WILTON — Dana Schmid will join a small but growing group of young women Sunday when she pledges to accept the obligations and responsibilities of Eagle Scout at a Scouting Court of Honor at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Schmid, 18, is the second female member of Troop 4024 in Wilton to attain the rank of Eagle, a rare achievement for men and women. Of the approximately 2.2 million youth members of the Boy Scouts of America, only 6 percent become Eagle Scouts, according to the organization. The number of girls who reach Scouting’s highest rank has been steadily climbing since girls were first allowed to join Boy Scouts five years ago.
Schmid was 14 when girls were allowed into Wilton’s Troop 4024 in February 2019, following in her older brother’s footsteps, and she immediately set her sights on Eagle. Both her father and brother have achieved the goal.
Like all Eagle Scout candidates, Schmid had to complete a community service project. For hers, she decided to help improve access to the water for people with disabilities at Moreau Lake State Park by designing and building a 12-foot-by-26-foot pier to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and allow anglers who use wheelchairs to fish.
She raised money for materials to meet approval from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and was ready to build in May last year, but the water was too high for construction to begin. With her 18th birthday approaching in July, the deadline to complete her Eagle requirements, she needed to apply for an extension for the project. In August, not not long before Schmid was set to leave for McGill University – the site was ready. She supervised younger Scouts who helped with construction alongside Schmid’s parents and other adult volunteers.
One day, not long after the project was finished, Schmid met a man in a wheelchair who was enjoying the…
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