It’s that time of year again for Blake student and girl scout Haley Holsather ‘14 to go out and sell her cookies. Holsather has been a Girl Scout for ten years and has earned both the bronze and silver awards. She hopes to begin work for the gold award in the near future.
Only about six percent of girl scouts receive the gold award, which is the equivalent to the Eagle Scout award in the Boy Scouts. It takes over 100 hours of work to achieve the gold award, not including the planning phase for the project. Certain colleges even offer scholarships to the winners of this award.
For those in search of cookies, look for Holsather. “I sell most of my cookies at school,” she says. However, for those who don’t have time during school, there are booths in other locations as well. “They basically set up there own little stores,” Holsather adds.
Some may envision girl scouts as only doing crafts, camping, survival, and cookie selling. Now the program is integrating other activities, especially in the area of STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
There are several new badge programs involving STEM, including naturalist digital arts, innovation and financial literacy badges.
As put by the Girl Scouts’ official STEM web page, “Girls push boundaries, test limits, and look at the world around them with inquisitive eyes. They’re natural scientists!”
Holsather is definitely looking forward to participating in the Girl Scouts this year. Through the program, Holsather is able to develop valuable connections with younger kids.
“We have gone from being participants to leaders [in Girl Scouts],” says Holsather.
“It is really cool to see others participating and learning. It is a nice feeling to know that you have an active role in their education.”
Of the addictive cookies she sells, Holsather adds her favorites are thin mints. “They are delicious,” and are also the healthiest of Girl Scout cookies, with the most nutritional value. “They have been my favorite for a long time, but Samoas are definitely in second.”
Holsather began selling cookies on February 11th, with sales ending sometime this spring.
