Nearly 1,000 girls become the first girl scouts

Becoming a Boy Scout is a rare honor. But they don’t just distribute – a Boy Scout has to earn it. Two years later girls were first allowed in the Boy Scouts, almost 1,000 of them reached the top of the Eagle Scout ranking.

CBS News spoke with some of the first young women who call themselves Eagle Scouts.

“I don’t think any of us really thought that day would come,” said Kendall Jackson. “For me to be part of that first class and say it was me, I am very proud of myself.”

Only 6% of Boy Scouts reach the top. At least 21 merit badges, a major service project and a commitment to leadership are required. Some of the girls were determined to prove that they were equally capable of doing everything that the boys did.

“When I was a girl, when I went up to leadership positions, I was often called bossy, which is a terrible thing to say to any young person who is getting up and trying to help a group. Scouting taught me how to be a great leader, “Isabella Tunney said.

For many of these young women, Scouting is part of their history.

“My brother’s Eagle, my grandfather and his brother are Eagle, my great-grandfather, if he had not been called to go to World War II, he would have obtained his Eagle,” said Gabby Mayrend.

On Sunday, the Boy Scouts held an online ceremony to welcome the new group of female models.

“Eagle Scout is much more than a medal or an award. It is an expectation and a lifestyle. It means that you are a role model for your community every day of your life. Once an Eagle, always an Eagle,” he said. Lyndsey Nedrow, who won the post with her sister, Lauren.

“Everyone in the Boy Scouts has a little ‘I want to change the world,'” said Lauren Nedrow.