The Eagle Scout program, as well as Rye’s local scouting group, have both been around for over 100 years. And now – finally – the City of Rye has its first female Eagle Scout in history.
On Saturday afternoon, May 30th, 2026, at Rye Recreation, Scouts old and young from across Westchester County came together to participate in Amelie M. Coghlan’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Coghlan, Rye High School ’25, is studying English and sociology at Trinity College Dublin. She is a staff writer at MyRye.com.
“What a joy to be here today, and to hear you speak, and I just want to say, how, as an elected official who’s a woman, hearing your emotion was so great, and nothing you should hide from, it showed how much it mattered to you…,” said State Senator Shelley Mayer, who was joined by other elected officials Westchester County Legislator Anant Nambiar and Rye Mayor Josh Nathan.
You persevered to be an Eagle Scout as a girl and a young woman in this wonderful troop that gives so much opportunity, and it’s absolutely joy to see, and to see your character. I hope you continue to use that to serve a bigger community.”
“Scouting has been one of the most impactful things I’ve ever done, and I hope that I get to continue carrying the value, skills, and community, it has given me forward as I navigate the next step of my scouting career,” Coghlan told the 80 or so attendees.
Coghlan earned her Eagle Scout as part of Troop 420 in Portchester. She rose to Eagle in just a few years after joining the troop in February 2022, a feat accomplished by less than 7% of those that enter scouting. Coghlan earned 27 merit badges, completed a Philmont Expedition, camped 32 nights, completed 150 community service hours, and held various troop leadership roles during her time in scouting.
Her Eagle Scout project was building an outdoor library and classroom at the Rye Nature Center. She led a group of volunteers that installed two classroom benches and built a take-one-leave-one library box that includes a drawer for a seed library.
Watch the ceremony:
Note: an earlier version of this article noted that the Girl Scouts were not active in Rye. That is incorrect. Girl Scouts of Rye have nearly 200 registered Girl Scouts in Rye, including 16 different troops ranging from Kindergarten to 8th grade.
