Gold Girl Scout Spotlight: Gwendolyn Cochran

Today's Gold Girl Scout Spotlight is Gwendolyn Cochran, who empowered middle and high school girls in her community to be more engaged in the fields of math and science.  Congratulations on earning your Gold Award, Gwendolyn! 

The Dripping Springs community lacked a strong foundation of young women interested in the sciences. There was an absence of female members of the Robotics Club, the Physics Club, and active member’s math and science UIL events.

I targeted this problem in a two part project, first by implementing the Women in Math and Science clubs at the Dripping Springs High School. And secondly, by organizing and leading a symposium to rally young women together and engender them to be more active in the science communities at the middle and high school levels. With this project I engaged young women in my community to be involved in the math and sciences and give them useful contacts and opportunities to get involved in Dripping Springs. 

My club at the school will continue to engender school age girls to be active in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and expand their horizons.  I created a sustainable and beneficial foundation of girls to be inspired and get involved in expanding female influences at school and around our community. 

While the symposium was a one day event, it created a foundation for the group to begin being noticeably active and emphasized the importance of participating in math and science-based extracurricular events occurring locally. The club will be sustained at the high school level by new members taking over as seniors graduate, our teacher sponsor’s continued support, and the affiliation with the longstanding Inventor’s Club on campus. The community now has, and will continue to have, a larger amount of girls empowered to take action in math and the sciences. 

My advice for younger girls would be to first and foremost pick a topic that you feel passionate about, because you will devote a large majority of time and soul into this project. Secondly, never be afraid to ask for help from volunteers and troop members. Chances are if you are passionate about something, so is someone else who would love to get involved. Lastly, keep your head up! This isn’t a project to get just for the prestige of saying you earned it, it is a chance to inspire change. When you face a great challenge, which you undoubtably will, do not give up. Look for a different perspective, because from a different angle a mountain might seem like a molehill.

Gold Girl Scout Spotlight: Hannah Buffington

Today's Gold Girl Scout Spotlight is Hannah Buffington, who established a letter-writing campaign for elementary school children to send notes to soldiers stateside. Congratulations on earning your Gold Award, Hannah! 

At the beginning of my project, I knew I wanted to pick an issue that I really cared about; and something that was going to make an impact on many people. I chose my project because our soldiers are something that are truly close to my heart, and I personally know many people who have fought for our country. Once I had my issue, I started thinking about ways that I could potentially impact our troops. Which is where my project, Letters to Soldiers, originated. 

Many of our troops overseas receive letters and care packages and reminders that we are very appreciative of their service; but what about our troops back home? What about our troops who have been wounded in service? 

So I decided to address this issue directly by writing letters to these soldiers that would hopefully show them that they are appreciated and cared for. But I did not want to just do this alone. I wanted to tell more people about my project and spread my enthusiasm for it to many others as well. 

So I thought, what better way to impact two groups of people than teaching children about our troops and helping them write the letters. This worked out perfectly. I was able to teach the second grade classes at Blackland Prairie Elementary School how to write a friendly letter, and then to put those skills to work by writing letters to the wounded soldiers at Brook Army Medical Center. 

Working with the second grade students was really such a wonderful experience because I got to talk about something that I cared about and watch a group of children start to learn and want to make a difference also. I hope that in my setting an example of how even a teenager can make a difference, these children will grow up and take issues that they care about and also work to make a difference. It doesn't matter how old you are, or how large or small the issue is. Anyone can make a difference; all that’s needed is the motivation and the will to make a change. 

Gold Girl Scout Spotlight: Priya Ramamoorthy

Today's featured Gold Girl Scout is Priya Ramamoorthy, who created a documentary on Title IX, a part of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and integrated her documentary into the No Place For Hate program at a local middle school. Congratulations on becoming a Gold Girl Scout, Priya!

For my Gold Award project, I created a documentary on Title IX and collaborated with the No Place for Hate Chapter at Grisham Middle School to implement a sustainable activity consisting of the documentary and discussion questions. To create my documentary, I gathered historical information about the federal law, created a script for the documentary, and sought feedback from experts.  I went through multiple rounds of editing for my documentary and had to establish new connections at Grisham, as there was a leadership change for the No Place for Hate chapter. The students that I trained will present my documentary to the entire student body (around 700 students) every year. These students will be in charge of training the next set of students and sustaining the project. 

