This week’s Eagle Scout Spotlight is with Ingagurual Female Eagle Scout Alexia Tzortzis. Alexia earned her Eagle with Troop 402 of Lafayette, Calif., and is a student at Campolindo High School. She is a self-proclaimed plant nerd and comes from a large family of Scouters, including an Eagle Scout father, brother, and uncles, along with future Eagle Scout sisters.
Becoming an Eagle Scout for me meant that I was able to follow a tradition in my family, as well as start a new one with my sisters.
Alexia Tzortzis
Are there other Scouting or Non-Scouting awards or recognitions you would like to mention?
I was nominated for order of the arrow, and I am hoping to complete that soon.
Tell us a little bit about you…
Where do you reside? Lafayette, Calif.
Where do/did you attend school or plan to attend? Campolindo High School
Are you still active in Scouts? Yes
Are other members of your family involved in scouting, are any of them Eagle Scouts? Yes, my family is very involved in scouting. Both my younger sisters (Amaia and Alina Tzortzis) are in Troop 402, and my mother (Heather Tzortzis) is the Scoutmaster. My brother (Tristan Tzortzis) is also an eagle scout, as is my father (Chris Tzortzis), and both my uncles (Michael and Andreas Tzortzis).
When and where do you earn your Eagle Scout?
How old were you? I was 18
What unit, city, council did you earn your Eagle in? Troop 402, Lafayette, Golden Gate Area Council
What did you do for your Eagle Project?
I built and installed 16 Native bee homes in my local community center and recreational park, to help restore and repopulate the native bee population in our area.
Did you have a favorite merit badge(s)? Did any merit badges(s) lead to a hobby or profession?
I am a huge plant nerd, always have been, so the plant science and environmental science merit badge were really fun to do.
What does being an Eagle Scout mean to you? What does it mean to be a part of the Inaugural class of Female Eagle Scouts?
Becoming an Eagle Scout for me meant that I was able to follow a tradition in my family, as well as start a new one with my sisters. I was able to be apart of a huge change in our society, and become a role model for the other girls in my troop and in my area.
What is the greatest personal asset you developed while earning your Eagle Scout or from being an Eagle in the greater community? How has this asset contributed towards personal fulfillment and success in your professional or personal life?
The leadership skills and qualities I have gained from my time as a scout has been immensely helpful. The responsibility and level-headedness I have attained from being a leader in my troop and community has led to an improvement in the way I handle any situation thrown at me.
Do you have any advice for your fellow Eagles, or for those working towards becoming an Eagle? Or is there common advice that you think should be ignored?
Don’t listen to anyone telling you you can’t. You absolutely can. I joined scouts in february 2019, when I was already 16. I finished all the requirements for eagle scout and my project in December of 2020. Within that short amount of time, I was able to accomplish something that countless people told me I would never be able to. And, I had an amazing time doing it. Don’t listen to the people who tell you it will be too hard, or that you can’t do it. You can.
Eagle Fact
On February 1, 2019, females were allowed to join Scouts BSA and begin their trail to Eagle.
If you could add a thirteenth point to the scout law, what would it be?
Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Hardworking. To be an eagle scout and a scout in general, you need to be hardworking along with everything else. Scouting is incredibly fun and adventurous, but it definitely has some tough moments as well.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers?
Something about your experience becoming or since becoming a scout or Eagle Scout?
Inspiration for non, future, and/or current Eagle Scouts?
