‘She was on a mission.’ State College teen among the first female Eagle Scouts in the nation
When Abby Serefine joined Girl Scouts USA, she knew it wasn’t the right fit.
“It didn’t go well because it’s a different program,” the 18-year-old State College Area High School senior said of her roughly yearlong experience.
On Feb. 8, Abby was officially inducted into the Boy Scouts of America’s inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts — becoming the first in Centre County.
“It felt really surreal just because I grew up with my brothers in Scouts, and I knew about Eagle (Scouts) and I’m like, ‘Yeah that’s really cool,’ kind of knowing I won’t be able to get it,” Abby said.
When she was 14, Abby joined a BSA Venturing Crew, a co-ed opportunity for youth ages 14 to 20 to participate in outdoor activities like canoeing and hiking. In 10th grade, when BSA began to allow girls for the first time, she joined Troop 31G — based at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in downtown State College — which is a part of the Nittany Mountain District in the BSA’s Juniata Valley Council. She had been unofficially involved with the troop when her brothers joined Cub Scouts.
Throughout the program, she said she has learned social and leadership skills by serving as the Senior Patrol Leader — the scout who is in charge of the troop. She worked with the boys troop to plan camp-outs and meetings, and taught them skills she had already learned.
Now, Abby is an assistant scoutmaster for the troop, as well as a leader in the Order of the Arrow — BSA’s National Honor Society.
According to Jodi Vender — who was a leader for Abby’s Venturing Crew 21 and attended several High Adventure trips with her — Abby was the first youth female to have a leadership role in the OA and was among the first four girls to be inducted into the OA. Vender’s daughter and Abby’s friend, Caroline Vancura, was also one of the first four.
Caroline, 17, said she is proud of her friend for achieving Eagle Scout status.
“She’s been able to do everything and has beat me to being Eagle,” she said with a laugh.
Scoutmaster Jeannie Peters has led Abby’s troop since it started Feb. 1, 2019. She serves as a mentor for the scouts and specifically for the SPL, and has seen Abby’s confidence and leadership abilities grow throughout her time in the program.
“As long as I’ve known her, she’s always been a very good citizen,” Peters said. “She’s always been very dedicated to community service as well.”
Peters originally invited Abby and Vancura to go on the troop’s trip to Canada, which kicked off Abby’s scout career.
“(Peters) was like the foundation of everything,” Abby said. “I wouldn’t have gotten anything done without her. She’s a really important key for my journey.”
Vender said it was fantastic that Abby was able to achieve the Eagle Scout rank in such a short time.
“It was pretty impressive how driven she was,” Vender said. “She was on a mission.”
Because of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, Abby had some trouble finding a place to complete her Eagle Scout project, but eventually discovered that Shaver’s Creek — located at 3400 Discovery Road in Petersburg — needed new bluebird boxes.
There was a bluebird trail next to an overgrown meadow, allowing animals to more easily attack the boxes. Birds fought over nesting in the boxes for safety, so Abby’s plan was to clear the meadow in hopes of eliminating the danger to the birds.
However, she quickly realized the project was bigger than it seemed, so her twin brother Peter — a member of Troop 83 based at Knights of Columbus in State College — ended up clearing the meadow as his Eagle Scout project. Abby built new bluebird boxes and baffles — a deterrent for predators — for the trail.
Peter said it was nice to complete his project in tandem with his sister, who he’s proud of for achieving the Eagle Scout status.
“I think it’s important that everybody knows that the scouting community is super welcoming,” Peter said. “No matter what you identify as, you’ll be welcomed by the community.”
Abby agreed, adding that gender “really doesn’t matter” when it comes to joining a troop.
“Gender is no reason to be able to pass on such an opportunity to be able to go on trips and to learn and to just build so many memories that are going to affect you for the rest of your life, so that shouldn’t hold anyone back,” Abby said.
Peters said Abby’s achievement echoes back to previous times women have achieved parity with men because it gives them another opportunity to see they can do anything they want to do, regardless of their gender.
“Hopefully that will also continue to help change opinions of people who do think that women are incapable; that this will show them that women are in fact completely capable of doing any of the things that they set their minds to,” Peters said.
People have been “overwhelmingly supportive” of the female Eagle Scouts, Peters said. She encouraged any women thinking of joining a troop to be brave — an element of the Scout Law — and reach out to a troop.
“I think that they will find that they are very welcome, and that there are so very very many opportunities for them to grow and have really unique life experiences that will truly prepare them for life as they move into adulthood,” Peters said.
