Women's history made: Middle schooler is first female Eagle Scout in area

Carl Kieke
·4 min read

A historic event for Boy Scouts of America for our area occurred late last month.

On Feb. 28, Izabella McCutchen, an eighth-grader at Madison Middle School, became the first female Eagle Scout in Texas Trails Council.

It only became official a couple of weeks ago when final approval was received from the national office, but she now is officially and forever an Eagle Scout.

“I always wanted to be in Boy Scouts (now called Scouts BSA) since they started showing up at my school in kindergarten,” she said. “When they finally allowed girls in, I was rushing to my Mimi (mother Helen Harris) saying, I can do it.”

Izabella McCutcheon.
Izabella McCutcheon.

Now 13, she started as a 9-year-old Webelos, then graduated into Troop 306, the lone girls-only troop in Abilene. Along the way she was inducted into Order of the Arrow and has served as chapter chief and lodge vice chief; attended sailing camp on Lake Fort Phantom and Scouts BSA camp at Camp Billy Gibbons; earned a whopping 62 merit badges; and attended OA conclave locally and the National OA Conclave in Tennessee – after which she and the rest of the group got to go white-water rafting.

Each Eagle Scout is required to lead a lasting community service project. Izabella learned that Abilene’s Alliance for Women and Children needed help to build a new fence around their playground area and he jumped right on it.

The project required her to complete paperwork to get the project approved as an Eagle-worthy effort (“It took six months to get it approved.”) and to find out how much materials would be needed and acquire them. Then she had to assemble and lead a team to do the actual physical labor, which took two weekends.\

Ideally on an Eagle project, the Eagle candidate does little of the actual work once the labor begins; he/she is a supervisor, ready to address any challenges that arise. Most of their work is done in the planning and preparation stages.

Izabella isn’t just a Scout. She is also in advanced choir and various UIL activities at Madison. She also plays tennis and hopes to get into swimming in high school.

She is the daughter of Helen and Lynn Harris. If you know or run into any of them, offer your congratulations on an historic achievement.

Upcoming events

  • Mountain Man Camporee (for Scouts BSA members), Friday-Sunday, San Saba. $20 per Scout, $15 per adult. 325-320-6996 or prancer555@gmail.com.

  • “Every Artist Starts Little,” 9:30-10:30 a.m. Friday, NCCIL, 102 Cedar St., Abilene. For preschoolers. Story time, coloring, songs, etc. 325-673-4586.

  • Tot Spot art classes for pre-schoolers, 9:30 or 11 a.m. April 6 or 7, The Grace Museum, 102 Cypress St., Abilene. Free for Grace members, $7 per child for others. Adult must accompany child (no additional charge). Register at thegracemuseum.org under “Classes and events” tab; walk-ins also welcome. 325-673-4587.

  • Blended Wilderness First Aid Course, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. April 8, 3811 N. First St., Abilene (Boy Scout office). $85 per person, paid no later than April 7. ttcscoutshop@scouting.org.

  • National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, 102 Cedar St., Abilene, offers art activities each Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at no charge. 325-673-4586

Deadlines

  • Monday for “Medical Careers with Texas Tech University” April 10 (repeats April 24 and May 8). For high school seniors and interested adults. No fee, but pre-registration required. Out-of-council members welcome. 800-582-7272 or customercare@gs-top.org.

  • Monday for “Adulting 101: Doctor’s Appointments” April 10. $10 per girl; virtual event for middle school and high school ages. Information at gsctx.org under the “Discover” tab; open events calendar and go to April 10. Register at customercare@gsctx.org.

  • Monday for “Safesitter Essentials” (for potential baby-sitters), April 15 in San Angelo. $28 per Girl Scout (Central Texas Council only) in grades 5 through high school. Information at gsctx.org under the “Discover” tab; open events calendar and go to April 15. Register at customercare@gsctx.org.

  • Monday for “Kitchen Chemistry” for Girl Scouts in second through fifth grades, April 15, San Angelo service center. $30 per Scout (Central Texas council only). Information at gsctx.org under the “Discover” tab; open events calendar and go to April 15. Register at customercare@gsctx.org.

  • Friday for New Leader Learning Path training (for adult Girl Scout leaders) April 6. Virtual event; no fee, but pre-registration required. 806-589-5950 or sspencer@gs-top.org, or customercare@gs-top.org.

  • Friday for Program Aide/Volunteer in Training (for Girl Scouts in sixth through 12th grades) April 6. Virtual event; no fee, but pre-registration required. ahaas@gs-top.org, or customercare@gs-top.org.

  • April 8 for Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains Gold Awards Celebration, 10 a.m. April 15, Worthington Renaissance Hotel, Fort Worth. $45 per person. 800-582-7272 or customercare@gs-top.org.Contact Carl Kieke at 325-673-3552 (voice only); or kiekec@suddenlink.net. Deadline is Monday for publication the following Monday

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Women's history made: Middle schooler first female Eagle Scout in area