Merrill salutes the City’s first female Eagle Scout
Zoey Dreikosen makes history by joining the ranks of Boy Scouts’ elite
TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Zoey Dreikosen, 18-year-old 2021 Merrill High School graduate, became the first female Eagle Scout in the history of Merrill on April 26, 2021. She is the daughter of Lynn and Lee Dreikosen.
Zoey joined the ranks of those elite members of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) who achieve this highest rank. According to Wikipedia, “Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over 2.5 million youth.”
Up until a few years ago, girls could never even hope to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. They weren’t allowed in Boy Scouts. Rather, Boy Scouts of America was limited to male children, and Girl Scouts of the USA was limited to female children. But that all changed in October 2017 when it was announced girls would be allowed to join Cub Scouts in 2018. Girls joining the Boy Scouts program (which was renamed Scouts BSA) came on February 1, 2019.
What made her join Boy Scouts?
“I got involved in Boy Scouts about two years ago when they first allowed girls in Boy Scouts,” Zoey explained. “I was waiting in the car, because I just assumed it was just sign-up for my brother. My Mom called me inside and said I could join Boy Scouts. I had not given much of a thought to joining, only because at the time I wasn’t allowed to join. I had a little interest in it, because of everything my younger brother got to do in Scouts. So I agreed to join when I had the chance.”
“He always went on these camping trips, and I kind of wished I could’ve went, but I couldn’t because at that time girls weren’t allowed in Boy Scouts,” she said.
Zoey’s father, Lee, said his wife was signing their son up because they had decided to go to a different troop.
Zoey said that she remembers when she walked in, “My brother, he was like, oh, are you gonna join Boy Scouts? And I was like, yeah. And his face just went –” [She mimicked a shocked, jaw-dropping look.]
“I used to be in Girl Scouts in elementary school for about a year,” Zoey said. “It just wasn’t for me. I am more of a tomboy, so I guess doing boyish things interests me more.”
“I think the whole deal was that Girl Scouts weren’t offering the things that girls wanted to do for Boy Scouts,” Lee said. “Like her, [he nodded toward Zoey], she likes camping. Most of the girls troops here aren’t camping. They might go to camp, but that’s one week or weekend a year. We try to go camping one weekend a month.”
He said activities likely vary among Girl Scout troops; however, “You’d probably see there are more girls in the troops that have more adventures,” Lee said.
Despite girls joining Scouts USA, the girls and the boys each have separate dens (as Cub Scouts) and troops. For instance, Zoey belongs to Troop 9513, which is the girls’ part, while the boys’ part is Troop 513.
Scouts USA challenged Zoey
“I was very shy when I first joined when I was a Sophomore in High School,” Zoey said. “But now my Troop is like my little family.”
Jamie Malone, Scout Master for Troop 9513, agrees she’s seen a tremendous change in Zoey.
“When Zoey joined the Troop,” Malone said, “she was very shy, and unsure about the program.”
“She did have a brother in Scouts, but never really followed along with him to any of the events.”
“Zoey grew to love the program and became Senior Patrol Leader soon after she started,” Malone said. “As the Senior Patrol Leader, we watched Zoey transform from a shy Scout to an amazingly strong leader.”
“Along with being the leader and helping run the meetings, Zoey worked hard earning her merit badges and camping nights that she needed to achieve Eagle Rank,” she said. “Zoey also earned additional merit badges in areas that she had special interest in, such as art and music.”
“My favorite part about Boy Scouts is being able to help the younger Scouts and being able to be a good leader to them, since I was Senior Patrol Leader for two years,” Zoey said. “I was able to help the younger Scouts advance to their next rank.”
“I also helped the adults in our Troop with setting up merit badges and getting the kids together,” she added.
Becoming an Eagle Scout
Lee explained that in Scouts, “Basically you’ve got from sixth grade until you’re 18 [to attain the rank of Eagle Scout], but because they didn’t allow girls in until two years ago, two and a half years ago now, they gave her a little extension because she started when she was 16, so she could make it with that start date.”
“I first started to want to be an Eagle Scout when I first ranked to Scout and Tenderfoot,” Zoey said. “It was a lot of work for me, because I had such a short timeframe to complete my Eagle rank, even with an extension, but I managed to complete my goal.”
“I’m a little sad that I could not complete more merit badges, but I’m glad I got to do the ones that I could do,” she said.
“One of my favorite non-Eagle required merit badges was the art one,” Zoey said. “My favorite Eagle required merit badge was the first aid one.”
“My Eagle project was making birdhouses for the Prairie Trails Park in Merrill. We made four duck houses and six bluebird houses.”
