Watch the Be the Change celebration and read a special digital edition of Scout Life

Photo by Michael Roytek

For more than 110 years, Scouts have been a positive change in their communities, building a legacy of servant leadership and making a difference in the world.

Every year, thousands of these Scouts earn the Eagle Scout Award, the pinnacle rank in the Scouts BSA program. This year, young women joined the prestigious ranks of the more than 2.5 million Eagle Scouts who have earned the award since the first in 1912.

It’s a difficult road to reach the Eagle Scout rank, with about 4% to 8% of all Scouts earning it during any given year. This year’s class of Eagle Scouts, including hundreds of young women, was a particularly driven and resourceful group, forced to lead their peers, earn merit badges, and plan and carry out service projects in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can read about some of their journeys along with helpful information for Scouts on their trail to Eagle in a special edition of Scout Life. Click here to check it out.

If you missed the special live broadcast celebrating these young women’s achievements on Boy Scouts of America’s Facebook or YouTube page on Feb. 21, you can watch it here.

The two-hour-long event featured profiles from female Eagle Scouts along with special congratulatory messages from: 

  • Norah O’Donnell, CBS Evening News anchor
  • Tanya Acker, judge on TV show Hot Bench and a BSA National Executive Board member
  • Gaelin Rosenwaks, marine scientist and explorer 
  • Amy Bauernschmidt, first female commander of a naval aircraft carrier 
  • Missy Cummings, one of the U.S. Navy’s first female fighter pilots

The event also previewed Summer of Service, a national call to action for Scouts to serve their communities.


About Michael Freeman 432 Articles
Michael Freeman, an Eagle Scout, is an associate editor of Scout Life and Scouting magazines.