Travel with Jessica

We've been talking to grownup Girl Scouts about their travel experiences lately. Jessica posted a couple weeks ago about why she chose to travel with Girl Scouts as a teen.  This week, we've asked her whether her parents were worried about her being away from home when she went on these trips. We've asked lots of girls this question. The resounding answer: nope- parents were totally cool with sending their Girl Scouts on travel trips. Read more about Jessica's adventure below. 

Hi- Jessica Marks here again. I am a lifetime member of Girl Scouts- starting in first grade as a Brownie, earning my Gold Award as a high school senior, and having served in college as an outreach troop leader and then later on as a trainer. While I enjoyed Brownies, my Girl Scouting experience was forever changed when I switched troops as a junior and was connected with an adventurous group who loved to travel and became my life-long friends.

I'm sure my parents were concerned about me being away from home, especially when I left the country! However, I think my parents realized that Girl Scouts was a space where I could learn how to conduct myself on these experiences. With troop travel, I know they trusted our leader. I'm sure it was much harder for the wider op (Destinations), when they did not know our chaperone, but by the time I went on that, Girl Scouts had been a life-long commitment, and I think their ability to let me go was just as much growth as what I was able to experience by getting to go. (Maybe it helped prepare them for me leaving for college later!) 

My Girl Scout travel experiences were always scaffolded; step outs so that we were not thrown into something we couldn't handle. When I was a Brownie I certainly didn't realize the sleepovers and one night camping trips were preparation for what was to come in Juniors and beyond- but every step was preparation for the next one.   

Help your Girl Scout have travel experiences like Jessica! New trips posted; fly to the GSCTX Travel Page to learn more!