Troy girls among the first to achieve Eagle Scout rank

TROY — Two Troy students are among the first girls to earn the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout as part of the Boy Scouts of America.

The Scouts first began admitting girls in 2019. Olivia “Lulu” George and Maggie Pulte were among the first to jump at the chance to join the program as full members. Both said that to have reached the highest level of Scouting was a huge achievement.

“It feels amazing, especially being a girl as an Eagle Scout,” remarked George. “This is very rare. Boys becoming Eagle Scouts is less than 1% of Scouts, so it’s obviously less for girls since so little time has passed for girls to achieve this.”

“I feel very proud of myself,” added Pulte. “There was a lot of work to do and a lot behind it, but it is truly an honor, but I couldn’t do it without everyone in my group who helped me throughout this journey.”

Their troop leader, Debbie Knauss, said this was a big accomplishment and that both girls grew a lot as a result of the program.

“This is not something that girls have traditionally done,” said Knauss. “A lot probably don’t know it is available now. Maggie and Lulu hadn’t really been outdoorsy before this or gone camping or anything. Now they’re pretty much experts. It’s great to see them blossom as leaders.”

Each Scout working to earn the rank of Eagle Scout must complete a final community project.

“My final project was making 100 blessing bags for Catholic charities in Detroit,” said George. “I put items inside the bags, some for men and some for women. I put in socks, underwear, water, hand wipes, soap and other essentials. My local priest at my school and parish told me Catholic Charities would be a good avenue for a project, and they suggested I make these blessing bags for people in the community who are in need.”

“My final project was working with the Bloomfield Fire Department and a group called Stop the Bleed,” added Pulte. “I made tourniquet kits and held a Stop the Bleed training session at both my school and within my troop.”

Knauss said that the pair were under even more pressure, since Scouts have an age limit of 18, and they were only able to join four years ago.

“They hadn’t been Cub Scouts, so they joined in ninth grade, so they were already on the eight ball, since most start in sixth grade. They earned seven different ranks in that time. The first class is learning all of their basic skills, and then they go on to learning leadership skills. They were both troop guides and would come each week to teach younger Scouts to learn the skills Maggie and Lulu had learned. They had to earn a minimum of 21 badges, 14 which are required and seven of their choice. They finish with an Eagle Project, which encompasses all of their skills in a community project.”

George said the shortened time frame was a challenge.

“I don’t think it was harder being a girl. Everyone was treated the same, and we had the same opportunities. The only extra difficulty was having less time,” said George. “It was really confined, and we really had to move quickly. Girls were let in Scouts during COVID, when I was going into my freshman year (in high school). I needed 21 badges to reach Eagle Scout, so a lot we had to crank out during this Zoom camp we did. Getting in the actual camping nights were tricky. You age out when you turn 18, and I turn 18 in August, so we had to take every opportunity we had.”

George said she got so much out of the experience.

“I joined Boy Scouts because I thought it was really interesting, and I think it’s really unique for a girl to acquire these skills that a lot of girls don’t know, like survival and knots and so forth. I wanted to do something with my best friend, Maggie, and it’s something my mom could help me on and let me meet new people. It also looks great on college applications,” she said. “I learned how to survive in the real world and learn how to better thrive in the workforce. Every time you advance a level in Scouts, you go in front of a board for an interview. It prepares you to survive for things like job interviews. There are also presentations and problem solving in Scouts. You learn leadership. I was a troop guide for younger Scouts. It also helps you value community and teaches you a lot of life skills, like respect and cooking and so forth.”

Knauss agreed that there is so much a young person can learn through the Scouting experience.

“I can watch these kids start when they are 11 years old go through the program. The growth in their leadership and confidence is huge,” she said. “They go outside. They get involved. They go (on) campouts and travel all over the place doing things they would otherwise never do. We just went river canoeing on the River Raisin in Monroe and did service projects for the National Park Service.”

Pulte said that while she wasn’t sure about Scouts at first, she soon came to realize that it was something that would greatly change her life for the better.

“It feels really cool since we were some of the first girls to do it; I was unsure at first,” said Pulte. “I didn’t know what to expect. … My advice would be to stick with it, to stay on top of things, and to get your requirements done early so you can focus on doing what you enjoy and getting to experience the wide variety of opportunities Scouting has to offer. … Everyone was very welcoming, and I got to do it with Lulu. There are a lot of skills you learn through Scouts that people should learn, not just boys.”