JACKSON, Wyo.— Two young local women earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout, becoming the first females to do so in Teton County.
Silvia Kim-Miller, 13, and Madelynn Perry, 17, made the highest rank in scouting this past year and are among a few thousand girls who have earned the title since Scouts BSA, formerly Boy Scouts of America, began allowing females to participate in 2019.
Less than 6% of Scouts achieve Eagle Scout rank, which entails completing required merit badges, holding leadership positions within the troop, completing a community service project and passing a board of review, among other requirements.
Kim-Miller and Perry joined the first female Cub Scout den in Jackson in 2021, then joined Troop 238 and began moving up the ranks.
Like many Scouts before them, the girls said they were initially inspired to join scouting because of family connections; for Kim-Miller, her brother, and Perry, her dad.
“I did Girl Scouts before and it’s a lot more about making friends and strengthening bonds in the community, and that’s wonderful,” Kim-Miller said. “BSA does that as well, but whenever I would go along with my brother, I would see them do all these outdoorsy things and I was like, I really want to do that, so the second that my mom told me that girls were allowed to join, I knew that I wanted to join.”
Perry said that her interest in Scouts began as something she and her dad could do together, explaining that her dad was an Eagle Scout and his dad was a Scout too.
“I’m not really an outside person, but I have come to love camping,” Perry said.
To achieve Eagle Rank, Life Scouts must complete a community-oriented service project. Among other requirements, Scouts are tasked with selecting, outlining, leading and completing the project.
Last August, Perry built and installed 68 stands at the Jackson Hole Gun Range. She organized a group of volunteers to help her make the stands; screw the wood together, glue and stain them.
“I got a lot of people to come out and help so I got it done in one day,” Perry said, adding, “The biggest challenge was getting through all the paperwork.”
Kim-Miller said she chose to repair and update a bully barn at the Teton County Fairgrounds for her project.
“It was falling apart, a bunch of boards were broken, the paint was chipping off, the door wouldn’t shut properly and the roof was a complete mess,” she said. “The two big work days were filled with roofing, repainting, replacing boards and redoing the door.”
“I think it was an amazing experience and I definitely learned a whole lot about leadership, and I’m very grateful because I think I know how to lead a room now,” Kim-Miller said.
Both girls said that scouting has helped them develop lifelong skills and friendships.
“When I was getting my Eagle, I was emailing adults, and it taught me that I can’t have my parents hold my hands through it,” she said. “It taught me how to be responsible and take the initiative.”
“You get really close with people in your troop because you’re spending two, three days out in the wilderness trying to survive together,” Kim-Miller said. “And so I am really really close with a bunch of girls in my troop and I really love them.”
“A big takeaway I have is the friendships I’ve gotten and of course, the survival skills; I know how to light fires, make shelters if I need to, and Scouts really helps prepare you for, ‘OK, you’re stranded in the forest. How do you get out? What do you do?’” Kim Miller said, pointing out that these skills are especially important living in Wyoming.
While Kim-Miller and Perry are the first to achieve this rank, they both know they won’t be the last.
When asked what they would tell other girls who are thinking about joining Scouts, the young women shared similar sentiments.
“I would tell them that there are a lot of other girls doing it and you can actually learn a lot from it,” Perry said. “You meet a lot of cool people and learn a lot of skills that are going to help you in your life.”
“One of the cool things about being in a male-dominated space is having other girls around me achieving great things together,” she said.
“I’d say don’t be afraid of people telling you it’s a boys thing,” Kim-Miller said. “I just tell girls to keep going at it because it’s worth it. I’m so glad I joined Scouts and kept pushing through even though I had been discouraged so many times.”
Perry, who is nearing the end of her junior year, says she wants to pursue a career in the healthcare field and is considering nursing. Kim-Miller is headed to ninth grade in the fall and says she wants to be a public interest environmental lawyer.
Kim-Miller and Perry, along with another girl in their troop working toward their Eagle, plan to have a joint Eagle Scout ceremony in the coming months.
