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First female Eagle Scout, Tunney offers inspiration for all
October 12, 2020
Junior Isabella Tunney: the first female Eagle Scout. Yes, that’s right. She’s the first female to become an Eagle Scout. The Boy Scouts of America announced an inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts rather than an individual, and this class consists of women who earned their Eagle Scout merit from Oct. 1-30. Since Tunney earned her Eagle Scout merit on October 1, she is among the very first women to earn hers.
“I joined the Boy Scouts of America on Feb. 1st, 2019; [it was] the first day girls were allowed to join,” Tunney said.
Tunney was influenced to join the program by her brother Eugene: “I got to see all the fun activities he was able to do with his troop. As I grew older, I was able to see how the program impacted him and helped become the person he is today, and I wanted that for myself,” she said.
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Tunney is the founder of her very own troop, #5384. The troop is an all-female group made up of eight scouts. They are connected to a boys troup, with whom they collaborate often. As a scout, Tunny has earned all 137 merit badges.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tunney as well as 11 other scouts from around the country represented the Boy Scouts of America by presenting the 2019 annual report back in March to Speaker of the House Nanci Pelosi, Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), and President Donald J. Trump. Tunney describes this experience as “an incredible opportunity.”
She said, “I would absolutely recommend that other girls and boys try the program.”
Tunny added, “Over the course of the past year and a half, I have had a blast, learned so much, grew immensely, and became someone I am really proud to be.”
Being a member of the first inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts and the first female Eagle scout to earn all 137 merit badges, the most important lesson Tunney has learned is that “Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. Even when you think you have done your best, there is so much more that you are capable of, so you should always try harder and strive to be the absolute best version of yourself possible.”
Johnson • Oct 13, 2022 at 12:35 am
Congratulations, Isabella. Great job on your accomplishments. Thank you for serving as an inspiration. God bless you.
Walter keane • Mar 18, 2021 at 9:04 am
I am an Eagle Scout with 3 palms from 1970 and would like to comment on the timeline. The troop I was in was highly motivated when it came to merit badges. We worked on multiple badges at once. The road to eagle scout was a hard, long road usually taking 3-5 years. Unless the requirements have been lowered drastically, I would like to know how someone, girl or boy, can earn 137 merit badges in such a short time. We were not allowed to even earn merit badges until we came into our star rank. I saw on her sash many of the merit badges I had also earned and know how long it took to get some. If the standards have been lowered, then I understand how it is possible, that would be sad, but I would understand.
Brayden • Jul 21, 2022 at 5:59 pm
Scouts can start earning Merit Badges right away when entering the program. They do not need to wait until a certain rank to begin earning them, although they need Merit Badges to earn certain ranks .
I earned my Eagle award in 1989 and that’s how it was when I started—earning Merit Badges right away.
Scoutmaster Bucky • Feb 19, 2021 at 8:26 am
I would be happy to address the skepticism and head off any further questions, concerns, or doubt. I am one of Isabella’s Scoutmasters and I can attest to the fact that this young woman is the real deal. The time line is spot on along with a couple hundred other young ladies from around the nation who also have accomplished this daunting task in a similar tight timeline.
It was clearly communicated by our National BSA organization the expectations and timeline necessary to earn the rank of Eagle to be considered a member of the inagural class of Female Eagle Scouts. Isabella did not just set her goal to be one of the first female Eagle Scouts, she wanted to be one of the first that also EARNED all the merit badges. As tenured Scout Leaders when she set the goal to earn all the merit badges, we were open and honest with her warning her that as she neared the pinnacle of that goal the unfortunate world we live (even amongst past and present Scouters) would be one of questioning and doubt. We told her to be strong, pay no heed to the nay sayers and know that we will bear witness to your jounrey and guide you as needed to ensure that distracters would find no ground to stand on to discredit her and any attempt would merely be speculation and naivity. In the end those closest to you will know the path you walked and only you and God will know what it feels like to walk in your shoes.
We did what any good Scout Leader does, we set her up for success. We made sure we pointed her in the direction of over 50 different merit badge counselors, and we told her we were going to point her towards some of the “toughest” and most respected counselors in our Council; tenured long time Scouters. She excitedly accepted the additional challenge without question or concern and welcomed the integrity we promised that would come along with our recommendation. Nearly every counselor was left dumbfounded after working with Isabella, many reporting back to myself and other unit leaders that they had never worked with such a well prepared, determined, knowledgeable, and polite Scout in all their years.
