By Jordan Bickham
Staff Writer

Although Jena Seidemann is only a freshman, she already has high aspirations, including getting her Girl Scouts’ Gold Award.  Not only will she have gotten this esteemed award for all of her hard work and dedication, but many other things that she has gained from the program over the years.

“A lot of my best friends I got from Girl Scouts, so I have gotten relationships,” Seidemann said.  “And I have gotten experiences and fun memories.”

Girl Scouts is a great way for girls to connect and make friends, get involved in community service and learn leadership skills that can help them throughout their life.

A Girl Scout since the first grade, senior Alycia Ovalle is still in involved in it today.

“I wanted to [join Girl Scouts] at first just because a lot of the girls in my grade were in it and side it was a lot of fun.  But as I got older, I did not want to do it anymore,” Ovalle said.  “When I had gotten into high school, I had already gotten my silver and gold award.  My mom was like, ‘you cannot stop now; you are almost there.'”

Although she has stuck with it for 11 years, most of her friends have dropped out as they transitioned into high school and got involved in other activities.

“I went to a Catholic school, so there was a bunch of us.  But in my troop now, there are only two other girls that are in my grade,” Ovalle said.  “My friends have branched out, one lives in Farmers Branch, one lives in Carrolton, and I live in Coppell.”

But Ovalle is not the only Girl Scout at CHS. Seidemann is also an avid, passionate and very active Girl Scout who has been involved since first grade.  She is still involved in it today, especially with college applications approaching in a few years.

“The thing that keeps me in Girl Scouts is that I have a lot of good friends in there who are really nice, and I do not get to see them that often since the school is so big. So this is a way that I can see them,” Seidemann said.  “And I am not going to lie, but for college applications, if you get the Gold Award, it is going to set you apart from people. So that is another reason why I do it.”

Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low founded the program 100 years ago in 1912.  She assembled a group of 18 girls from Savannah, Ga., to form the first Girl Scout troop. Now, there are 3.2 million girl and adults in the country involved in girl scouts.

“The goal behind Girl Scouts is to produce well-rounded girls,” junior Girl Scout Maddie Migis said.  “Now it is to produce girls who can go out into the world and be successful and be good people.”

Migis, a “Girl Scout for life,” earned her Gold Award last year with junior Michelle Pitcher by helping a charity called Project H.E.L.P. through a canned food drive and fundraising to buy a computer.

Junior Sarah Bauer, who is hoping to get her gold award this summer, is using her passion for singing and dancing to create a show choir camp for children this summer along with a food drive.

“It is going to be kind of like the Vivacé! summer camp with my own kind of twist, and it is going to be a positive and uplifting experience for the kids,” Bauer said.  “It is kind of like three projects. I am helping with kids and their self confidence, helping with the canned food drive and I am also hoping to teach adults to lead.”

Not only are their achievements impressive, but also what they learn through the duration of their time in girl scouts helps them in their lives.

“For one thing [Girl Scouts helps with] college applications,” Ovalle said. “I have had one ask if I am working on my Gold Award or if I have made it, so I get to put that down and it is a pretty big deal. And then I have grown as a leader because it helps young girls become good, strong leaders and stand to their morals and what they believe in.”

The Gold Award is the equivalent a Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout award, but with so few Girl Scouts obtaining this award, it is a rarity that can make one stand out.

“It is very time consuming, so that is hard, but once I get my Gold Award, I can say I am a Girl Scout for life,” Ovalle said. “It is harder for girls to continue with it, you do not hear that very often, unlike boy scouts where a lot of boys get their eagle scout. It is just not as common for girls.”

The girls that continue are inspiration for the younger Girl Scouts and are great role models for them.

“I feel like, as an older Girl Scout, I help the younger girl scouts more because there is a lot of mentoring that goes on,” Migis said.

The younger Girl Scouts really look up to those who continue since its a huge commitment that takes a passion to help others and a love of the program.

“I had a girl who rang my doorbell and asked if I wanted to buy Girl Scout cookies, and I got to say that I’m still a Girl Scout,” Ovalle said. “So you also are encouraging younger girl scouts that you can grow up and you can still be a girl scout in high school.”

While the number of Girl Scouts at the high school is not that large, Girl Scouts is still an incredible program that has grown considerably since it’s beginning in 1912 with only 18 girls.  Now with millions of girls around the US, the program has impacted the nation, teaching girls leadership qualities that help them in whatever they do and creating relationship that can last a lifetime.