Three Fallbrook teens to be honored among nation's first female Eagle Scouts

Three Fallbrook teens are looking forward to joining the hundreds of young women around the nation who will be honored this year as members of the inaugural class of Female Eagle Scouts.

Ashley Schlumpberger, Becka Seefried and Muriel "Mimi" Meacham are members of Troop 700, the only all-female Scouts BSA troop in North County San Diego, headquartered at the Elks Lodge in Oceanside. On Jan. 28, each girl passed a "board of review," completing all requirements for Eagle Rank "pending National Scouts BSA endorsement," confirmed Karen Roberson, Scoutmaster of Troop 700. "I am beyond proud of these girls and how hard they worked."

According to Roberson, only 4% of all scouts achieve the rank of Eagle, the highest and most prestigious award in the Scouts BSA program. All three girls were also nominated for "The Order of the Arrow," a scouting national honor society.

The roads to success for Fallbrook's first female Eagle Scouts were as individual as they are inspiring. They were also not without a few challenges along the way. They are "three amazing young women," Roberson said.

Ashley Schlumpberger

As a younger sibling, Schlumpberger often watched her twin brothers with a mix of admiration and envy as they'd pack their bags for one weekend "camp out" after another. She was intrigued with "the adventure of it all," she recalled. "They would go away on the weekends and, when they came back, they would have huge smiles on their faces. I wanted to do what they were doing."

In February 2019, she finally got her chance when the Boy Scouts of America welcomed girls to Scouts BSA, a program for youths age 11 to 17, previously known as Boy Scouts. Like her brothers before her, both now 21 and also Eagle Scouts, she was soon planning camp outs and earning merit badges.

An Eagle Scout candidate must earn a minimum of 21 badges covering a range of topics including first aid and safety, civics, business and environment, before they can embark on a final requirement to research, organize and complete a large community service project.

In search of an idea for a project that would benefit the Fallbrook community, Schlumpberger visited the Palomares House and Park on Stage Coach Lane, where the administrative offices of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy, a local nonprofit, are also located. There she introduced herself to Beverly Tucker, a longtime FLC member who was busy overseeing renovation of the park's Wildlife Sculpture Garden. Coincidentally, Tucker was seeking someone to help design and implement a new pathway in the garden and Schlumpberger immediately volunteered for the job.

"I love nature and I really love to do things outdoors. I knew this was the project for me," she said, and she began her research by watching how-to videos on YouTube, eventually learning how to calculate the cost for required materials so she could complete a cost estimate.

Next she needed to raise funds, but with the onset of COVID-19, she was forced to abandon her initial plan for a garage sale. Instead, she held a one-person jog-a-thon, signing up sponsors over the phone. In just one week, she ran 3 miles a day for a total of 15 miles. "It wasn't until the end of the week that I really started feeling the effects," she joked about her sore muscles.

Her efforts raised $711 toward supplies – about $70 short of her goal. So she borrowed the balance from her parents, Steve and Rhonda Schlumpberger, both retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonels who moved to Fallbrook 14 years ago. The couple encouraged their children to participate in scouting "to learn everything they can about leadership, being part of the community, standing on your own two feet. We feel scouting really helps children do that," Rhonda Schlumpberger said.

"They totally encouraged it, but I wanted it too," added Ashley Schlumpberger, who intends to reimburse them with proceeds from a rummage sale to be held "when it is safe to do so." She is also grateful for discounts on materials provided by locally-owned businesses, Fallbrook Irrigation and Southwest Boulder.

Ashley Schlumpberger solicited the help of as many as 11 volunteers of both genders to help with creating the path. One young man from Troop 731 was indispensable at breaking ground on the project, especially when "the dirt was really hard." All of her volunteers were required to wear masks and socially distance. "COVID-friendly" individually wrapped snacks and bottled water were provided during their six work days, which spanned a period of three weekends starting Saturday, Nov. 7.

"It was raining on our first day of work and actually hailed on us as we were leaving," Ashley Schlumpberger recalled. Despite the rough start, she completed her project on time, taking a total of 134 hours, including 40 hours of research, planning and fundraising.

Ashley Schlumpberger is the 37th and first female Eagle Scout candidate to successfully complete a project for the FLC, according to Karla Standridge, executive director. "Ashley did an outstanding job designing and implementing the pathway. We are excited to incorporate her design into the revitalization of the Wildlife Sculpture Garden," she said.

Ashley Schlumpberger turned 17 in January and is now a junior at Fallbrook Union High School. She hopes her achievement will inspire other girls to join Scouts BSA.

"I would just really love to encourage other girls my age to join, because it teaches you so much," she said. "It teaches you about leadership. You're going to make amazing friendships. I'm really grateful for the impact scouting has had."

