Junior Erin Mensen is making history!
While the Scouts have a long history of male leadership, Mensen has become the first female Eagle Scout in Northeastern Iowa, paving the way for all young girls.
For her Eagle Scout project, Mensen started planning her landscape project on the Masonville Fire Department’s property in April of 2023. She completed the project in July of 2023. She noticed work that needed to be done after her brother Matt Mensen did his project on the same property.
“The fire department really appreciated the work,” Mensen said. “It was honestly a mess before, and it looks much nicer. It improves the look of the Masonville community.”
While earning her Eagle Scout, Mensen had to learn new leadership skills by directing the other girls in her troop on how to help.
“They all had different strengths and weaknesses, so I figured out how to organize them so they could do their best work,” Mensen said. “Being a leader in that way was difficult, but I did it.”
Like the other girls in her troop, Mensen joined the Scouts at age eleven and has been working toward this honor since then. However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. At times the boys in her troop made fun of her because girls were not allowed into Boy Scouts until 2018.
(Photo Contributed)
“Starting out in Scouts as a female was difficult,” Mensen said. “There was a lot of boys who weren’t open to having girls in it. My dad was my leader throughout the entire Scout process, so he helped me get past it and continue my path.”
To start the Eagle Scout project, you must hold a leadership position in your troop and receive 21 merit badges as a Scout including archery and climbing, which was her favorite.
“I have already had my Board of Review, which is where they told me I earned Eagle Scout,” Mensen said. “I will officially receive my certificate at the Court of Honors along with my brother (Nick Mensen), Caleb Stocks (12), and Evan Dunkel (12).”
Because Mensen is the first girl in the Northeast Iowa Council to receive this special honor, she has also been asked to give a speech at the Eagle Scout brunch in February.
Mensen’s best advice to younger girls hoping to receive their Eagle Scout is to work hard, use their time effectively, and, most importantly, “have fun along the way!”
