SKL Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Just wondering if this is realistically something that girls do for the long term. I know Girl Scouts and American Heritage Girls have high level targets, but do many girls really stick to it and take it seriously, do families and communities really view it as an important achievement? Is it something girls put on their resumes and do employers / university admissions view it as a plus? Another question re AHG. As girls get older and have serious questions about faith, is AHG still comfortable for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 For GSA: Relatively few girls stick with it and get the Gold Award. But, if you think about how many boys are Tiger Cubs and how many earn the Eagle rank, it's very small too. That's why they're prestigious. In order to earn the Gold Award, a girl has to do a big community service project. In that way, it's similar to the Eagle. Every year I'd say about 150 girls earn the Gold Award in my large council. Some high schools clearly have an excellent troop with lots of girls earning their Gold Award. It's definitely a big plus for a college application. The service project requires a lot of planning and leadership, so it showcases a girl's abilities. Some colleges (TAMU is the one I know best) place a lot of emphasis on the scouting awards. http://corps.tamu.edu/aggie-eagle-program Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I believe unsinkable's daughter achieved the Gold Award. Mine is not old enough, yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommytobees Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I earned the gold award many many many year ago. My daughter will not. Her GS experience has been subpar. Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 In my limited experience with AHG, Of the two girls I started toward that path, one dropped out, and the other will begin her Stars & Stripes next year. My oldest daughter is on a path to achieve Stars & Stripes. My younger daughter is still a Tenderheart, and baby Boo will be my first child to start the program at the very beginning as a Pathfinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 One of my sorority sisters got a fairly large college scholarship from GS. I'd been a GS through 8th but there was no Senior troop in my town and I decided to drop out rather than drive. After finding out about my friend's scholarship, I wish that I had stuck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in FL Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 My daughter's goal is to go for Stars and Stripes with AHG. I received the equivalent Girl Scout award back in the day before the Gold award was introduced. (First class?). It helped in getting college scholarships from local organizations. Someone recently posted that GS with gold Award enter the armed forces at a higher rank, maybe she'll chime in here. I think the benefit for college admissions is that it shows a high level of passion and commitment in reaching the achievement that isn't easily equaled in many extracurriculars. As far as the Christian component in AHG, it will probably vary by troop. And would be a good question to ask troop coordinators and Pioneer/Patriot unit leaders of the troops you are considering. Stars and Stripes does require a religious award and a spiritual walk essay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I believe unsinkable's daughter achieved the Gold Award. Mine is not old enough, yet.Oh, thanks for remembering! Yes, my DD did receive her Gold Award. (She also earned her Bronze and Silver.) It was a big deal for her and for our family. DD set it as a goal when she was very young. Her health issues got more complicated as she got older and it was a significant accomplishment for her to achieve. I know our council has a few scholarships available every year for girls who've earned it. They are about $1-2K each. I don't know much more about the Gold award and college. Unfortunately, the Gold award doesn't have the recognition that the Eagle has around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I never did, but I don't think it was well known when I was a Girl Scout. Very few went beyond Juniors. I think the GS need to do much better marketing it, and equating it with the Eagle Scout. I think if they did a better job, more girls would want to achieve it. DD wants to earn it. When we went to her bridging ceremony at the local council, there were two girls who received it…and DD was fascinated by them and their award. (Granted, she just moved to Brownies.) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 My daughter got her bronze, but was disgusted by the fact that so did the other girls in her troop whether they actually completed their volunteer hours or not. The troop did some hours together and some they were supposed to do on their own. Between that and knowing that it isn't as recognized as Eagle (which her older brother just got), she didn't see it as valuable and decided not to do it. I tried to point out that the experience itself is valuable, but she still didn't think it was worth it. She is wanting to join Venturing as soon as she is old enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel-in-CA Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 We've had one girl (and she was in our troop) get the AHG Stars & Strips award here in CA so far. Of course, we're not the state with the most troops by any means. We have 3 very good candidates in our