Valerie Ann Johnston of Thornton is blazing a new trail as a member of the first class of female Eagle Scouts.
The 19-year-old said scouting has allowed her to do “a bunch of things I wouldn’t have,” including — through five-years’ worth of leadership training — providing her with an insight into “what it’s like in a male-dominated organization.”
“I had to prove myself” on several occasions, the 2020 graduate of Plymouth Regional High School said, but always received “exceptional support.”
That support includes that of her brother, Shane, who has also earned Scouting’s highest honor.
At 14, Valerie Johnston joined the Venturing program run by the then-Boy Scouts of America. In 2019, the BSA changed its name to Scouts BSA and said it would allow girls to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. It was then Johnston joined Troop 58 Campton/Thornton/Waterville Valley, where her father Dean Johnston is scoutmaster.
By October 2020, she had earned 22 merit badges and gone through a board of review. For her Eagle Scout project, she held a successful food-and-fundraiser last summer to benefit the NH Humane Society in Laconia.
“I had always wanted to rank up in Scouts,” to progress from Scout to Eagle Scout, she said, “and it was to show myself I could do it. My goal was to get it done before college and I just worked back from there.”
Now studying remotely at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt., the freshman is majoring in business administration with a minor in accounting.
Daniel Webster Council Scout Executive Jay Garee said in a statement on Monday that Johnston “has shown tremendous character, while gaining new skills, learning to overcome obstacles and demonstrating leadership among her peers and in her community. These benefits are invaluable for everyone, and we are thrilled that they are now available to even more youth.”
Nearly 1,000 girls and young women were honored for earning the rank of Eagle Scout in a live Facebook event on Feb. 21.
“Earning the rank of Eagle Scout takes incredible diligence, hard work and perseverance, and we are truly honored to recognize Valerie for this significant accomplishment,” Garee said.
Johnston thanked her family, including her mom Sandra Johnston, and said she is looking forward to her Eagle Scout court of honor “after COVID has died down a bit.” She also plans to remain active in Scouting.
According to Scouts BSA, only about 6% of Scouts attain the rank of Eagle.
