For the second time a girl with Troop 7498, hosted by Sequim Elks Lodge, earned the highest rank in Scouts BSA, formerly Boy Scouts of America.

Grace Kathol, an 18-year-old Port Angeles High School senior, is now the second female to earn the distinction on the North Olympic Peninsula, after friend Jenna Mason in 2023.

Kathol said she’s discovered scouting has been enriching and life-changing.

“I think it’s really cool,” she said of the rank. “Hopefully we’re the first two of many. Lots of other girls can go through similar experiences like us.

“All those adventures and fun people help make me who I am.”

She joined scouts initially after a night hike in Deer Park with Troop 1498 at the suggestion of family friend and former scoutmaster Peter Craig, and found it to be incredible.

“I thought, ‘I want to do more of this,’” she said.

Kathol has lived in Port Angeles her whole life but the city didn’t have a troop for girls so she joined Sequim Troop 7498 on Thursdays at the Elk Lodge.

Earning an eagle was not one of her initial goals.

“I liked it because I met these three other girls around my age who became some of my best friends,” she said.

“It’s so nice to find people who like to go hiking, backpacking and get dirty.”

Trips included horseback riding, skiing, paddle boating and more.

The most memorable experience for her was the 12-day, 80-mile hike on the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2021.

“Philmont was a big thing, really eye opening and really taught myself that ‘I can do this,’” Kathol said.

“Ten days in the backcountry was hard and there was lightning.”

To earn eagle, Kathol earned required merit badges, and planned a service project at the Port Angeles Boys & Girls Club with a five day camp focused on emergency preparedness.

She said it covered the basics in the first few ranks of scouting, plus it included games and lots of teamwork.

Part of her scouting experience was during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they pressed on doing merit badges via Zoom and social distancing and wearing masks on trips, she said.

While her eagle ceremony was held in October 2024, Kathol actually had her board of review the day before she left as an exchange student with Rotary to Chile in Aug. 2023 for the school year.

“It had been something I was interested in for a while,” she said.

“I’d always been super driven to go to other places. It was kind of a personal dream to go on an exchange.”

Kathol said the experience was a “roller coaster” learning the culture, language and how to express herself, but she made lifelong friends, whom she still video calls today. One of her host families plans to visit this summer, she said.

Back in Port Angeles for her senior year, Kathol joined the swim team in the fall and has been applying to colleges with an interest in speech language pathology, particularly helping children.

Looking back at the handful of years as a girl in Boy Scouts, Kathol said the experience has meant a lot to her.

“It’s provided friendship, and lots of skills I would not have learned if I hadn’t been in scouts,” she said.

“It also meant a shared community, an extended family.”

For more about Scouts BSA, visit scouting.org.

Photo courtesy Peter Craig Scout Grace Kathol enjoys a hike on Klahhane Ridge.

Photo courtesy Peter Craig/ Scouts, from left, Lilly Commeree, Grace Kathol and Jenna Mason went to Philmont Scout Ranch in 2021.

Photo courtesy Peter Craig/ Grace Kathol enjoys checking off requirements for the kayaking merit badge in Lake Crescent during her scouting time.

Photo courtesy Peter Craig/ Grace Kathol and Jenna Mason stand a sign post for Marmot Pass during a scouting adventure.

Photo courtesy Grace Kathol/ Grace Kathol with Troop 7498 makes a snow cave during an adventure.