in Nebraska. They were all pulled in to celebrate the accomplishment, one that’s been given to only a small percentage of Boy Scouts since 1912, when the first Eagle Scout was named.
As the highest honor available within the Boy Scouts of America, it’s one that was traditionally reserved exclusively for young men and boys. Then, in 2017, BSA announced that young women would be permitted to participate in a wider array of the organization’s programs, including being able to achieve Eagle Scout status. (At the time, Girl Scouts of the USA, which has its own high-ranking honor system, said