Many of you may remember being in Girl or Boy Scouts as a kid, but how many of you stuck with it? Sophomore Haley Waszkelewicz did, and she’s accomplished a lot since her kindergarten days as a Daisy. 

According to Haley, “Girl Scouts is an organization that works on projects to better the community and ourselves. It teaches young ladies how to make a change.” Her favorite part is meeting new people and learning social skills. She’s currently at the highest ranking, an Ambassador, which means they have outings and learn/help out in the community hands-on. 

Ambassadors have the opportunity to earn a Gold Award, which is an individual project and the highest achievement you can reach. Haley says, “It’s sustainable, which means it will continue after I’m done. For mine, I will be putting battery waste buckets in supermarkets.”

Troop 521 consists of 15 11th and 12th-grade girls who are passionate about making a change. Jamie Kelly, a sophomore who’s in Girl Scouts alongside Haley, has also done a great deal of services for our community. When asked about the projects she’s completed, she responded, “We do lots of different things like helping out the younger groups with their events and we also set up beds in the church for the homeless community.” 

Before earning a Gold Award, a girl scout must earn a Silver Award. Jamie and Haley teamed up for theirs. Jamie said, “For our Silver Award Haley and I worked together to collect boots for the homeless at Maureen’s Haven.”

When people think of Girl Scouts, they usually think cookies, which is definitely fair. Although there’s a lot more to it than just delicious cookies, most people don’t know that. Make sure you support your local Girl Scouts for better change and even better cookies!

From community service to new friendships to cookies, Haley and the Girl Scouts do it all.