Hudson Girl Scouts defy the usual pattern of dropping out in middle school

by Michele Collins

For a group of ninth and 10th graders in Hudson, scouting has brought them joy and friendship beyond measure. The 11 girls, who attend Hudson High School, have been Girl Scouts for as long as nine years, but their recent bridging to Senior Girl Scouts is a testament to their leaders, Hanna Cajun and Donna Witter, who have kept the girls together – even grown the troop – at a time when most girls are dropping out of Girl Scouts.

“Generally we see girls dropping out of Girl Scouts during early middle school,” said Cajun. “But this troop has stayed together and even added three new members from another troop this year. And we meet every week now instead of twice a month. When other troops are slowing down, our Senior Girl Scouts are getting more involved.”

What is the secret to the staying power of Troop 90854? Lots and lots of outdoor adventures.

The scouts say their favorite activities have ranged from tent and cabin camping to rappelling, paddle boarding and skiing. Several proudly recalled the time they got to their campground after dark and were able to assemble their tents and set up camp faster than two men in their 20s at a neighboring site. Other high points were a trip to an Escape Room, canoeing in the rain (“We are not talking about drizzle, we are talking about sheets of rain,” laughed Cajun), and many state park and hiking adventures.

Both troop leaders said they had experience camping and decided to take the Scouts on overnight trips as early as third grade.

“We have some great parents who have helped us out, driven the girls, stayed overnight in tents with us, just a really supportive group of parents,” said Witter.

But the troop is not just about outdoor activities. They are also active in community service. All 11 girls received Silver Awards, the second highest among Girls Scouts, which require candidates to come up with individual or group projects that serve the community.

Some candidates collected donations to the Humane Society of Summit County. Others made special cat toys and welcome bags for new cat owners. Another group collected donations like bleach, towels, canned dog food and cat food. Still other scouts stood outside ACE Hardware in Hudson offering customers the chance to use reusable bags instead of plastic ones as an Earth Day Project.

What is so impressive, Cajan said, is that these service projects were completely organized and carried out by 13-year-olds.

Cajun said the next goal for the troop is to earn Gold Awards. Similar to the Eagle Scout award, the Girl Scout Gold is a time-consuming undertaking that asks candidates to develop an individual project and use leadership and planning skills to carry it out.

“Our goal is to have the girls start working toward the Gold Award now, so that they can work on it in early high school and be able to put it on their college applications,” said Cajun.

But while they work on that, it is likely Troop 90854 will have some new outdoor adventures. Audrey Fuller, whose mom is troop leader Cajun, had a list of suggestions she would like to see the troop do next year.

“Let’s see, we should go to Disney World, Hocking Hills and go whale watching in Maine,” Fuller said, as other scouts chimed in with ideas like horseback riding, riflery and, of course, some outdoor camping in just about any type of weather.

 

Featured image photo caption: Hudson Scouts, (front, l-r) Tatum Pulte, Natalie Kollar, Claire Campanelli, Claire Ortiz-Witter, Katie Moffitt, (back) Dharma Cossey, Megan Earp, Brooke Morgan, Audrey Fuller and Mia Censoprano, are going strong long after many of their peers have moved on from Scouting. Each Scout has earned the organization’s Girl Scout Silver Award. Member Caroline Hervey is not pictured. Sophia Bluso also completed her Silver Award as part of the troop, although she is no longer a member. Photo by M. Colllins