Fueled by passion, leadership and determination, Ellie Hasegawa made her mark in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Program – becoming the second Scout in her troop to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Hasegawa earns the distinguished rank after becoming a founding member of the BSA Troop 7371 in Clarksville, Maryland where she has served in a leadership role for the past four years. Earning over 21 merit badges through the BSA, Hasegawa tapped into her passion for the sport of softball – as well as her experience on the field – en route to achieving the prestigious rank.
In addition to Hasegawa’s involvement in the BSA, she is also a two-year captain of her high school softball team at River Hill High School. Her passion and dedication to the sport of softball began when she was nine years old and eventually led to her being selected as a 12-Under USA Softball All-American, where she played under head coach Jill Callaway and represented Region 2 in the highly touted All-American Games hosted at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Little did Hasegawa know, her knowledge and love for the game would play such a huge part in accomplishing her Eagle Scout ranking.
En route to becoming an Eagle Scout, Hasegawa was to create, manage and successfully complete an Eagle Service Project. For her project, she chose to design and build a safer pitching lane for softball pitchers to use for warm up at Reservoir High School – A local school in her county. Her idea was sparked when thinking back on something she noticed as an eighth grader – Pitchers warmed up during games directly behind the backstop. In planning her project, Hasegawa coordinated with both the softball coach at the high school and Howard County for review and approval of the design while completing nearly 200 hours of preparations and build time to successfully complete the project in February of 2023 – Just in time for spring softball season.
Hasegawa’s project extends further than her Eagle Scout achievement, allowing pitchers of Reservoir High School a safe and well-maintained area to effectively warm up prior to their time in the circle. In addition to her contributions to the sport in Howard County, she also stays active in her community by supporting numerous community service projects with Scouts BSA. She continues to shine on the field – as well as off the field – as she looks to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall as a softball student-athlete majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
Whether it’s earning a rare and highly-touted rank as an Eagle Scout, contributing to the sport of softball and her local community or excelling in the game on the field – Hasegawa’s determination and courage shines bright, not only as an Eagle Scout or as an athlete, but also as an individual.