SEVERNA PARK, Md. — Abigail Dugenske has been serving her community since kindergarten — and now the 17-year-old Maryland teen has the rare distinction of earning both the Girl Scout Gold Award and the Boy Scout Eagle.
Dugenske joined Girl Scouts early and worked her way toward one of the organization's highest honors, the Girl Scout Gold Award. When Girl Scouts temporarily shut down during the pandemic, Boy Scouts began allowing girls to participate. Dugenske joined that troop and stood out, eventually becoming one of very few girls to earn the Boy Scout Eagle.
Maryland teen makes history with dual scouting honors
"So I've gotten my Boy Scout eagle which is not very common for girls and Boy Scouts, especially since it's very new so only about one percent of people who joined Scouts get their Boy Scout eagle," Dugenske said.
Earning those honors required more than mastering skills — it meant creating real change in her community. Outside the Severn Library, Dugenske built a Caring Cupboard, a free food storage unit for people in need.
"Literally like the second they filled this up, get emptied in a day," Dugenske said.
She also helped beautify the area outside the library, planting dozens of plants in a flower bed that had previously been filled with trash.
"And they kept planting like flowering bushes, but they would die after about a week or so because they get a water," Dugenske said.
The plants have even become a resource for students at Anne Arundel Community College.
"AAC college comes and looks at them and takes DNA samples from them and does testing for their college classes," Dugenske said.
Dugenske said these projects reflect her commitment to lasting community impact.
"So doing something that I know we have a lasting impact like for the rest of my life means so much to me and it's gonna mean a lot to my community because it's helped so many people," Dugenske said.
A ceremony will be held to honor her achievements at Pasadena United Methodist Church on June 14.
"Eagle is a very hard thing, but you cannot get there alone so it's basically a giant thing to celebrate your accomplishment, but also to celebrate the people who helped you get there," Dugenske said.
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