When the Boy Scouts of America started accepting girls into their troops and became Scouts BSA, Jackie Valenzuela eagerly became a Cub Scout. She had watched her older brother Aurelio enjoy the many benefits of Scouting and wanted the same for herself.
Joining Troop 46 in San Jacinto in 2019, Jackie worked hard toward her goal of becoming an Eagle Scout. Of the 41 merit badges she has earned, 14 of them were requirements for achieving Eagle rank.
“My brother is an Eagle, and I wanted to be an Eagle too because I know it comes with honor and responsibility,” Jackie, 13, said. Aurelio Valenzuela is currently the youngest male Eagle for Troop 46, having attained that rank at the age of 14 in July 2023.
Their mother, Gloria Solorio, said she was confident in her daughter’s ability to handle the commitment involved because she made it her goal to become an Eagle when she was a Cub Scout. “There were times where I saw it was getting challenging for her, but she was very motivated,” Solorio said.
Kevin Morningstar, who has been involved in Scouting as a leader for about 10 years, serves as committee chair and works closely with Scoutmasters Steve Shockey for the boys and Miranda Booker for the girls. “BSA unit leadership is best described as two-part: One side for planning, one side for doing,” he said. “As a small troop, we usually volunteer and work on both sides of that.”
Troop 46 has 19 youth members and 10 registered adults. There are 14 male youth, five female youth, six female adults and four male adults.
“My Eagle Project was to refurbish the outside benches at the Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Hemet,” Jackie said. “We also built and added two new benches for the parish. I also added a pergola to my brother’s Eagle Project at Our Lady of the Valley, which was a prayer/reflection center.”
The Edward Hyatt World Language Academy eighth grader’s entire family was very involved from the beginning. Solorio said, “It was very meaningful for us to make a positive impact in our church. It is so rewarding to see parishioners being able to use the Eagle Project and be grateful for it.”
Morningstar said it is a pretty lengthy process to get a project approved, with plenty of paperwork involved. “As leadership, our job is to help, not to do it for them,” he said. “We are training leaders and one of the goals for the Eagle project is learning project management. As for the actual project, Jackie had many surprises that required a change of plan: materials that came in late, vandalism of the project, weather issues and more. I am very proud of how she adapted and overcame it. My sons and I were there mostly to be human forklifts. It was super fun.”
He said that Lowe’s of Hemet was a big contributor to her project, which took place in December. “They support the troop very well; they helped Jackie’s brother Aurelio with his Eagle project, too. They help the troop far above and beyond,” he added. “EMWD, private donors, and other businesses in town like Blaze Pizza and Starbucks helped us in various ways, like donating food or materials, too. I think the members of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church were the biggest contributors in both financial donations and volunteering time.”
Morningstar was present at Jackie’s Board of Review. “She was only 12 at the time and the board was very surprised with her maturity and organization, especially considering how young she was,” he said.
Upon acceptance of her project from Scouts BSA, Jackie had a Court of Honor ceremony on July 28 at the Golden Era Golf Course clubhouse. Morningstar said the Scouts did a wonderful job recognizing Jackie.
“I received my Eagle Rank Certificate and medal,” she said. “I was also acknowledged by the Marine Corps and the Dioceses of San Bernardino because I earned three Religious Emblems through Scouts and the Archdiocese of San Bernardino. I also received an acknowledgement from the offices of Congressman Raul Ruiz and Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh and Hemet Mayor Joe Males.”
But reaching this long sought-after goal has not deterred Jackie from maintaining her commitment to Scouting. “My goal is to continue to be part of Troop 46 and help our newest girl scout become an Eagle,” she said of the member who joined about a month ago. Per Morningstar, there are currently five girls in the troop. “I also want to help more with the Order of the Arrow because I am part of the Order of the Arrow and want to serve the community.”
Morningstar said there have been some challenges since the Boy Scouts of America began accepting girls but said most of the issues come from external sources such as harassment from random public members wanting to voice their disapproval. He said these comments almost always come about as a result of misconceptions and misinformation. He is quick to point out that school is co-educational and said the youth are used to that.
He added that the benefits have been numerous, stating that the top one has been the diversity of opinion and competition. “Adolescent girls and boys tend to have similar yet different interests that often overlap in ways no one expected,” Morningstar said. “As a result, we came up with some really fun experiences. Jackie’s first campout was at a private residence once owned by the family of Audrey Hepburn. It had a small lake stocked with fish. It was made possible by a generous donation from Jernigan’s Yellow Mart in Indio. She got to sleep in a literal mansion and learned to catch, clean and cook fish.”
Jackie is also part of the youth group for Our Lady of the Valley Parish. She has been in San Jacinto Unified School District’s Dual Immersion Program for nine years now. It started at Megan Cope Elementary School, but then moved to the Edward Hyatt World Language Academy, which serves about 600 students in grades TK-8.
Troop 46 is very active in the community, doing park clean-ups and more. Now through October, they are participating in the BSA popcorn fundraiser. Morningstar said, “If you see my Scouts in front of a store selling popcorn, please buy! I know the price point often surprises most people but please keep in mind that the donation benefits not just the Scouts, but the unit, the district, the council and the scholarship fund. But mostly, it funds adventures that become lifetime memories.” For more information, https://iescouts.org.
“Being in Scouts has helped me to speak out more and to be more confident,” Jackie said. “It also taught me to push myself and believe in myself to do things I don’t think I can achieve.”
Her mother, who has worked at San Jacinto Unified School District for 17 years, said, “Jackie feels strongly about making a positive change in our society. Although she is very quiet, she is also very determined to serve. She serves at our parish, and she serves the community by collecting donations for Valley Restart Center and Valley Community Pantry. Scouts teaches the youth to leave things better than you found them.”
