Reaching the achievement of an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has always been an accomplishment only limited to boys—but four girls, Melody Fewx, Sofia Petrova, Rachel Fewx, and Emily Kamalnathan from the east Bay area decided it was their time to fly.
“It feels really good to have done this. We are making history,” said 14-year-old Rachel Fewx.
Ever since the BSA started welcoming girls into the iconic Scouting program now known as Scout BSA, these young ladies knew that they had the opportunity to something no other woman had done. However, they were on a limited time since girls were only recently allowed to join in 2019 and the official cutoff age for achieving the Eagle Scout rank is 18 years old. They had to efficiently go through all the ranks and efficiently get their work done finishing each requirement, one by one.
But these girls didn’t just reach the glass ceiling, they shattered it. Along with a lengthy Eagle Scout service project, the BSA requires a minimum of 21 merit badges to earned the highest rank. All the girls accomplished this but two of them impressively surpassed the expectations; Emily finished with 41 merit badges while Rachel completed 49 merit badges! Emily realizes that when she officially started the BSA program, there was going to be a lot of work and there was so much skepticism about her being able to finish it in two years. “However, when I was awarded 18 merit badges in a single ceremony, people stopped doubting me,” stated Emily. “All I had to do was get the evidence to show them that I was serious and that I wanted to be put on the same playing field as others.”
“We are very proud of these young ladies and all of our new female Eagle Scouts who have worked very hard and focused on attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in such a limited time frame,” stated John Fenoglio, the Scout Executive of the Golden Gate Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, “They really represent what we emphasize in BSA – hard work, leadership, perseverance.”
They had all had some sort of exposure to the BSA before joining. The father of Rachel and Melody is a Cubmaster and their brother had been in BSA since he was a little boy. They had gone on many family activities but had not been able to get the patches/certificates before. Sofia was part of other BSA programs including the Venturing and Explorer Club since she was 12 years old, so when the opportunity to join Scouts BSA opened up, she quickly jumped into it.
The four Scouts said that the BSA really made a positive impact in their lives. Sofia stated, “Scouts BSA really changed me and really helped me get out of my comfort zone and do things that I hadn’t thought about before.” Melody added, “I feel I have learned a large variety of skills in Scouting but learning to delegate is where I have improved the most.”
When asked about their favorite memory of BSA, all of them stated that they couldn’t choose just one. Rachel says she has been on so many camping trips, sometimes three weekends in a row. Emily smiled and said, “I had a vast amount of ‘Awww’ moments such as her Emerald Bay trip and shotgun shooting just to name a few.” For Melody, she stated “the best part of BSA for me has been the bonds I created with my crewmates and my deepening understanding of myself within the program. I just knew that I was going to stay in Scouting for life.”
And just because they have reached the highest rank is done does not mean they are leaving Scouting. Melody, Sofia, and Rachel were all founding members of Troop 220 and Emily was a founding member of Troop 2447. Emily plans on being a Junior Scoutmaster and possibly a Merit Badge Counselor. Sofia wants to stay with her crew and volunteer in more adult roles in the future. Rachel is going to be founding youth leader for a brand-new troop for girls forming this spring. And even though she has gone off to college, Melody is extremely active in Scouting; she is currently serving as a volunteer and in other BSA programs for older youth and she plans to either start her own unit or be a commissioner to improve Scouting in her community.
There are currently 214 female scouts serving in Packs in our local area and five girl BSA troops for girls in the Fremont/Union City/Newark area and a new one that is going to be formed by one of these incredible scouts.
When asked about their huge Eagle Scout achievement and what this means to them, they all agreed that they are beyond proud of what they have accomplished and are hoping that our society can get to the point where females can be seen and respected at the same level as males. At the speed that these young Eagle Scouts are going, we are all going to have to learn to fly to keep up with them.
For more information on Scouts BSA troops for girls in the area, please reach out to .