Since creating my documentary, I along with friends, have been able to expand upon the work done in my Gold Award through appearing on a Nickelodeon News segment on Title IX and through a presentation at the Women’s Empowerment Conference in Austin.

By watching the documentary and reflecting about Title IX, I hope students are empowered to speak up if they encounter gender discrimination in their school. 

Finding True Love at Girl Scout Camp

A DJ on the radio the other day asked listeners to call in and tell of their worst Valentine’s gift ever. As you can imagine, callers chimed in with lots of examples- a map, a fast-food dinner, an unsigned card, or nothing at all. While it was certainly entertaining, that’s not what has stuck with me the past week in regards to Valentine’s Day. What has stuck with me is an encounter I had last week with two Girl Scout alumnae and supporters, Patricia and David Gerling. 

If you’ve never met the Gerling’s, I hope after reading this you feel like you know them. They have an amazing love story that actually started at Girl Scout Camp Texlake. I sat down to interview them and walked away in awe of the tremendous partnership they have and the love that they feel after 35 years of marriage.

In the summer of 1977, Patricia Wolf headed to Camp Texlake for her last summer, working as the Business Manager.  She had attended Texlake for years, as a camper and then as staff.  That same summer, David Gerling headed to Camp Texlake as an Assistant Ranger, prodded by his father to get his first real summer job.

They met moving mattresses and preparing the camp the week before the first campers arrived.

“We can both remember the exact moment we saw each other --it was like, ‘you  know, who is that guy, I’ve never seen him before,’” said Patricia.

 “But that was the minute and later I came to find out that he was working on staff.’

“I remember seeing this girl and going ‘Wow!’, said David. “I didn’t know why I said wow, but I remember the moment, very specifically.”

With the grueling schedules of summer camp staff, they would work for two weeks, then get 24 hours off. All the camp staff spent time together on their days off, and Chip (Patricia's camp name) and David became friends in that group setting.

During their free time, they’d talk about politics, sports, school, family, and animals. “We also talked about our goals in life,” Patricia said, “And we got a sense of…” “…What the other person’s goals in life were;  where they were headed,” David finished for her. Yes, y’all, they are that cute; they finish each other’s sentences. 

 They’d go sailing with other counselors on Lake Travis, or sit and talk on the porch of Starke Lodge together. “We do everything together, and we always have,” Patricia said.

Of course, as they got to know each other over the course of the summer, they had lots of fun camp memories. David described to me how he earned his camp name that summer.

“We were doing a talent show for the campers at the craft house and I had been preparing for it secretly, “he said. “I was going last, so I was either going to be a grand finale, or, if it didn’t go well, I would just sneak off into the night.”

“So the music starts, I throw open the window and jump through it and startle everyone. Then I started singing the Yogi Bear song.   After that moment, everyone said ‘That’s your camp name- Yogi.’”

If you’ve ever been to resident camp, or seen a movie about a resident camp, you know that the campers and counselors are always playing tricks on one another. David shared a memory of pranking the counselors with Sonny, the camp ranger, then realizing that the camp director was pranked, too. Uh oh.

“Sonny set me up to this,” David said. “We thought it would be really funny.  'Central' was located in main camp and was the location of female showers and restrooms for counselors and administrative staff.   The showers were open-air on the top.   So one day,  Sonny said to me, ‘David, it would be really funny once there’s a crowd in there, if you take the water hose and spray the cold water from the well over the top of the shower.’

“So I run out there, grab the hose and squirt it over the top.   And we are just dying laughing.  Then, I hear the voice of the Camp Director Skipper who's in the shower,” David said. “I turn around and Sonny is nowhere to be found.  Of course, Skipper somehow knew it was me.”  

Of course the fun and games of camp couldn’t last forever and summer camp ended.  Patricia finished her last year at St. Edward’s and David headed to Texas A&M in College Station to start his freshman year in the Texas Aggie Band.  They dated long-distance, with Patricia visiting once a month during her senior year.

”We didn’t have the internet, so we wrote letters,” said Patricia. “And we didn’t have cell phones, and it was long distance charges, so we didn’t talk to each other during the week.”

