LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Troop 402 honors two new Eagle Scouts


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Scouts BSA Troop 402 of Lafayette and Moraga recently announced that two young women earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Helen O'Neil and Molly Strohmeyer will be the sixth and seventh female Eagle Scouts to receive the award from Troop 402, formed upon the inclusion of girls into the Scouts BSA in 2019.

Troop 402, one of the largest all-girl troops in the country, celebrated these scouts at an Eagle Court of Honor held on May 10 where Scoutmaster Heather Tzortzis presented the awards for the highest rank in scouting, earned by less than 2% of all members.

As a graduating Senior at Acalanes High School, O'Neil led the troop as Senior Patrol Leader during the lockdown days of COVID designing online meetings to keep isolated scouts engaged and part of a community. Her Eagle service project raised funds and art supplies for the nonprofit Voices of Children, an organization focused on children's mental health in war-torn Ukraine. O'Neil will attend UC San Diego this fall to study global health.

Strohmeyer, a graduating senior at Campolindo High School, led the troop as Senior Patrol Leader in 2021-22, working with adult leadership to bring scouting's outdoor activities back to life with high demand. Strohmeyer's Eagle Service Project produced a sustainable plant identification signage project at the Rheem School Garden in Moraga. Strohmeyer will attend the University of Wisconsin in the fall, studying anthropology.