No sibling rivalry for Overland Park kids. They’re proud to soar as ‘Eagles’ together
Attaining the Eagle rank as a Scout is always a big deal, but receiving your award alongside your sibling is even more unusual. Overland Park residents Jade Cale and Skylar Cale did just that this summer.
Skylar, 19, has been a Scout since he was in fifth grade. Jade, 17, had always tagged along to meetings and events and also was a Girl Scout. When the organization started allowing girls to join, she was worried about joining a group that had previously been boys-only.
“I thought, ‘I don’t think I should join. It’s Boy Scouts. How would people perceive me? A girl in Boy Scouts?’” she said. “I went to one meeting, and I found these amazing girls in my troop.”
Jade and Skylar did separate projects, with Jade creating a pollinator garden at Blue Valley West High School and Skylar constructing shelving to hold donations for Artists Helping the Homeless.
Both siblings found planning the many details of these projects challenging. Jade had to research many plants and collaborated with the University of Kansas to make her garden a monarch butterfly migration waystation.
Skylar found himself designing shelving to fit the space, based on ideas he researched online.
Coordinating volunteers and soliciting donations were on both teens’ project agendas.
“It was kind of my first time coordinating such a large-scale project,” Skylar said. “I’ve always done small school projects. Never have I done a project where I had to coordinate with several different people, figure the cost of the project, figure out times and dates. It really opened up my mind to how being a leader should be.”
One major requirement to become an Eagle Scout is that you have to finish all the required ranks, badges and projects before your 18th birthday. The group did allow some leeway for the first group of girls joining who didn’t have enough time before that milestone, but Jade didn’t need it.
So far, 30 female scouts in the metro area have earned the Eagle rank since they became eligible in February.
“At first, I was like, ‘I want to get my Eagle as soon as I can,’ but then they put a name to it, the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. I’m a trailblazer,” Jade said. “This hasn’t been done before for 150 years since Boy Scouts was established. I wanted to be part of something bigger than just another Scout.”
Skylar was already finishing his requirements as Jade started her project, but because the pandemic delayed his ceremony, the two were able to combine their award presentation together.
“It was awesome, because my sister, she’s a really hard worker, and I would see her and her progress,” Skylar said. “It was kind of weird at the same time, because it took me way longer to earn the rank, and she really went through it a lot quicker. She was really was dedicated in earning it as fast as possible within the legal timeframe within each rank.”
Although the two siblings didn’t work together very much in the course of their scouting, having the ceremony together was still unique.
“It was definitely special. You don’t see it very often, a brother and sister. This was definitely one of the first probably,” Jade said. “I found it very meaningful. I watched him grow through Cub Scouts to Webelo Scouts to Boy Scouts.
“I never thought four years ago I would be in the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts and having my court of honor with my brother.”
To accomplish the honor was “pretty awesome,” said Angel Halls, scoutmaster for Troop 792.
“She’s really in a great situation where her brother was so supportive of what she’s doing. They’re very close. It’s a pretty unique situation but one hopefully down the road we’ll see more and more of.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "No sibling rivalry for Overland Park kids. They’re proud to soar as ‘Eagles’ together."