Taking a ten-day canoeing trip in Quetico, Canada with her Girl Scout troop was a life-changing trip for junior Caroline Yeh. “It was the first full camping experience I ever had, and it was with a bunch of people from around the country I never met before,” she says.
Yeh’s trip is one of the many activities that the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America hosts for teenagers. While scouting is a popular activity among middle school students, fewer high school students participate. The students who stay in their scouting troops often have experiences, similar to Caroline’s, that change their lives.
Being a high school scout allows students to become more independent within their troop. “In the beginning, you are taught to follow others and learn from the adult leader. As you get older into the teen years the leadership gets passed back to the scouts, so it gives us more freedom to coordinate what we want to do,” says sophomore and Boy Scout Jonathan Li.
But scouting also makes students more independent. Explains junior and Girl Scout Elaine Mangini, “You learn real-life skills like camping, how to be social, and finance.”
Every individual’s scouting experience is different. “For me, Girl Scouts is all about female empowerment. Especially now going through many years of the program, I’ve met so many incredible people and all-around amazing women,” Yeh says.
On the other hand, Mangini’s experience was focused on her community. As a Borel Middle School student, she created a student-run Box Tops for Education program that helped raise money for school events.
Li’s takeaway comes from the survival skills scouting teaches. “I like to camp with friends. It’s a great experience to be away from your modern-day amenities and parents and just take care of yourself. Being independent and making food is a lost skill with the luxury of homeware appliances, and having to take the extra time and effort to do things is what makes camping fun,” he says. Li’s troop taught him how to tie knots, start fires, cut wood properly, and pitch tents, as part of their survival training.
Many Boy Scouts like Li strive to achieve Eagle Scout status — the highest rank of Boy Scouts. “Being an Eagle Scout is an accomplishment that I looked forward to since day one. The award symbolizes the entire Boy Scout process and the personal growth and maturity that has been attained,” he says.
But scouts’ unique experiences often become overshadowed by the public view of scouting organizations. Yeh takes issue with cookies being the face of Girl Scouts. “Girl Scouts in general should be more associated with powerful women than … with Girl Scout cookies. I know that cookies are important [for] teaching money management and earning money for other projects and charities, but it is at the expense that the public exclusively labels Girl Scouts to be a cookie service,” she opines.
Mangini agrees with Yeh. “Cookies are the stupidest part of Girl Scouts, and I personally hate them because it’s [a part of] what Girl Scouts do, but not only what they do. The two months out of the year where we sell cookies are what people think Girl Scouts are when we are more than that,” she says.
Another negative aspect of scouting comes from organizational flaws. “Boy Scouts has taught me many lifelong skills, but sometimes it can be a bad organization. Especially when you are younger, it functions really slowly and there are too many people. It can be disempowering at times and can feel like a chore you have to do,” Li explains.
Despite its flaws, most students benefit from scouting. Yeh reflects, “I’m actually very proud to be [a Girl Scout]. I’ve put in hundreds of community service hours through this program, learned useful life skills, and been presented with some amazing opportunities.”
Scouting isn’t a very popular activity among high school students, but those who do participate gain unique benefits through personal growth.