“We couldn’t talk until after a certain time on Saturday,” David added. “We’d set the clock since we could only talk for 20 minutes because it was going to cost $6. And back then, $6 was a lot to pay on a phone call.”

David and Patricia got engaged on Easter in 1979. Patricia graduated from St. Edwards and moved to College Station, where she began working at Texas A&M.  In May of 1980, the two married.

Both of them attribute much of their family success to the influence of each of their parents. They have two children who they raised in College Station, and to whom they instilled those same family values.

Their son, Bradley, now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and works with computer technologies for Bank of America. He earned his Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow.  Their daughter, Kellie, lives in College Station and is a paraprofessional in the high school Special Education Department.  She sold lots of Girl Scout cookies and earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, too.   

Patricia and David Gerling are still very much in love. They still laugh at each other’s jokes, kiss in the middle of stories, and are committed to an equal partnership.

“Marriage is a relationship built on love, trust and support for one another,” David shared. “I have to bring 100% to the game and she does, too. When she was going through her cancer treatment (Patricia is a 12-year breast cancer survivor), I was there for her as her soulmate and as her nurse, and to keep her strong.  By keeping her strong, it kept us strong,” said David. 

Keep them strong it did. In case you haven’t fallen in love with this couple yet, Patricia said this of their relationship:   “We never really looked back, never thought twice.  We really found true love and meaning to life in lots of different ways.  David's my best friend, my soul mate; he's my companion.”

So whether you’ve met your Yogi Bear, your soulmate or you are still looking, we wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day full of laughter and frozen Thin Mints (the Gerling’s favorite version of the Girl Scout Cookie). 

Giving Confidence for the Holidays

A gift can say a lot of things, but what we usually want it to say is "I care." When you have a Girl Scout in your life, you look for every opportunity to give her new experiences that'll let her see how amazing she is and all the potential she has. We can't say enough about how camp is the the best embodiment of Girl Scouting. But don't let us do all the talking! Here is a post written by our Camp Texlake counselor, PJ, about why giving a Girl Scout camp for Christmas (or Hannukah, or Kwanzaa or just because!) is the gift the keeps on giving.

________________________________________________________________________

I’m really excited that our summer camp guide debuted Tuesday, December 9 so that you have the chance to actually start planning what’s coming up this summer, just in time for the holidays! I know what you may be thinking, “Who in the world wants to talk summer camp around the holidays?” Well, I’d like to invite you to think about Giving the Gift of camp this holiday season to a young lady in your life. Here are just a few reasons why:

• Recent studies show that the satisfaction of having a fun experience far longer, especially with children, than the instant gratification of getting stuff.

• Less clutter in your house (hey, whatever keeps the house clean!)

• Physical health benefits – The most obvious is getting exercise, but did you know the large amount of time spent outdoors at camp raises levels of Vitamin D, helping protect children from future bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues? Kids spending time outside has even shown, in clinical research, to help improve distance vision and lowers the chance of nearsightedness!

• Mental health benefits- Learning leadership skills, building confidence and discovering independence are just the tip of the ice berg for what girls learn at Girl Scout Camp. Camp experiences help kids learn life skills and even become more resilient to life pressures and stress 

This post would be days long if I listed all of the benefits camp has to offer, so I suggest you check out my favorite list for yourself. 

Now I know getting a piece of paper isn’t as much fun for kids to unwrap, so I polled a few Girl Scouts and here are some suggestions from actual Texlake campers for getting camp as a gift this year:

• Give a stuffed toy along with a homemade gift certificate for camp. If your girl picks a horse camp, for example, give her a stuffed horse. Bonus, she can take the stuffed animal to camp when summer comes!

• Let your camper choose the camp. One girl I spoke with wanted to get a “gift card, a camp [guide] and how much money I can spend” so she could pick her own camp!

• Give a journal (for older girls) with some fun pens. One camper told me “I want to write down all the things I want to do at camp and check off the list.” 

• Give a camera along with the camp registration so she can start thinking about capturing memories. Disposable cameras don’t cost too much and digital cameras from almost any budget are available for girls who are ready for those kinds of electronics. 

What holiday gift suggestions do you have for giving the gift of camp confidence this holiday season?