Alumnae Story
Great Memories and a Husband, Too

By Cassandra Jeffries

After graduating high school but before entering college, I was looking forward to being a camp counselor at my council's resident camp. I had done just about everything when I was a girl: I got my Gold Award, Silver Award, was a C.I.T and L.I.T. Almost every summer, I would spend at least one week at camp meeting new friends and catching up with old ones.

The only problem: I didn't turn 18 until August and my council would not hire me until I was 18. At first, I was really disappointed and was going to do something else for the summer. But, by chance, I started looking at a message board forum on AOL. I saw that a Girl Scout camp in western North Carolina was looking for staff. Once I had found out where the camp was, I asked my parents if they thought 10 hours away was too far for me to work for the summer, as I lived in Pennsylvania. Luckily they did not, so I drove myself down and went to the camp.

At first, I was nervous being that far away even though I was used to going to camp not knowing anyone. To make matters worse, I had to miss most of pre-camp—when the camp staff goes through training and "bonds"—to attend my high-school graduation. Because of this, I had not really gotten to know many members of the camp staff. One person I seemed to bond instantly with was girl who was working as a dishwasher. We became fast friends and soon became inseparable.

Most camps have few men, and this camp was no exception. The only three men were the camp ranger and his two sons, who worked in the kitchen. Like most teenagers, I became attracted to the older son. Soon, I was conversing with my friend that I would like to know more about him. Suffice it to say, his mom (who was the business manager), dad, and brother helped convince him to go out one night with me, my friend, and his brother.

By mid-summer, we were dating. We continued to date through me going to college and would continue to work each summer with each other at camp. We recently celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary (we have been together nine years).

At the last convention in Atlanta, I was attending with my mom, grandmother, and mother-in-law (who is now on staff at a North Carolina council).

Besides great memories, Girl Scouts gave me the most unexpected gift: a wonderful, caring, and supportive husband.