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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFor the first time, girls were eligible to be Eagle Scouts -- and nearly 1,000 earned the elite rank
r the first time, girls were eligible to be Eagle Scouts -- and nearly 1,000 earned the elite rank
Valerie Johnston knew she wanted to be a Boy Scout since she was 6.
That's when she started attending meetings with her brother. When she turned 8, she got special permission to get an official uniform, and she joined the co-ed group Venturing at 14.
But because she wasn't a boy, she couldn't earn badges to achieve the highest rank: Eagle Scout.
"I always wanted to be able to earn everything that my brother and all his friends were earning," Johnston told CNN. "I had my own book, and I would check off the requirements and everything, so I would wonder like, 'Well why can't I earn these?'"
Now a 19-year-old at St. Michael's College in Vermont, Johnston joined nearly 1,000 women across the country who became part of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts in February.
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) held an inauguration ceremony for the women who reached this prestigious rank on February 8, the organization's 111th anniversary.
Walleye
(30,723 posts)I wanted to be a part of that organization. It was unheard of in those days. Tried the Girl Scouts, hated it. They wanted us to be little ladies. I was never comfortable in those stereotypes.Later in life I went on to be a sports photographer. There were very few women on the sidelines at first, a more as time went on.
NutmegYankee
(16,177 posts)lastlib
(22,981 posts)They are both amazing young ladies! (the first one was also all-state in soccer.)