troop this year, but they have a ways to go. GYI, 4H has a star ranking: bronze to silver to gold to platinum - and by the time you've finished platinum you have a great deal of leadership experience accumulated. To make it the equivalent of an Eagle, I think you would have to count community service hours and send them in for a Pres. Service Award - 2 of mine have done that. Or 4-H has an Emerald Star, which is awarded for a year-long, county-wide service project that includes collaborating with other clubs and county staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I was impressed with your dd's project, and it made me want to encourage my dd to work towards it, too. I am no longer the leader of my dd's troop, but I will be working with the leaders to help the girls with the bronze award, which we will be doing now that we are Juniors. Oh, thanks for remembering! Yes, my DD did receive her Gold Award. (She also earned her Bronze and Silver.) It was a big deal for her and for our family. DD set it as a goal when she was very young. Her health issues got more complicated as she got older and it was a significant accomplishment for her to achieve. I know our council has a few scholarships available every year for girls who've earned it. They are about $1-2K each. I don't know much more about the Gold award and college. Unfortunately, the Gold award doesn't have the recognition that the Eagle has around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Would it be weird for a girl to do both AHG/Girl Scouts and Venturing from grades 9-12? Could some of the award projects overlap? Or would a girl who wanted to do Venturing quit AHG (or Girl Scouts)? (Thinking way ahead here, as my kids are only 3rd graders.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I hadn't heard of venturing. Is it more religious than the rest of Scouting? I found the oath/code interesting. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Venturing/About/welcome.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimerinkydo Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 My oldest dd was trying to get started on her girl scout gold award this summer but she didn't start making appointment's until school let out in June. Now she is unable to get a required interview until August or September. She is frustrated because she pretty much skipped other things and planned to spend her summer on her project. It might work out in the end since the homeless shelter she wants to do her project for is only open in the winter. We will see if she will be able to get it done this fall. She is the only girl in her troop that really is interested/active with girl scouts. She is also doing the Counselor in Training at one of the girl scout camps this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn121 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 We have girls that do Venturing and AHG. Feasibility depends on how active your units(AHG & Venture) are and if you can count some of the things in both. In our area Venturing does more high adventure trips than our AHG Troop. We do tend to lose girls when they realize the work involved in getting their S&S. However, we do tell them that they can go one of two ways. S & S or just stay in and have fun. S&S is encouraged but not a requirement. They tend to choose other activties or for some of our homeschooled girls they chose to take CC classes and that interfers etc. As Laurel-in-Ca (same troop) said we have 3 very strong canidates but they are all sophmores and are just beginning. As far a the faith aspect I think that the award requirement would make the girl work through her issues if she did the requirements honestly. We pray and talk about Jesus but we also work on our badges and other things so comfort is in the eye of the beholder and in how the troop handles itself. We are Christians, we love jesus but we are not at a church service nor do we (meaning our troop) want to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarinesWife Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 When we first started in AHG we had five girls that were 7th - 9th grade and my daughter is the only one left (entering 11th). She'll be working on her Stars and Stripes Award this year - her choice. She's very motivated to do it. Of the other 4 girls, 2 moved and did not find a new troop, and 2 decided to discontinue coming after a year or two for their own reasons, but one was definitely because it was too Christian for her. We have also moved and are in a different troop - not sure about all these girls yet. I think of the 6 or so ... probably 2 will stay in and work on their STars and Stripes. I think for the others they are just busy with other things in their schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Interesting to hear. My DD9 has already set her sights on earning the S&S. Our troop is young, only established four years ago and our oldest girl is a 9th grader, so we don't yet have examples to follow. Though if I were betting, I would say that three of our Pioneers will go all the way. All have fathers and brothers in Scouting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanine in TX Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 My dd completed her GS Gold Award this year. She also earned her Bronze and Silver Awards. She is a senior this year. We're hoping that it will help her earn scholarships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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