Taking
what she learned in Girl Scouts, Gold Award recipient, Lauren Francisco,
traveled across the globe to Nairobi, Kenya to come one step closer to her
dream.
“Girl Scouts takes you out of your element and comfort zone. It
teaches you to overcome and to persevere,” says Lauren. With this mentality,
she packed her bags for a 3 ½ month study abroad to face the famed Tsavo
‘man-eating’ lions, hike hundreds of miles through the African wilderness and
encounter wild elephants, hyenas, and countless gazelles and antelopes. “It was
amazing to just walk through the Kenyan wild. It literally took your
breath away.”
Lauren constantly relied upon her Girl Scout skills while in Kenya. Each day
one student acted as the “Mwanafunzi of the Day” (MOD), or “Student of the
Day”. It was the MOD’s responsibility to act as a liaison between the students
and the staff. This is where Lauren drew from her experience with group
dynamics from her troop and leadership skills gained from Girl Scout programs
and summer camps. “I wouldn’t have obtained the skills that I have, that I used
to get to do the things that I’ve done, if it wasn’t for Girl Scouts.”
A junior, majoring in wildlife conservation biology with a
focus in zoology at Murray State University, Lauren has wanted to be a
zoologist ever since her Girl Scout Wider Ops experience at Sea World San
Antonio. “Girl Scout Wider Ops allowed me the knowledge and experience to take
my goals to the next level. Not to mention, every week we had a troop meeting
and worked on a different badge or skill which has all either directly or
indirectly helped me in some aspect of my life.”
One of those skills was knot tying. She taught this to the Kenyan
staff, which they used throughout the trip to secure the group’s luggage while
traveling. She also taught the Maasai women, who are known for their bead work,
how to make lanyards and different kinds of friendship bracelets.
Now back in class, Lauren states, “Nothing is
impossible as long as you have the patience and persistence to pursue it.” She
says that is the main thing she learned from Girl Scouts and she will continue
to draw upon those valuable lessons in the future.