When did you join Girl Scouts and how long have you been doing it? 

I started off in kindergarten. I was about five years old, and my mom took over as a troop leader. She didn’t really expect to be doing it this long. She thought it would just be a phase, but I stuck with it. There are five girls in our troop, four original members, and we have a lot of fun. I’ve been doing this for almost 12 years.

We are Troop 1887 from Girl Scouts of Central Indiana. 

What type of activities do you engage with through the Girl Scout community?

Obviously, we’re big on community service. When we were younger, we would do more specific badge work, like a first aid badge or a water conservation badge, little things like that. I think the older we get, the more broad our assignments become.

I am in the middle of working on my Gold Award, which is the highest community service project that a Girl Scout can complete. It consists of over 100 hours of community service work, and it’s a sustainable project.

I’ve already completed my Silver and Bronze Awards. For my Bronze Award, I did it during COVID. A couple of other girls and I chalked a bunch of fifth graders’ houses because they were graduating elementary school and never got a proper goodbye. We chalked their houses with messages like “Congratulations on graduating elementary school,” and that was our project. That was 25 hours of work.

For my Silver Award, I did a period product drive for the Pantry Pack system at the middle school and also the high school. We did registries and donations through Target and Walmart and raised over 1,000 products for girls who can’t afford those things.

I’m working on my Gold Award right now and still trying to decide what that will be. I’m really excited. I’m hoping to finish that by this summer to focus on senior year.

Can you tell me more about the badge camps you run?

Last summer our troop decided to start our own badge camp. We are taking a senior trip next year, and we wanted to fundraise some money because (it’s) expensive. We’re going on a cruise together as our last big thing.

One of my troop members, Ruby Islandberg, had this great idea of running “badge camps.”

Each of us picks a badge. Last year my badge was music. We take Brownies, Daisies and Juniors, which are the three youngest groups, from kindergarten to fifth grade.  Each of us picks a badge and teaches it. We walk through all the steps to get the badge throughout the whole week, and at the end of the week those girls walk away with five or six badges.

It’s a week long, and we have a ton of fun. I think it’s my favorite week of the year. 

How many girls participate in these badge camps?

About 10 in each age range: Daisy, Brownie, and Junior. So, around 30 to 40 girls, but we split them up into stations. One of us will be

doing badge work for one badge, and they rotate around.  It’s not a full day. Last year, I want to say we did from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., something like that. Parents drop them off and then pick them back up.

What does the planning of these badge camps look like? 

It’s a lot more intricate than you think it would be. Registration in specific is pretty difficult. Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) pays for Cheddar Up, which is a registration website, and we’re able to create a camp registration through there. That took a lot of setting up: price range, dates and times, and if the girls have special needs or allergies.

In specific, whatever badges I choose to work on throughout the week, I have to make a plan for how we’re going to achieve that in a week. We do trial runs at our meetings. One night we’ll do Maren’s badge, the next night we’ll do Rivee’s badge, and we kind of role-play like we’re the kids. Whoever’s turn it is leads the badge for that night so we can test it and know what kinks we need to work out.

Materials are also a big thing. If we don’t have enough materials or the right materials, that can be an issue. One of my troop members did a STEM badge last year, so it was a lot of hands-on creating, and some of the materials were not what she needed. We have a budget for that stuff too.

It’s a lot of intricate planning, most of it through our weekly meetings. We’ve already started the process of registration, and I think our Brownie and Daisy registration is already full, which is great for us. We’re working on getting the Junior registration up. We’re pretty much already set up for this year, and we just have to nitpick our badges at this point.

Volunteering is also a big thing. The five of us can’t do all of that on our own. We have my mom, who’s a troop leader, and we put out a sign-up sheet for volunteers. Whoever wants to come and help take pictures with their professional camera or if any other Girl Scouts in the area that want to help out are welcome.

What is the biggest obstacle you’ve faced while being a Girl Scout? 

That’s a tough one. I would say my Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. Obviously, those three are very important, and if I want to present them to the national board and apply for scholarships next year, those three are extremely important.

I’m in competitive show choir, and I played high school golf my freshman and sophomore year. I was trying to complete my Silver Award around the same time, and budgeting my time was extremely difficult. 

Budgeting my time was difficult, but it’s something that has changed me. I think I’m more able to multitask and budget time correctly now. It was a lesson learned.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Junior Maren Sander takes a picture with girl scouts members at their badge camp.

What has been your favorite Girl Scout memory? 

Those five girls are my best friends. We spend so much time together, and we do so much together. I feel like the Girl Scout community is so fun. At this point, I get made fun of for being in Girl Scouts as a 16-year-old because it’s not a super popular activity.

I feel like me and these girls have stuck together for so long that I can lean on them for anything.

Who’s been supporting you throughout your Girl Scout journey?

My mom. I kind of mentioned this earlier, but she signed up for the job as troop leader to help me out in kindergarten when I thought this would be a little hobby of mine. 12 years later, here we are, and she’s still doing it.

She’s always been my best friend inside and outside of Girl Scouts. She’s awesome. She loves each of those girls like they’re her own because we spend so much time together. We travel a ton too.

Do you have any Girl Scouts you look up to as inspiration?

I think just the other girls in my troop. They stick it out like I do.

I do think that sometimes, like I mentioned, as a high schooler, Girl Scouts is not the most popular thing to be doing. But I don’t think any of us are ashamed of it. It’s an awesome opportunity. It’s an awesome franchise.

What do you think has been your most impactful experience through Girl Scouts?

In 2021, we took a big trip down south to Savannah, Ga., which was the birthplace of our founder, Juliette Gordon Low. That was our first big travel experience with that troop.

It was amazing. We were able to tour the Girl Scouts headquarters down there, and it was really fun. We learned a ton about our history as Scouts, and I think that was so interesting to me.

Do you have any advice for younger students who want to be a Girl Scout?

Do it. Do the thing and get involved. I think a lot of people think it’s just Girl Scout cookies, but it’s so much deeper than that.

I’ve made lifelong best friends. I’ve experienced lifelong memories and experiences, and I’ve learned things that I will use for the rest of my life. I think that’s something you don’t get anywhere else, that combination. Not a lot of other organizations offer that.

If I’ve been doing it for 12 years, it’s probably a sign that other girls would find it interesting and have fun.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I think that as young women who are the future of this world, using your voice is important. Even if Girl Scouting isn’t your thing, exemplify what Girl Scouts represent in STEM, in hospitality, or whatever you go into.

This sounds cliché, but you can do anything that you put your mind to. At this age, especially with everyone deciding what they want to do with their life and where they want to go to school, it’s important to believe that.

I am so passionate about Girl Scouting, but I’m also passionate about music. I get so many opportunities in Girl Scouting to use my musical abilities, and I think every day that’s a reminder that I can do that for a living. I can do that outside of high school and be successful in it.

I’d say do it. Put your mind to it and do it, and use your voice in the process.