Sonia Wasserman, 17, of Orcutt is one of a handful of females who earned Eagle Scout standing from Scouts BSA (formerly known as the Boy Scouts) in its most recent Eagle Scout class of 2020.
Exactly 61,353 young men earned the Eagle Scout award in 2019, beating the record of 58,659 set in 2012, the 100-year anniversary of the award first being presented. Young women were first added to the Eagle Scout roster in 2020. Only 6% of Scouts earn this highest rank offered by Scouts BSA, which opened the organization to female Scouts on Feb. 1, 2019.
All females who earn the Eagle Scout honor in the first two years will be part of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts and will be given a date of rank of Feb. 8, 2021.
“I first thought about joining when my dad was talking about the national organization allowing girls,” Wasserman told Noozhawk. “I like exploring the outdoors, and I got to spend time with my dad, who is an Eagle and also active in Scouting locally.”
Wasserman’s brother, Allan, now 19 and a freshman at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, also achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
To achieve the Eagle Scout rank, a young person must earn 21 merit badges, and 13 of the 21 badges must be from specific categories, including First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Communication, Cooking, Personal Fitness, Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving, Environmental Science or Sustainability, Personal Management, Swimming or Hiking or Cycling, Camping, and Family Life.
Because there were no Scouts in her 650-student Orcutt Academy High School, Wasserman served as a Lone Scout working in a leadership capacity outside of the Scouts, in a school, religious or community setting. Her required Eagle Scout project, which typically takes a month to complete, was repairing and beautifying the American Legion Post building in Orcutt.
“I am in two clubs at school — the National Honor Society, where we do a lot of community service, and Young Life, a Christian youth group,” Wasserman said, adding that she also participated in varsity cross country, basketball and long-distance track. “I have done the miler and 2-miler, but I was the best in the cross (3.1 miles).”
She also has been playing music since she was 5 and plays the guitar, piano, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and ukulele.
During the past year, Wasserman and other female Scouts have been given some help by Buellton philanthropist George Bernard. An Eagle Scout, too, he provided funds to the two fledging female troops in Santa Maria.
“Thanks to Mr. Bernard, our troop was able to buy tents, tarps, backpacking gear, small stoves and supply kits to go camping,” said Wasserman, who has logged more than 20 camping nights, mostly as a Lone Scout at camps such as Camp Josepho, Rancho Allegre and Fiesta Island. “Our troop has also done a couple of camping trips, so I was able to earn a camping badge.”
Twenty camping nights is the minimum required to earn a camping merit badge.
As a high school senior, Wasserman is in the midst of applying for colleges. She said her top choice is Columbia University in New York City. She plans to major in mechanical engineering. She also applied to the Air Force Academy, West Point, Vanderbilt, the University of Southern California, UC Los Angeles, UC Berkeley and “a couple of schools in Florida.”
She has already been offered a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship, where she will become a second lieutenant in the Marines when she graduates at age 22.
“I haven’t made up my mind about what route to take yet,” Wasserman said. “Every branch of the military has flying. It would be really cool to be an astronaut. The military in general wants people who are smart and also have the ability to work on machines, thus rockets, satellites and aircraft weapons. That’s why I am majoring in mechanical engineering. Any additional piloting and special operations experiences increase the possibility of my working in space exploration.”
Born in Virginia, Wasserman moved from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Santa Maria when she was 4, when her father, Robert, retired from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. Her mother, Sonia, works as an Air Force civilian at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc.
Along with all of her other activities, her hobby is writing.
“I am writing a story line about space exploration. I like to incorporate comedy as I am a funny person,” she said. “I am also writing a story about what it is like to be a severe burn victim in junior high school.”
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.