It wasn’t her original project idea, Zoey said, but it did become her Plan B and ultimately her completed project. She explained that once she got into the Life rank, the summer before her Senior year, she had a different project in mind, but COVID canceled out that idea.
“Originally I was going to do something with a playground at a kids’ school, like either repainting it or doing a mural or something for the school, but we couldn’t do that because we weren’t allowed to go inside because they didn’t allow visitors, so I had to change up my project,” she said.
Zoey credits her Eagle Coach, Kristin Woller, with giving her the idea to do bird houses instead. “The role of an Eagle Coach is to guide and mentor the Scout through the process of becoming an Eagle,” Woller explained. “They provide support and encouragement and ensure all requirements are met in a safe and timely manner.” [Woller is also a Unit Serving Executive for the Boy Scouts of America Samoset Council.]
Even with an extension for Zoey’s late enrollment into Scouts, “She only had six months. She had to have it done by March 1st,” Lee said. Normally, the deadline is a Scout’s 18th birthday, but due to the fact that she was not even allowed to join Scouts until a late date, she was granted an extension to six months after her 18th birthday. [Lee said a few other Scouts were given extensions due to COVID or other unforeseen circumstances, as well.]
“Zoey joined Troop 9513 near her 17th birthday knowing that she would only have a year and a half to complete her Eagle Scout Rank,” Malone said, acknowledging the challenge Zoey took on.
Zoey’s Eagle project was to plan and lead the project. “I had everyone build bird houses for Prairie Trails Park,” she said. “It was coordinating, showing your leadership skills for the project. I told everyone what they had to do, and I helped them out if they needed it.”
Zoey’s dad precut all the pieces, and the adult leaders on site at the Haunted Sawmill – where the project was completed – pre-drilled the holes for the Scouts when they were working on the project with the kids.
The group constructed a total of 10 bird houses, Zoey said. “Six bluebird houses and four duck houses.”
“It was like about 15 kids. We had just little groups for each bird house,” she explained. They “started with the bluebird houses, and we had some of the older Scouts work on the duck houses because they’re harder to build.”
Zoey said their Troop is awaiting word from the Park and Rec. Department so they know where the Department would like the bird houses and duck houses placed. Then putting them up will be done as a service project so people can get service hours, she said.
A lot of support
“I had a lot of support from family and friends,” Zoey said. “No one told me I couldn’t be a girl Boy Scout or couldn’t be a girl Eagle Scout.”
“Thank you so much for recognizing this awesome achievement by Zoey,” Malone said. I loved watching Zoey grow and gain confidence. [It] made me proud to be a part of such an awesome accomplishment.”
“As I watched Zoey earn her Eagle Rank, I was so proud of the strength and determination that she had shown throughout the program, along with the confidence that she had gained as a leader,” she added.
“I am extremely proud of Zoey and delighted she worked so hard to obtain the rank of Eagle,” Woller said. “It is not an easy process (only 4% of Scouts obtain the Eagle rank).”
“Zoey had a full plate: skating, art work, volunteering at the Haunted Sawmill, and leading her newly-formed troop as the Senior Patrol Lead and doing all of this amidst a pandemic. She conquered the obstacles and demonstrated true leadership though the entire process.”
For Zoey, all of that hard work has really paid off. “I was told I was the first girl Eagle Scout in Merrill,” Zoey said, “so I am excited that I am making history!”
Looking to the future
In her free time, Zoey likes “drawing, painting, going on campouts, archery, and relaxing.” she said.
As summer draws to a close, Zoey is excited about a big high adventure Scouting trip out West to Glacier National Park (two nights in North Dakota, three nights in Glacier, and two nights in South Dakota), and she’s also excited to be starting college soon.
Zoey is planning to go to the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, starting at Marathon Campus, where she will study “geology and art.”
“I’ve been drawing ever since I was little, and I love art and anything related to that. And with geology, I like collecting rocks and I enjoy doing science, so you know, it works,” she said.
She knows that ultimately she wants to be a geologist, while continuing to create and develop her art as a form of personal expression. But she hasn’t yet narrowed down what area of geology she will focus on. “There’s a lot of kinds of geologists you can be,” she said.
After completing her first two years locally, Zoey plans to “either transfer to River Falls or Eau Claire, because they have good geology programs and art.”
Zoey received several scholarships when she graduated in May. The most significant was the Walter & Mabel Fromm Scholarship, and she also received smaller scholarships from the Haunted Sawmill, 4H, and Ice Reflections.
In addition to making history and setting an example for other area girls, Zoey’s dad said, “The coolest thing?” Her brother, Ian, has also stepped up his game. Maybe she inspired him a little, or maybe it’s sibling rivalry, but now, “He’s two merit badges and an Eagle Scout project away from being an Eagle Scout, too,” Lee said. That sounds like one proud dad!