Stephanie Chavez becomes Downey's first female Eagle Scout

Photos courtesy Stephanie Chavez

DOWNEY — Downey resident Stephanie Chavez has reached the rank of Eagle Scout, becoming the first female to do so in the city.

With an interest in many of the activities that the Boy Scouts participated in, the 17-year-old Downey High School junior previously watched as her older brother climbed the ranks and became an Eagle Scout himself. When the scouts opened their ranks to girls just a few years ago, it became her turn.

“When I was younger, I would go to his camp outs, and basically all of his activities,” said Chavez. “I was really interested in it as a kid, so when they offered it for girls, I was ready and willing to sign up.”

Her troop – Troop 371 from St. Dominic Savio Church – was established in March, 2019. It started with five girls and has since grown to 12.

Chavez says that she always had eyes on being an Eagle Scout. When the time came for her to execute an Eagle Scout service project, she turned to helping other young women in Kenya through a partnership with African Sisterhood.

“My project was basically to help girls in Africa be able to go to school and get an education while they were still on their menstrual cycle or their period,” said Chavez.

Chavez made over 80 kits comprised of hygienic materials, directions in both English and the receiver’s native language, undergarments, and a positive message.

“I wanted to do something that would help others in their life,” said Chavez.

Chavez is now the first girl in Downey to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, and the fourth in the Long Beach council. She is very humble about that fact though.

“It gives me some happiness that I’m the first; there’s a lot of other girls in my troop that are going to become Eagle Scouts soon,” said Chavez. “I wasn’t planning like, ‘Oh, I want to be the first.’ It just happened, so I’m really happy.”

Her father Ismael Chavez – who is a scout master says that he and the rest of the family are very proud of Chavez’s accomplishment.

“Through her time going through the Eagle Scout process, I’ll be honest with you, it was challenging to the point where at times – like most young teenagers – they want to quit certain things,” he said. “The challenges – whether it’s sports, academics, or earning this Eagle Scout award – there were times where she said, ‘You know what? I’m done. I don’t wanna do it no more.’

“You’re like, ‘Hey, you’re 80% done; just 20% more and you can finish and accomplish it.’ So yes, I am very proud of her because there were very challenging moments.”

Chavez says that other girls who may have an interest in the scouts should “go for it!”

“Try it; it’s a really good experience,” said Chavez. “We actually do have a lot of fun activities…you can learn so many new things that you wouldn’t learn on a daily basis.”

“It’s a great bond; your troop members. You all have a different bond than you normally would… you’re always going to have them for life.”

Chavez now hopes to become a junior scout assistant.

“Most Eagle Scouts just come back to the troop to help out the younger scouts become Eagles,” said Chavez. “I want to be a junior scout assistant so I can help the girls out.”