Angelina “Angel” Sims was the first young woman in the Cradle of Liberty Council to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
That achievement made her a Scouting celebrity before she enrolled at Neumann in 2021, and she has continued her commitment to Scouting America for the last three years.
Sims joined the Scouts in 2019, the first year that women were accepted into the organization that was then known as Scouts BSA (and previously as the Boy Scouts). She was also part of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts, a group of nearly 1,000 women nationwide who collectively earned more than 30,000 merit badges and provided an estimated 130,000 hours of community service.
In the Cradle of Liberty Council, however, the branch of Scouting America for young women and men in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware Counties, she was the very first female Eagle Scout.
Scouting activities are designed to foster learning, team building, resilience, and personal responsibility. The journey to the organization’s highest honor is not an easy road.
To achieve Eagle Scout rank, Sims had to earn 21 merit badges (including first aid, cooking, personal fitness, emergency preparedness, camping, and four in citizenship), plan and execute a community service project, successfully complete a board of review of her participation, and more.
“I enjoyed everything I did because I was really passionate about it,” says Sims, a 22-year-old from Collingdale. “I love camping and being outside in nature. It’s really calming. And I really enjoyed working with other people.”
Her one regret is that her father, who fully supported her Scouting experience, passed away four months before her Eagle Scout induction ceremony in May of 2021.
She became interested in Neumann during a College Possible tour, when someone in admissions promised that people on campus remember student names.
“When I returned for another visit, three faculty members remembered my name, and I thought ‘They’re serious about this.’ It’s the best choice I made.”
The social work major she chose is also a perfect match for the values she developed in Scouting.
“I love to work with kids and help them grow through challenges into something bigger and greater,” she explains. “In Scouting, you do that a lot.”
For more details, watch Angelina’s video.