Alumnae Story
I Want to Be One of Them

By Carol L. Smith
Suncoast Council, Dunedin, Fla.

I've been a Girl Scout for as long as I can remember. Before I could go to school, when the Girl Scouts sold cookies to my mom at my front door, I told her, "I want to be one of them." When I was in second grade, we had just moved and I went to a new school. I pestered my mom to find me a troop (you couldn't be a Brownie until second grade then) so I could join. I've never looked back or regretted one moment.

As a Brownie, I sang the "Brownie Smile Song" and made crafts and visited nursing homes. As a Junior, I went camping, earned badges, made more crafts and learned more songs. As a Cadette, I earned the First Class Award, had my mom as my leader, helped younger girls, did more camping, learned even more songs and tackled puberty with a strong group of girls and women around me. As a Senior I earned the Silver and Gold Awards, went on a Wider Opportunity, still went camping, sang lots of silly songs and made a ton of great friends. When I was a freshman in college, I went on an International Wider Opportunity to Egypt. The songs and crafts were different, but the camping was the same and the friendships global.

Now I'm a leader for my daughter's Junior troop. She wonders how I know all the songs she learns at camp. The girls in my troop are learning to camp, make crafts and earn badges. The cycle continues.

Girl Scouts let me be a strong girl who was encouraged to explore whatever interested me. As a result I have an MBA from MIT and am a manager at a $14 billion financial services company. My Girl Scout friends are special to me. They are Silver and Gold.