For more than 100 years, the rank of Eagle Scout has been the pinnacle of achievement in Scouting America programs. More than 100 Scouts in the W. D. Boyce Council earn the honor every year, but nationally, only six percent have ever reached that highly prized goal.

I’d like to tell you about an ambitious young Pekin woman who became an Eagle Scout in 2023, and who is now carrying what she learned from the experience into the next phase of her life.

Elizabeth Hayden, daughter of James and Glenna Hayden of Pekin, joined the all-female Troop 265 in 2018. Troop 265 and its “brother troop,” Troop 65, are chartered by the First Christian Church in Pekin.

I met Elizabeth back in 2018 when she was on her first campout at the annual merit badge day at Camp Wokanda outside Mossville. She signed up for the Wilderness Survival merit badge and I was the counselor. That day, she learned to start a fire with flint and steel, use a signal mirror, purify drinking water, and other survival skills. She later finished the Wilderness Survival merit badge, one of more than 21 required for Eagle.

Elizabeth continued learning new skills, camping, leading others, and having fun in the outdoors with her friends. As she approached her 18th birthday — the deadline for finishing all the requirements for Eagle Scout — a number of obstacles were thrown into her path. The pandemic kept her troop from meeting in person for many months. Then, when things started getting back to normal, in late 2022 she had shoulder surgery followed by extensive rehabilitation. Just months before her birthday she still had eight merit badges to complete.

Even more daunting was the planning and leading of a community service project, one of the most difficult and time-consuming requirements of all. But Elizabeth was determined. Amid schoolwork, physical therapy, and merit badge work, she talked to Wildlife Prairie Park about a project that would benefit the organization and all who frequent the unique wildlife area near Hanna City.

The project involved refurbishing 48 wood and steel benches around the central part of the park. Elizabeth raised $2,400 to pay for materials and led more than 40 people in painting the metal frames and replacing six wooden planks on each bench. That’s 288 boards attached with 576 bolts. She expected the project to take two days — it was done in one 12-hour shift. 

Like many Eagles, Elizabeth said, “The hardest part was standing back and trusting that, even if I wasn’t running every little aspect that things would turn out the way they needed to.” In the end, “Every little thing went perfect,” she added.

The efficient operation of the project is a testament to this determined young woman’s planning and leadership — two critical traits of every Eagle Scout. 

“Scouting was very reflective for me,” Elizabeth said about her five-year journey to Eagle. “I’ve loved that Scouting has shown me how much I can want something and how much I can get done when I want something that bad.”

“Of all the things I’ve done, Eagle Scout was one of the hardest,” she admitted. “Knowing that I was able to do what so many others are not was a reminder that, even when things get rough, I can always put my best effort into it.”

Elizabeth continues to apply that lesson as a biology freshman at Eastern Illinois University. Her goal is to one day (about 12 years in the future) be a doctor, hopefully an OB/GYN. Her skills and experiences in Scouting will serve her well on that journey.

Learn more about recent Eagle Scouts in the W. D. Boyce Council at www.wdboyce.org/eagles.

Scout On!

Scott Fishel wears several hats in Scouting, including a longtime association with Troop 178 and Troop 1178 in Morton. You can contact him at [email protected]. Find a Scout unit in your community at beascout.org.