Becka Seefried

If the road to becoming an Eagle Scout wasn't difficult enough, Seefried's life was uprooted when her family made the decision to move to Fallbrook last August from her longtime home in Buffalo, New York. She had been a dual member of Troops 824 and Troop 261G in Buffalo, and nearing completion of her community service project for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The move cross-country during the middle of a pandemic to "a small town where she didn't know anyone" proved to be her biggest challenge, said Seefried, 17 and a senior at FUHS, who lives with her parents Edward and Amy Seefried. She also has two brothers, Joshua, 21, and Anthony, 19, who are also Eagle Scouts.

Eventually, her transition was helped by "friendly neighbors," she recalled. "Our neighbors said hello right away and were very kind – everyone I've met has been very nice."

In choosing her community service project, she knew she wanted "to do something for the ASPCA," she said. "I have three little rescues myself," she said, describing her dogs. "The oldest is Lady, a schnauzer-terrier mix. The second oldest is Mitzie, a Boston terrier-beagle mix. And the youngest is Sky. We're not sure what breed she is, but if you looked at her from far away you would think she was a coy dog!"

Seefried is also an artist with an interest in "character design." She hoped to incorporate in her project not only her "love for animals," but also her "love for artwork."

During her initial visit to the ASPCA center, which serves Erie County in New York, she observed only two tables with chairs to accommodate younger children who participated in summer camp and other activities. "There was no place for them to store their coats and backpacks," she recalled.

She subsequently set up a meeting with staff to discuss her idea for new shelving, presenting a blueprint of her proposal. Her project provided for two shelving units, each containing 20 "cubbies" for storage, 20 hooks for coats, two handles that double as towel racks and four wheels that lock. The shelves were painted red and decorated with artwork of various animals.

Once her plan was approved by the ASPCA, she raised funds over a period of three weeks by selling candy bars, which she purchased from Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, a fundraising program.

The estimated cost of the project was $972.97. Because most of her supplies were donated by Lowe's, actual costs amounted to just $31.98. From conception and design to construction and installation, the new shelving required 226 hours and 52 minutes to complete over a period of four months.

In addition to her online classes, Seefried also works part-time up to 15 hours a week at Michael's in Oceanside. Aspiring for a future career in animation character design, she plans to attend college in California, where she hopes to study art.

To be recognized among the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts is "such a special and high honor," Seefried said. "I am making history, and hopefully making life easier for women in the country by showing them that anything is possible, that gender does not determine who you are and what you are supposed to act and be like."

Muriel "Mimi" Meacham

An early understanding of the challenges of the hearing-impaired was the inspiration for Meacham's Eagle Scout project for Deaf Community Services of San Diego. "My longtime friend who has always been there and looked out for me is hard of hearing," said Meacham, 18, who is a graduate of Guajome Park Academy in Vista and is currently enrolled at Western Oregon University.

While a student at Guajome Park, she studied American Sign Language at Palomar College. Her older sister, Grace Meacham, is currently studying for a career as an ASL interpreter.

Meacham explained that the pandemic has been especially difficult for individuals who rely on ASL to communicate with others. "A lot of ASL is facial expressions and mouth morphemes. So it is important to try to see the face," she explained. "The deaf community has had a harder time with understanding, because their main form of communicating is lip reading and that is not possible when people wear a mask."

For her project, Meacham recruited five volunteers and devoted some 100 hours to creating a special mask for the hearing impaired with fabric donated to her project by family friends. Masks were sewn from two layers of fabric, with a clear, plastic window inserted between the layers so that the wearer's mouth is visible. A single mask required an estimated 45 minutes to make from start to finish.

The project was complicated when Meacham discovered her original pattern was too small. Her mother, Claire Meacham, helped enlarge it. A few of her volunteers who offered to sew masks "didn't have the highest skills and not everyone could complete the project on time," she said. Some of her volunteers made more masks than others, while a few moved away before completing their assigned number of masks. "But they really tried to let me know if they were not able to do it," she said.

Ultimately, Meacham delivered a total of 75 masks to DCS staff. "I am happy with the help I could give," she said. "People working there didn't have the proper masks and were really appreciative."

Reflecting on her Eagle Scout achievement, Meacham said she is "proud of it," noting that she first thought it would be easy "but it was a lot more work than I imagined," she said. Her biggest challenges were "the little things that you don't necessarily think of," she said. "It really taught me perseverance and you need a gung-ho attitude."

In addition to Scoutmaster Roberson, she credits the "huge support" of adult leaders David Creamer and Jeff Tesluk. Her father, Jeff Meacham, a self-described "One Proud Dad," also commended her "wonder troop and troop leaders."

"It meant a lot to me to be a part of this first group of female Eagle Scouts," Meacham said. "It was important for me to be a part of it, because it signifies more opportunities for us."