Sydney Ireland ’23, Who Fought for Right to Be Eagle Scout, Sees Dream Realized
“I am so excited to be recognized as an Eagle Scout, and for young women all across the country to have full access to [Scouts BSA, formerly called Boy Scouts of America],” Ireland told Patch.com. “This is a long time coming; I am so grateful for this opportunity and to be part of the first class of female Eagle Scouts.”
Reporter Lisa Finn outlines Ireland’s successful nine-year campaign to convince the BSA to admit girls, calling her “a trailblazer and pioneer … the first female in Scouting history to successfully complete all requirements to earn the Eagle rank, Boy Scouts’ highest honor.” An accompanying YouTube video presents highlights of the fight.
Ireland finished her Eagle Scout project, Connect a Vet with a Pet, on Veteran’s Day of 2018, but was told that “she’d have to redo all the work, since she wasn’t an official member when she began …. Undaunted, she forged ahead, and, as a student at Amherst College, she had her official BSA Board of Review on Oct. 1, 2020.” In July 2022, she attended her Court of Honor at New York City’s Avenue Church as a member of Manhattan Council Troop 414.