Young woman soars to Eagle

Ingrid Moore of Chilmark is the first young woman to become an Eagle Scout for the Cape and Islands chapter of Scouts since the Boy Scouts of America began accepting girls into the program nearly three years ago.

“It’s a very remarkable achievement for anyone to achieve,” Mike Riley, executive director for the Cape & Islands Council, Boy Scouts of America, told The Times of the Eagle rank. When you consider it’s only been since February of 2019 that girls were accepted into the program, it’s an even greater achievement, Riley noted. (No worries, Girl Scout cookie fans, that separate organization still exists.)

Becoming an Eagle Scout is no small task. A Scout has to earn 21 merit badges at minimum, and 12 of them are requirements having to do with camping, cooking, and emergency preparedness, as well as citizenship. “All of them get into pretty deep subject matter,” Riley said. “To do the citizenship in nation badge, for example, you need to know the structure of the federal government and how it works. Same with the local community citizenship. You need to know how the community functions. They are vigorous, robust requirements to meet.”

Factor in that you have to do all of it before your 18th birthday (Ingrid turns 18 later this month) and the other things that go into being a high school senior — college applications (she’s keeping her fingers crossed for early acceptance to Harvard) and studying (she’s in the National Honor Society) and performing trombone in the band and participating in Minnesingers, as well as being one of the leads in the MVHRS production of “Les Miserables” and, well, you get the picture: She’s a busy young woman.

“It was a lot of work, especially recently,” Ingrid said of her Eagle pursuit. The COVID-19 pandemic actually helped her meet her goal, she said. “I was able to meet with merit badge counselors online … I was able to take advantage of that, and it helped me.”

While everyone else was figuring out how to safely navigate the summer of 2020, Ingrid was in earnest pursuit of eight of her 21 required merit badges: “A lot of people were willing to meet with me, which was great.”

At 6 years old, Ingrid tried Girl Scouts, but it just wasn’t for her. When the BSA opened its program to girls in 2019, she decided to join. She said it was an easy decision because her dad, Adam Moore, was an Eagle Scout, and she just enjoyed being around the program. Her brother, Huck, who is three years younger, has been in Cub Scouts since he was 5 years old. “I would always join them. I would tag along, go camping, make fires. When they allowed girls, I just thought it was common sense for me to join,” she said.

Sarah Carr, who served as the troop leader for her daughter, Gabby, and Ingrid, called the two girls “trailblazers.” “Gabby recently went off to college, but Ingrid went on to earn her Eagle Scout rank,” she told The Times. “I have been honored to be Ingrid’s scoutmaster. Ingrid is an impressive young woman, excelling at everything she does. From AP classes, Minnesingers, volunteering, and scouting she has proven herself over and over again. Ingrid will go far and continue to do amazing things. I can’t wait to see.”

Ingrid lives in Chilmark with her parents, Adam and Melissa Moore. She has two older sisters, Madeleine and Isabel.

Her dad recalled Ingrid always participated in Scouts, even if she couldn’t officially be a part of it until three years ago. “She’s been involved in scouting her whole life almost,” Adam Moore said. “She was involved in all of the activities, but couldn’t get any rewards or recognition until they opened these doors.”

Speaking of opening doors. Riley said colleges look at the Eagle rank as a great accomplishment because of the “stick-to-itiveness” it takes.

For now, Ingrid has only applied to Harvard. If she doesn’t get accepted there, she’s got other applications ready. But she’s hoping her Eagle accomplishment will help push the needle in her favor to join the Crimson.

“I think it will. It showed good time management and the fact that I could do it in a short time period,” she said. “I started when I was 15 or 16 and have done something not a lot of people have done, and even fewer girls have accomplished.”

Indeed, there have been about 1,000 girls nationwide who have achieved the honor since 2019, Riley said.

“It’s a great thing for a young person to do and it will last them a lifetime,” Adam Moore said. He noted that the boys’ troop on the Island, Troop 93, has had three recent Eagles — Michael Noel Jr., Keith Healy, and Charlie Fenske.

Adam Moore, along with being a proud dad, is the executive director of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation and a Scout council chair. Ingrid’s mother, Melissa, was an assistant scoutmaster for the two-person girls troop. (BSA still keeps girls’ programs separate from boys’.)

“She worked hard. She got kids to help her. She put together the project, scheduled it, and assembled everything,” Adam Moore said of his daughter’s Eagle project.

Ingrid’s project was to create storyboards based on children’s books for trails at Misty Meadows Equestrian Center at Nat’s Farm in West Tisbury. “I thought it was a really neat project,” Riley said.

Though it’s a Sheriff’s Meadow property, Adam Moore said the project benefits Misty Meadows — not the nonprofit he oversees.

Ingrid said she picked the project after seeing something similar on a walk with her dad on another Sheriff’s Meadow property. She liked the idea of the storyboards to “encourage kids to go on walks and to read.”

Ingrid is appreciative of the help she got from her fellow Scouts and other community members, which is actually an important leadership component of the Eagle project. “I got a lot of help from people, and that was very nice,” she said. 

Ingrid’s review board, where she had to present her project, was Monday, Nov. 29. That’s the day her Eagle became official. She will be recognized as the first young woman on the Cape and Islands to earn the award on Dec. 9 at the Council Distinguished Citizens Award Celebration, to be held at Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster. 

“She’s not the first female Eagle Scout, but she’s the first in the region,” Adam Moore said.

The future looks bright for other girls. All told, the Cape and Islands has 83 girls in all different aspects of Scouting — 56 in Cub Scouts and 27 in Scouts BSA, Riley said. On the Island, there are a number of girls involved in Cub Scouts, but Troop 193 will be inactive until those girls rise up in the ranks, Adam Moore said.

The press release announcing Ingrid’s achievement states, “Future plans include wildlife research or environmental studies, and sharing her knowledge as a scientist. Unless she hits it big in theater; then she’ll be an actress.” 

Ingrid confirmed that she’ll study zoology and wildlife research in college. “I also adore theater and plan on doing that in college. Just as a backup plan,” she said.

As for that acting career, in the same year that she’s accomplished Eagle, she’s also doing something really big on the stage. “I’m actually doing my dream role now. I’ve always wanted to be Monsieur Thernadier, Master of the House, from ‘Les Miserables.’ It’s been my dream role since I was 5 years old.” 

There was still more to talk about with Ingrid — her involvement with Best Buddies and her contributions to the MVRHS sailing team, but there was only so much time. “I have to get to band practice,” she said.