KIRKWOOD, Mo. (KMOX) - A 17-year-old girl is among the first females in the St. Louis area to reach the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
Maggie Pennington, a senior at Kirkwood High, says her journey began two years ago and along the way she learned leadership skills, perseverance and how to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together.
"Scouts USA and the Boy Scouts in general does an amazing job of putting youth in situations that you have to think on your feet and have that confidence that you know what you're doing, and being able to lead others with that confidence as well," she says.
Eagle Scout is the program’s highest rank, which only about 6% of Scouts achieve on average. To earn it, an individual has to take on leadership roles within their troop and their community; earn a minimum of 21 merit badges that cover a broad range of topics including first aid and safety, civics, business and the environment; and they must research, organize and complete a large community service project.
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Pennington says of leadership she has learned to be a "servant leader," showing by example that she's willing to do unpleasant tasks, rather than just assign it to someone else.
Pennington says she has the survival skills that if she were dropped in the woods, she would know to find some water, some shelter and how to start a fire.
After graduation from high school, Pennington says she plans to study mechanical engineering.
This is the first year that any girl has earned Eagle Scout, after BSA allowed girls to enroll in the more than 100-year-old program in 2018. Pennington is among 11 young women from the Greater St. Louis Area Council who are in first class of female Eagle Scouts nationwide.
BSA decided to make the inauguration of the first class of female Eagle Scouts a special moment, as all Eagle Scout credentials will be dated February 8, 2021 – which is the "birthday" of the Boy Scouts of America.
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