My curiosity for adventure began in three unlikely places: the family farm, the Boy Scouts of America and my high school’s FIRST robotics team. This is definitely a unique combination. Once I was older my little brother became heavily involved in Boy Scouts. My dad was an Eagle Scout. When my little brother came of age, Scouting became a big part of our family. You might notice that I am not a boy so I was not allowed in Cub Scouts packs or Boy Scout troops as a youth participant. But any time there was an event, I wanted to volunteer to support my dad and my brother. I was pretty amazed by The Boy Scout organization. Everything was organized such as safety, leadership and community service projects. Boy Scouts seemed to fit my beliefs of building family ties and building strong communities by helping others. It showed me what tens, hundreds or thousands of people can do when united by positive principles. Their motto is “Be Prepared” which fits me perfectly!
I became a little jealous of all the cool places my Dad and bother traveled to and all the amazing experiences they had together. One day I learned that the Boy Scouts of America has a co-ed organization known as Venture Scouts for ages 14-21. This was a game changer. I was still volunteering to help my brother’s troop but my dad and brother also joined my Venture crew and now we were able to go on Scout trips together such as Philmont (10 days backpacking in the southern Rockies), Northern Tier (10 day wilderness canoe trip in Canada), National Jamboree (Virginia and West Virginia) and many others! I loved being a part of the Boy Scout program for several reasons: there was a focus on preparing youth for the future and the goal of instilling personal responsibly.
