A Girl Scout's Perspective on Planning for the Teen Conference

Hey ladies and gents! I’m Annie and currently, I am both a senior in high school and a Girl Scout Ambassador. I’ve been with Girl Scouts since kindergarten (13 years!!) and being a part of this girl leadership organization has enabled me to have so many cool opportunities over the years. In 2008, I represented Texas at the National Girl Scout Leadership Convention in Indianapolis and got to meet girls from all over the world. I also went on a Girl Scout Destination trip that year to Costa Rica where I learned how to surf! Recently, I completed my Gold Award project and I have been interning with the GSCTX offices this past semester. But enough about me! Let me tell you about an exciting project that I and several other girls are a part of and have been working on for the past couple of weeks. We are currently planning the 2011 Teen Conference, which is open to ALL Texas high school girls and will take place Feb. 19, 2011 on the UT Austin campus. This conference is sure to be amazing with lots of great speakers and workshops focused on helping you plan for both college and career. I am thrilled that I get a chance to help create something that will benefit both myself and lots of other teen girls!

Yesterday, we visited the UT Alumni Center to scope out the location and figure out what to do with all the space. It’s a very nice place with plenty of room for all the attendees. I can’t wait for you to see it. I also just finished up the logo for the event and I would love to share it with you as well. With the guidance of the brilliant Girl Scout Visual Communications Coordinator, Larisa Chavarria, I was able to create this logo without any previous knowledge of graphic design!

I’ll be blogging with you periodically with updates on the conference, workshops, speakers, musical acts and free giveaways! If you are a Girl Scout Cadette, Senior or Ambassador interested in helping, we would love to have you! You can contact one of our adult coordinators, Avery Orendorf, here to find out more information on joining. I hope to see you at the conference!

-Annie L.

GSUSA Board Member & Central Texas Girl Scouts Star in Magazine Photoshoot

Yesterday, Siempre Mujer Magazine took photos of several Central Texas Girl Scouts with GSUSA National Board Member Sylvia Acevedo. The photos will be featured in an article about Sylvia's philanthropy work with Girl Scouts and other causes. A Girl Scout in her youth, Sylvia recounts on her experiences with the organization:

"At my very first Girl Scout meeting, I saw that the Brownies were pledging allegiance to America, preparing for a day camp (fun!) and were practicing safety skills. After that first meeting, I raced home to share with my mother that Brownies do fun things, they help you plan, be good citizens and they take care of you… Even though she spoke little English, my mother, encouraged by my troop leaders, began to volunteer. As I was earning badges, my mother’s new friends, the troop leaders, helped her learn English and to pass the citizenship test to become a US citizen. Through Girl Scouts, my mother and I gained an entire new world of opportunities that added to our Latina heritage and strengthened our entire family."

-Sylvia Acevedo

To view more pictures of the photoshoot, please visit the GSCTX Flickr account.