CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Eagle Scout is the highest rank you can receive in Boy Scouts of America, and up until 2019, it was a title reserved for boys. But Gabriella Kowalski and Isabella Doyle are among the first in Tennessee to earn the badge through the new branded Scouts BSA, and the first in Montgomery County.

Twenty-one girls earned the rank in Middle Tennessee, and they are the inaugural class of girl Eagle Scouts. They had their official induction via Zoom on Feb. 8 at the Grand Ole Opry.

To become an Eagle Scout, you must have 21 merit badges, which both young women earned in the various co-ed BSA groups, such as Sea Scouts or their Venturing groups. In addition to that, you have to take on a major project that will help your community.

Kowalski has been involved with BSA co-ed groups since she was 14, taking up both Venturing and Sea Scouts. She and Doyle both took the opportunity to join Scouts BSA from the day girls were first allowed in on Feb. 1, 2019.

“My Eagle project was building some canoe and kayaking ramps down at Billy Dunlop Park,” Kowalski told Clarksville Now. This helped the park significantly since the park’s then-infrastructure kept causing the ramps to flood, therefore making the docks hazardous. This project was personal to Kowalski after her previous experience with Sea Scouts.

Kowalski said BSA being a boys-dominated group didn’t bother her and it shouldn’t discourage anyone else. “It doesn’t matter. Go do what you want to do, have fun, learn what you want to learn.”

“Now that I’m an Eagle Scout I really want to give back to the community and to the people who empowered me through my journey,” Doyle said.

Doyle has been involved with Venturing since she was 14 years old, and three years later at 17, she is now the first Eagle Scout in her family. Two of her brothers will be earning the Eagle Scout rank next month.

Doyle plans to be a mentor to the other girls in her troop looking to take the path towards Eagle, including her little sister, who just joined her troop.

For Doyle’s final project, she teamed up with YAIPaks Outreach to create clothing bags containing small- and medium-size clothes as well as new underwear.

Erica Doyle, Isabella’s mother, told Clarksville Now she’s happy her daughter has had the experiences. “She’s not less prepared for life because she’s female; she should be just as prepared as my sons are.”

For more about Scouts BSA, visit their website.