This young lady is a straight A student with a drive, ambition, and gracefulness unlike ANY 16 year old (Scout or non Scout) that I ever have met. Without doubt, whatever she aspires to do in life will be met with the same focus, drive, and determination and I have no doubt she will do epic things. 5-minutes with her and most strangers feel like long time friends, and her absolutely amazingness truly leaves most awestruck that a youth is as polished, well-spoken, determined, focused, organized, and well-mannered. I, the Scout Leaders that she works with, and her fellow Scouts will all attest to the fact that this humble but strong young woman is everything the doubters and nay-sayers claim she can’t be. I am blessed and privileged to work with Isabella on a weekly basis, to see her struggle and persevere, to see her set goals and challenge herself to live up to the high standards and expectations she has for herself, and to watch her continue to do amazing unprecedented things. I am fortunate to be called a mentor by her, but I am just as fortunate to know, as with most all of the Scouts in our unit over the years, a lifelong friendship will exist. Scouting isn’t just about the skills, the adventures, the ranks and accomplishments, its also about the things that truly matter in life.
In closing, I want to congratulate the young ladies from across this country that chose to take on the challenge to become an Eagle Scouts as a part of the inagural class of female Eagle Scouts. In the same breath I congratulate the young ladies AND young men that have, are working on, or will become Ealge Scouts through the inspiration of others and their own self drive and determination.
I will share with you two things Scouts hear from me, 1) Eagle Scouts, while I sincerely congratulate you on your accomplishment, that’s the easy part, it’s what you to do AFTER earning Eagle Scout that will truly define you as an Eagle Scout… go out and do amazing things. 2) For those Scouts that do not choose or unable to earn Eagle Scout, I tell them this, one or more years of Scouting will pay off positively for the rest of your life. Scout On!
Stephen Gallant • Apr 8, 2022 at 7:43 am
We had several troop members back in the 80s that achieved Eagle on a quick timeline. It is rare but very possible when the team works together and the scout is highly motivated.
Emma • Jan 6, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Congratulations! We have a Female Eagle Scout who earned her Eagle Rank on October 1st of 2020 as well! Megan Bressel, Troop 2223, is in the inaugural class too! It is awesome to see young women pass the BOR on the same date! It is important to remember there is no first Female Eagle Scout! Only an inaugural class of Female Eagle Scouts! Im proud of you!
Chris • Apr 27, 2022 at 8:47 am
Katie Hunter who was 13 at the time also received her Eagle award on October 1st in Virginia!!! Congrats to all the young women who achieved this!!!!
Ester • Dec 11, 2020 at 5:46 am
I think it is wonderful that girls are able to earn the Eagle rank. That said, I agree with Kurt about the troubling timeline.
As a veteran volunteer and a mother of an Eagle Scouts I know first hand the amount of time it takes to rank out and the high workload needed to earn merit badges – something is off. For the sake of all past, present, and future Eagle Scouts – let’s hope there isn’t a Merit Badge and/or Eagle Rank stamping machine out there
Red Mooney • Oct 13, 2022 at 9:26 am
Incorrect. I am an ASM, a parent of an inaugural female Eagle scout, and parent of a male Eagle scout. They did the same work. She just did it faster. It can be done.
I’d bet my skin that you could find 1,000 male Eagles who did it in 20 months, and that would kind of blow up your suspicions.
https://www.troop97.net/bsaeagle.htm
Kurt • Dec 2, 2020 at 7:02 am
First off, Congrats! As an Eagle Scout myself I understand what it took to reach this point. It is a tremendous amount of work on the individual, the Scout Masters and the family.
I do have some trouble with the timeline. That might be a land speed record for ranking up. I’d be interested to meet the scout master of that organization and dive into the documentation that supports this young lady’s rapid advancement. It takes most kids several years to rank up. As I believe it should. The lessons learned in Boy Scouts are life long and to truly solidify the programs purpose, they should be learned over several years. It Appears we have an Eagle Scout generating machine in the San Francisco Bay Area. Let’s hope that the publicity around the gender equality issue in the Boy Scouts coupled with the hastiness of this troop doesn’t diminish the accomplishment for others who work so hard to reach this pinnacle.
Again, Congrats to this young lady on all her hard work.
Michelle McIntyre • Nov 23, 2020 at 6:23 pm
Congratulations! We have a female Eagle Scout in our Boy Scout council who also passed her Eagle Board of Review Oct. 1. Her name is Emerson Domke and she’s a Mechanical Engineering major at University of Colorado, Boulder. She is from Santa Clara Troop 2394. That’s part of a group called Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of BSA. There are around 15 female Eagles as of this date in the San Francisco Bay Area region. One must complete 325 requirements to make Eagle. It’s a stunning achievement.