Courtesy of Katie Thompson
Katie Thompson with her sisters Allyson and Trinity
In February 2019, girls were first allowed to join the Boy Scouts of America. Since then, girls have been given the opportunity to rise through the same scout ranks as their male counterparts, including being able to work their way to the highest, most coveted rank in scouting, Eagle Scout, which only 4-8 percent of Scouts achieve according to the BSA.
In July 2021, Katie Thompson became the first female Eagle Scout in Pickerington.
Getting Involved
Thompson’s father, Ryan Thompson, a BSA employee, knew his daughters would be involved in scouting as soon as it became gender inclusive. Thompson’s older brother is an Eagle Scout, and her two younger sisters also joined the program.
However, Thompson initially had no interest in joining Boy Scouts.
“I started to make some connections within the troop,” she says, “but I still was not invested. I went to the meetings and participated because I knew (my dad) wanted me to.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Thompson ran for senior patrol leader to stay involved despite the shift to a virtual atmosphere. It was then that her passion for working with the troop took off.
When in-person events returned, she attended a National Youth Leadership Training Program through BSA, which allowed her to see the value scouting could add to her life.
“I loved the experience,” she says. “It taught me a lot about leadership and working with the people around me. I was able to go back and help a lot with my troop.”
Thompson ran for senior patrol leader again and, now able to meet in person, gained much more experience from her second time in the position.
“I was able to be there (for the scouts) the way they needed me to be there for them,” she says. “But lead them without smothering them at the same time.”
Becoming an Eagle Scout
Courtesy of Katie THompson
Eagle Scout is the highest of seven ranks in BSA, each with its own sets of goals and opportunities.
The journey to become an Eagle Scout takes two years and scouts must stand before a board of review within three months of their 18th birthday. By the time Thompson became a scout, she had only two years and four months to complete all the requirements, whereas most scouts join BSA around age 11.
Thompson says the hardest step in becoming an Eagle Scout was the Eagle Project, where scouts must plan an event from start to finish – all on their own.
For her project, Thompson worked with the Dublin Presbyterian Church to organize their first in-person social event in spring 2021.
After the church reached out to her, she helped to organize an event with a basic meal of hot dogs, chips and bottled waters. The event had stations with scouting games and leatherworking materials to make pendants.
“The event went really well,” Thompson says. “It was fun to watch everything I’d been planning for months play out.”
After completing all the requirements, Thompson presented her project in front of the Eagle Board in hopes of achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.
Thompson officially became an Eagle Scout the day before her 18th birthday: July 12, 2021.
First Female in Pickerington
Becoming an Eagle Scout is a huge achievement any scout is proud of. But for Thompson, the achievement was even bigger: she is the first young woman in Pickerington to secure her Eagle Scout.
Thompson received immense recognition from the Pickerington and Columbus communities. She met with Governor Mike DeWine, who presented her with a certificate of recognition, as well as Mayor Lee Gray of Pickerington.
The accomplishment holds special value to Thompson as proof of her abilities.
“In a lot of other areas, I’ve found myself being one of the only girls,” she says. “Weirdly enough, I feel kind of confident. It feels like I’m standing out, but in a good way.”
Thompson says that she has watched younger female scouts learn to love scouting in the same way she did. Seeing her younger sisters grow with the program has been particularly rewarding.
“Scouting is for everyone,” she says. “We deserve to learn all the same stuff. It’s leadership. It’s growth. You get to spend all of this time in the outdoors.”
Thompson says that her experience in BSA helped her develop interpersonal skills that she uses every day. She still loves going to campouts and catching up with her scoutmaster.
“I was a bit of a shy person, but getting into scouting allowed me to talk to everybody,” she says. “Everybody (in the program) wants you to succeed and is there to help you. The program is built to help you become a better version of yourself. It helped me come out of my shell.”
Megan Roth is a senior editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mroth@cityscenemediagroup.com.
