Bend teen set to become one of the first female Eagle Scouts in history

Following in the footsteps of her brothers and late father

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend 17-year-old Martha Schwarz is the last in her family to attain the Eagle Scout badge -- but she's one of the first female Eagle Scouts in scouting history.

According to a news release sent Thursday by the organization, "Today marks the first day that girls in Boy Scouts of America will start becoming Eagle Scouts."

The organization describing how difficult achieving Eagle Scout is, describing the milestone as "our highest, most prestigious rank, only earned by about 6% of Scouts throughout our 110-year history."

For Schwarz, it was a just-in-time opportunity.

"When I first heard that I could even join Scouting, I was super excited, because I grew up with the scouting program as being part of my life, and my brothers all being in scouting, I just always wanted to be involved."

Schwarz, who is attending college in Montana, joined the Scouts as soon as girls were allowed to, in 2019.

She, like other young women hoping to earn the badge, had to accomplish what takes most boys a few years in just one year because of maximum age requirements to complete the process.

An intensive process, says Martha's mother, Janet.

She tells me that her daughter founded the area's first female Scout troop.

"The boys (Martha's brothers) were concerned," she said. "They were like, 'Mom, she can't become one of those kids that's there to just check 'done,' check 'done,' become an Eagle -- and she didn't."

Explaining the fact that Martha started the first all-female scouting unit in Bend.

"Like I said, she got that troop going. She's been helping the other scouts and then just embracing it, you know -- taking scouting into other aspects of her life and vice versa."

Martha described the historic race to climb the ranks and be given the Eagle honor.

She told me it gave her a sense of purpose during the COVID-19 quarantine, which also gave her more time to get everything accomplished in such a short amount of time.

It's a journey that has her family proud with a legacy of Eagle Scouting.

Martha's late father, Doug, cherished moments raising his children around scouting, and helping his sons all receive their Eagle Scout badges.

While Martha had to take on the challenge on her own, she knows her father is looking on, proudly.

"I'm doing this because he would have pushed me to do it, and
I would have enjoyed that, having him here," she said. "But I know that he's up there, and he's proud of me."

Her mother feels the same way.

"He wouldn't know she was a Scout -- and now, going to be an Eagle Scout -- wasn't even on his mind, I think," Janet said.