In the long history for Boy Scouts of America, only 4% of all members ever earn the rank of Eagle. Its rubric and requirements: rigorous. Its reward: a lifetime accomplishment.
Even rarer is it for a young woman to obtain the prestige, mainly because BSA officially welcomed girls into its programs in 2018, less than a decade ago, and a more inclusive name change of Scouts BSA was made official February 1, 2019 — welcoming all to achieve learning and leadership.
So, for Laura Kaufmann, becoming Hopkinsville’s first lady to secure the honor serves as a watershed moment in local co-education history.
She did so this past August — the final linchpin being the completion of an Eagle Project through Troop 13, where she observed a need at Max’s Hope Pet Rescue, and built shelves for cages.
Kaufmann’s journey to Scouting’s top rank was lengthy and laborious, and truthfully something she didn’t have to obtain.
But she wanted to, for fun, and for family.
Aside from it all being “cool,” however, comes major demands. While juggling an active Future Farmers of America tenure, Honor Graduate status and a Marching Band profile at Hopkinsville High School, she pursued the path to Eagle — along the way earning marks in the further prestigious Order of the Arrow and National Youth Leadership Training experiences.
Benchmarks for BSA’s top nod involve more than the final project and its trimmings.
It entails:
+ Active participation for at least six months as a Life Scout
+ A demonstration of living the Scout Spirit, Oath and Law
+ Earning at least 21 merit badges, including 14 that are Eagle-required and seven others of interest
+ At least six months of troop leadership in one, or more, approved positions
+ Participation in a Scoutmaster Conference
+ A successful Board of Review, held just before Eagle is awarded
+ Consistent work with an Eagle Coach, navigating one through its final challenges
+ Completion of an Eagle Binder, which compiles materials about rank’s progress
+ And multiple letters of recommendation, which cannot come from parents
Those required merit badges are First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in Society, Citizenship in the World, Communication, Cooking, Personal Fitness, Personal Management, Camping, Family Life, any two of Emergency Preparedness, Lifesaving, Environmental Science and/or Sustainability, and any one of Swimming, Hiking and/or Cycling.
Kaufmann said she earned “at least 26 or 27.”
Kaufmann didn’t do any Girl Scouts of America growing up, instead opting to follow her father, Don, and younger brother through Cub Scouts Pack 3013 — serving as a Den Chief — before aging into Scouts BSA.
As the group’s only girl, she said she received critical one-on-one attention from adult leadership, but felt “very welcomed and appreciated” by all, and “fit right in” with other scoutmasters like Nat Hensley and Maryl Ingram — eventually getting to shepherd younger girls into the group.
She admits she wanted more age-equivalent high school girls to join her along the way, but it never deterred her — as things like summer and winter camping kept her attention — and like many young adults, she had to make tough time management decisions.
Today, she is a pre-veterinary student at Murray State University and a competing member of Racer Band, where she plays the flute. If MSU doesn’t finish its prospective curriculum and new vet school in time for her graduation, she has her eyes on Auburn University as a top choice.
Perhaps ironically, that school’s rallying cry is “War Eagle.”
Kaufmann said her Court of Honor hasn’t been scheduled yet, but is tentatively planned for sometime during Winter Break.
