Article published Dec. 9, 2020, at 8:24 AM CST by
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – A Green Bay girl has become the first female Eagle Scout in her district.
Ava Van Straten has been awarded the prestigious rank through Scouts BSA, also known as Boy Scouts of America, in the Voyageur District of the Bay-Lakes Council.
Ava is a member of the national inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. That class will be named in February.
In addition to that honor, Ava is the recipient of the Gold Award from Girl Scouts of the USA.
“Having both awards as a female now places Van Straten in an even more elite group nationally,” reads a statement on her accomplishments.
Ava is a student at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay. She joined Scouts BSA in February 2019. That’s the first month girls were allowed to join and earn rank.
To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, Ava wrote a book called “Parker’s Path.” She also created curriculum for elementary school students based on promoting empathy.
“While learning science along with math, language arts, and the other components of the Common Core have been important in my life, one of my other important educations has been outside of the classroom through Scouting. The character, leadership, courage, and emergency preparedness skills I have learned through Scouts BSA offer me what I call my ‘Common More,’ — character, social, and emotional learning skills that will be in my toolkit for life. I am also pleased to have an Eagle Project where I can help spread another important life skill, empathy, to even more youth,” says Ava.
