Isabella Hom recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout, becoming the first female Eagle Scout in Troop 1707G and in the city of Troy, Mich.
She joins the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts, since Scouting BSA opened its program to female youth in 2019. Hom served as the bugler for the national Scouts BSA webcast “Be the Change,” which celebrated this first group of female Eagle Scouts.
She is the daughter of Julie Sasaki Hom and Rick Hom. The family are long-time members of the Detroit JACL Chapter and her grandparents Ann and Saburo Sasaki are long-time volunteers at Manzanar National Historic Site.
Hom’s interest in health care led to her Eagle Scout project benefiting a local homeless shelter. Her project included creating hygiene kits and providing touchless thermometers, pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitors, and Naloxone medical supply cabinets. To fund these activities, she organized Scouts to return over 21,000 bottles and cans.
The intrepid scout had set a fundraising goal of $852, but more than doubled that amount.
Hom said she is honored to be one of the first female Eagles.
“It’s a great honor, and I’m proud to represent another generation of Scouting. I learned the value of many skills — including organization and communication — which I will use in many aspects of my life. Girls can now have the opportunity to participate in the same outdoor adventures and classic Boy Scout program that many of their brothers and fathers have experienced. Among other things, I got to go backpacking, learn to use a saw and axe safely, and build a natural shelter and camp in it for wilderness survival.”
In 2018, her twin brother, Alexander, also earned the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 1707B. Both Yonsei are members of Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society.
In the future, Hom said, she is interested in a career in healthcare.