Changing History to HERstory

The Inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts

By CHLOÉ LEILA MOSHREFI  |  Contributing Writer

June 13th would not only be a momentous day for the twelve Eagle Scouts of Pacific Palisades’ Troop 223G, but also in the lives of every young girl in the nation.

The rank of Eagle Scout has almost been an American rite of passage for the past century, only attainable to boys persistent enough to earn it. Backlash and controversy sparked from the moment news of girls joining such an accredited organization.

For decades, these programs were categorized the way society says they “should be.” Contrary to prevailing beliefs, in February 2019, Troop 223 opened its doors for the first time to welcome girls.

I, Chloé Moshrefi, am delighted and proud to have been one of the first girls to walk through those doors. I joined a group of adventurous girls, who I now know will be my lifelong friends: Lauren Seidel, Ruby Rose Carlson, Ashley Traboulsi, Adelaide Saab, Kate Walker, Sydney Maslow, Maddie Milam, Sophie Davidson, Jennie Pitcher, Avamehr Vaghaiwalla and Ana-Sofia Fouquette.

Together, we traipsed obscure trails in Alaska, backpacked through the Sierras and climbed the face of Yosemite’s Half Dome; we conquered our fears and were filled with relief and excitement once we made our way back home, only to be bombarded with the realities of leaving nature.

Our time away from Los Angeles and immersing ourselves in earth’s beauty made us both mindful and compassionate people.

Summers in Camp Emerald Bay Catalina taught us that the most important leadership roles in our lives are leading ourselves. Because when you lead with a strong head and heart, you are able to change the lives of others one step at a time.

To take a vision and implement it would not be an easy task, while our initial leadership classes made our vision of Eagle Scout a true adventure.

This week, we are off to our final two-week trek in the Sangre De Cristo Range at Philmont Ranch! And in July, all members of the Troop are heading back to Catalina where we Eagles will be leading the younger girls for another exciting trip. Our leadership will be turned over to the next class of Eagles to make sure everyone is taken care of.

The two words “Female” and “Eagle Scout” have never been used together in a sentence before. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our leaders, Larry Kirven, Mike Lanning and Cierra Gillard, along with the encouragement of our parents, we have made this possible. And it sure does feel good.

Since its founding in 1952, Troop 223 has had a total of 875 Eagle Scouts. Only 4% of boys in scouting so far have earned Eagle. Now the troop can add twelve new female Eagle Scouts to that number.

We are the largest group of female Eagles in the country, and we are part of the 0.0004% of girls to earn Eagle and we could not be more proud.

As Scoutmaster Larry Kirven said at Sunday’s Court of Honor: “Every day you’re going to wake up and something is going to be different. What will never change is the fact that you are an Eagle Scout.”

Because every day, I am going to wake up and take all the valuable lessons and memories to know that I, along with 11 other amazing girls, changed history to HERstory.

In the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

For any interest in joining the 63 girls of Troop 223, please contact Mrs. Christy Lowe at lowe.christy@gmail.com.