Breckenridge Texan

By Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan

When it came time for Breckenridge eighth grader Maggie Wunsch to pick an Eagle Scout project to work on, she saw a need at her school and went to work to fix the problem. She planned out the project and raised the money to purchase and install two new tables for the outside dining area at Breckenridge High School/Junior High School. In completing the project, she will become the first girl in Breckenridge to become an Eagle Scout.

Maggie Wunsch, center, speaks to the audience at the Feb. 12 Breckenridge Independent School District board meeting, while school board members Paul Lippe, left, and Roy Russell, right, follow her presentation on the big screen/tablets. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Maggie is a member of the all-girl Scout Troop 72 in Breckenridge, which is a part of the Scouts BSA program in the Boy Scouts of America organization. Scouts BSA is the program for youth ages 11 to 17, and since 2019, it has offered troops for both boys and girls. Maggie’s older brother, Matthew Wunsch, is also in Scouts BSA and recently completed his Eagle Scout project.

According to the Boy Scout website, www.scouting.org, “service to other people is what Scouting is all about.” Scouts’ Eagle projects should reflect who they are as youth leaders and should be of significant impact in their communities; it should also represent the Scout’s best effort.

While eating lunch at school, Maggie saw that a lot of her friends and other students who choose to eat lunch outside in the courtyard had to sit on the ground because there were not enough tables for everyone. Additionally, the students need to stay in the teachers’ line of sight, so that limits where they can sit, she said.

“I thought we can put tables outside; that way kids can sit outside and yet still not get eaten by the ants and be in the teachers’ view,” Maggie said.

When she talked to her friends and teachers about the idea, they thought it was a good idea. So Maggie decided to make it her Eagle Scout project.

Once she decided that was her project, Maggie had to plan out the details of the project and then give a presentation at the BISD Board of Trustees meeting in February to get the project approved by the school board. Once the board signed off on it, she went to work doing the fundraising for the project, which took the most time.

Scouts BSA Troop 72 members Maggie Wunsch, left, and Aurora Dawson put together one of the tables that Maggie purchased for the BHS/BJHS courtyard. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

When it came time to make the presentation to the school board, she was a little nervous. “At first, I was a little nervous. But when I looked in the back of the room, I saw my dad smiling at me; I started speaking about it,” Maggie said.

Once she had raised around $1,800, she and her father purchased two unassembled tables from Grainger supply company and took them to the courtyard at the school. With the help of other Scouts and adult leaders in her troop, Maggie assembled the tables and placed them in the courtyard. The two tables will seat up to 12 students.

The $1,800 from initial fundraising paid for the tables, but that didn’t include the cost of gas and the trailer she had to rent to take the tables to the school. Maggie said she is still doing fundraising to cover those costs.

While working on her Eagle Scout project, Maggie has learned a lot about how to plan and manage a project, skills she said she can use in the future.

“I learned how to write thank you letters to the people who sent me money. And, I learned how to budget my money for a certain goal,” she said. “And I’ve never done this kind of huge project before. So I feel like in future projects I can … use my skills (from) how we spent our time on this (project).”

Maggie Wunsch, left, and fellow Scout Aurora Dawson move one of the tables into place in the school courtyard. The tables are part of Maggie’s Eagle Scout project. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

If there’s no room at any of the tables during her lunch period, Maggie said she still intends to sit on the ground and eat her lunch because the reason she did the project was so that other kids could sit at the tables.

Maggie initially joined Cub Scouts, and then when she turned 11, she graduated from Cub Scouts to the Scouts BSA program. And currently she holds the rank of Life Scout. Along the way, she earned 48 merit badges and served as an assistant patrol leader and a senior patrol leader.

When Maggie earns her Eagle Scout badge, she will be the first girl in Breckenridge to earn the badge, an accomplishment she’s really excited about. “I feel like I can be the future role model for future Scouts,” she said.

Maggie’s dad, Matt Wunsch, who is the Scoutmaster of Maggie’s all-girl Scouts BSA Troop 72 in Breckenridge, said he is extremely proud of her. “It’s a wonderful thing…and I’m really proud of her for doing this…showing them that there is something new and exciting that they can achieve through Scouting. And, yeah, she’s a wonderful role model for that,” he said.

“It has been wonderful to see her move up the ranks and to just keep going to all the merit badges and just to be at camp and have a fun time with it,” he continued. “And from what I can see from her, and I think her friends would even say this, that she is one of the best people to draw other people into this program. She recruits from example and just from making friends with other people, and she really kind of encourages people to come in together and to get to know her and get to know her troop.”

Maggie has been instrumental in building the girls troop, her dad said. “…most of them are there because they know her in some way, shape, or form,” he said. “And they see a difference in her life and how she treats others and friendliness and compassion. And they want to know what that’s about. And then they come in and check it out. My daughter has proven to be an exemplary leader, drawing others into the program through her example and genuine friendships.”

Maggie Wunsch and her dad, Matt Wunsch, who is also the Scoutmaster of Maggie’s all-girl Scout Troop 72 in Breckenridge, have been involved in scouts together since Maggie was a Cub Scout. He is very proud of all that his daughter has accomplished. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Maggie Wunsch, a member of Breckenridge’s all-girl Scouts BSA Troop 72, installed two tables in the courtyard at Breckenridge High School so that the high school and junior high students will have additional places to eat lunch outside. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)