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One in every two women was a Girl Scout at some point in her life. According to this statistic from the Girl Scouts website, half of the STA student body has been in Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts is an extracurricular activity open for girls from kindergarten through high school and even into adulthood. According to its website, there are currently 3,200,000 registered Girl Scouts. The Girl Scout mission statement is “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.”

Of that 3,200,000 girls, few are in high school. Seniors Natalie Nuessele and Katie Law agree it is probably because girls in high school simply do not have time.

“[Dropping out] starts out in middle school when people start losing interest,” Nuessele said. “Then [girls] get to high school and they just don’t have time.”

Law started out with a Girl Scout troop, but now it is just her.

“I don’t have a troop because people didn’t have time for meetings and they dropped out,” Law said. “Sports and school got in the way.”

Gina Garvin, vice president of the Girl Scouts of northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri, agreed with Law and Nuessele.

“We are working to make Girl Scouts easier to stay involved – you don’t have to meet every week, [you can] meet virtually, etc,” Garvin wrote in an email interview.

However, there are some theories as to why girls might remain in Girl Scouts throughout high school.

“[Girls stay] because most of the girls in their troop have stayed, they are working towards their Gold Award or they are looking forward to travel with Girl Scouts,” Garvin wrote. “We have amazing troop and national opportunities for girls to travel in the US and around the world.”

The Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting and takes over 70 hours of planning and implementing a community service project, according to Garvin.

Nuessel and Law work at the Girl Scout horse camp, Camp Winding River & Equestrian Center. Nuessel also helps her dad teach self-defense classes to Girl Scout troops.

“I [like doing Girl Scouts] because I get to teach,” Nuessele said. “I’m old enough that [those in charge] put me in a place of leadership and I get to watch younger girls and help them learn, not just skills, but confidence.”

Law said she teaches girls horse safety and directs them when they are riding the horses.

“The people I meet are probably my favorite part of Girl Scouts,” Law said.

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By the numbers

statstics compliments of girlscouts.org

• 3.2 million Girl Scouts in the USA

• 928,000 adult volunteers

• Troops in over 90 countries

• More than 236,000 troops

• 10 million Girl Scouts all around the world

• More than 50 million women were Girl Scouts in their childhood

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