For years, Emma Capirchio attended Boy Scouts meetings. Her younger twin brothers were Scouts and her father was involved. It meant that she also attended the meetings.

While at the meetings, Emma would do the activities just like the boys did but —
unlike them — she didn’t earn any merit badges. 

Then in 2019, Troop 3 Gaspee Plateau in Warwick was formed. It meant that she had the chance to join the girls’ troop. 

“This is great I can totally do that,” Emma recalls thinking to herself when the announcement was made. 

Troop 3 Gaspee is an offspring of the Troop 4 Gaspee which Emma referred to as the “brother group.” There are six members of Troop 3, and soon Emma will be the first female Eagle Scout in her troop.

Also attaining the rank of Eagle locally are Morgan Nathan of Warwick Troop 77 and Morgan Bitgood of Cranston Troop 13.

Emma said that going into Scouts she wasn’t much of an outdoor person. She said that she is an outdoor person in the sense that she would go in her backyard and look for frogs but wasn’t much of a camper. 

“It scared me a little bit,” she said.

Her reservations didn’t stop Emma from going on her first camping trip. She said that she enjoyed the company of the other girls in her troop. 

Emma wasn’t a fan of hiking either. She said that her first big hike was 13 miles. 

Growing up, Emma said she wasn’t allowed to have McDonalds. Her incentive for completing hikes was being able to go there after.

To become an Eagle Scout, one of the requirements is completing an Eagle Project. 

With a love for animals, Emma recruited her colleagues in Scouts and the leaders to help construct turtle enclosures which were donated to the Audubon Society in Smithfield. 

The enclosures were constructed using Plexiglas so the wildlife can be viewed properly at all angles. With the new enclosures, students will get an up close and detailed view of turtles as the Audubon educates them on their local wildlife. 

The Audubon Society previously used a kiddie pool to display the turtles. The enclosures needed to be easily transportable to make the lives of the handlers and the turtles easier between different locations which is an improvement compared to what the Audubon Society had before. 

In total, Emma said she spent about 55 hours on the project which included planning and gathering materials. 

Emma explained that she viewed starting Scouts later than others as a disadvantage. She said that most boys have from 11 to 18 years old to become an Eagle Scout. In her case, she didn’t start until she was 15 and a half. 

Nonetheless, Emma was able to earn the 21 merit badges as required. 

“There’s a lot of work that goes into it,” said Emma. 

With her project completed and badges earned it means that the only thing standing in her way is passing her board of review. 

One of the things that Emma liked most about Scouts was being able to meet different people. She said that two girls in the Troop are from Warwick, one from East Providence and two other girls go to Cranston West with Emma. 

Emma said that she even had a classmate in the Troop. One day during school when the Troop first formed she heard one of her friends talking about joining an all girls Boy Scouts Troop and after talking they realized that they were in the same Troop but hadn’t been to a meeting together yet. 

“We didn’t even realize that,” said Emma. 

To this day, despite her moving away, Emma said that they talk all the time. 

Emma recommends Scouts. 

“It’s a fun experience and also you get different things for it.” 

Emma said she got a scholarship for one of the colleges she applied for and thinks that putting her future Eagle Scout award on her resume helped her secure the financial award. 

“It shows a lot about a person if you can make it that far, ‘’ said Emma. 

Graduating this year from Cranston West, Emma plans to attend New England Institute of Technology for software engineering and web design but hasn’t made a final decision on her future yet.