by Nicolle Patton, GSSI Intern
 |
| Emily Hocking with GSSI CEO Sarah Durbin |
Girl Scouts is a huge staple in helping girls grow not only in various skills to help them in their future endeavor, but to grow into a better them. Nobody knows that better than Emily Hocking, from Mount Vernon.
Emily has been a part of the organization since
Kindergarten. Now, she’s about to graduate High School with major
accomplishments under her belt including a full tuition scholarship - and it’s
thanks to earning Girl Scouts highest award, the Gold Award.
“The college I
chose offers special scholarships for those girls who have earned the Girl
Scout Gold award,” Emily explained. “I have worked very hard in school to have
good grades and I also earned my Gold Award, these both allowed me to have the
privilege to get a full tuition scholarship.” Emily will be
attending MacMurray College in the fall of 2017 where she’ll be studying
Nursing.
Knowing that earning the Gold Award helps Girl Scouts
get scholarships, I asked her if earning her Gold Award gives her other
advantages over others.
She said, “I don’t necessarily believe it is so much
an advantage, but as that through my thirteen years of Girl Scouting it has
taught me a lot. Thanks to Girl Scouts and earning my Bronze, Silver and Gold Award,
I have learned a lot about what being a true leader in my community is. Girl
Scouting has made me into the woman I am today. There is no doubt that if I
wasn’t in Girl Scouts, I probably would not be as outgoing and have the
leaderships skills I do.”
 |
| Emily received the Girl Scout Gold Award in 2016. |
Emily has some words of advice about those who are on the fence about pursuing their Gold Award. “I say go for it. I know that it is very time consuming and seems like a lot of work, but you never realize all the lessons you learn and the accomplishments you can make by having your Gold Award. Be the girl that can say ‘yes, I did that.’ Be proud and work your butt off because in the end it’s worth it.”
When asked if girls should stick with Girl Scouts
until they graduated, she replied, “I believe as you get older in scouts you
learn the true meaning of being a scout. As a Daisy or Brownie Scout you have a
lot of fun doing crafts, going to events, but once you get to the higher levels
you learn a lot more and get to experience the power of what being a leader in
your community actually is. You get to be that girl that all the little scouts look
up to and hope to be like.”
Knowing Emily personally, I can say that younger girls
truly indeed look up to her for guidance when they work on something Girl Scout
related or something connected to the community. It’s wonderful to see older Girl
Scouts like Emily that are stepping up and being a role model for these younger
scouts to emulate.
I wanted to know what exactly Girl Scouts meant to her
and how it’s impacted her life so far, she answered, “Girl Scouting to me has
meant learning to become a leader and knowing you can accomplish any task you
set your mind to. It has lead me to lifelong friendships. One of my best
friends today I met in Girl Scouts our Kindergarten year. We have done so much
together from getting our Gold Awards to going to the father daughter dances.
Without Girl Scouts who knows if I would have even met her.”
 |
| Emily Hocking and Danielle Patton |
It seems like Emily has had a fulfilling Girl Scouting
career with the many personal growths and connections she’s made through the
years. With her heading off to college soon, she’ll bound to make more, but
would she be able to put any skills she’s learned when doing her Gold Award
into her new college life?
“I believe the organizational skills I learned from
planning out my project will help me a lot through college and studying to
become a nurse. I also believe the outgoing personality I have acquired through
scouting will help me a lot to make friends and bond with my future patients.
Scouting has definitely got me out of me shell.”
It’s good to know that she’ll be using the skills
she’s gained through the years in Girl Scouts as well as the work she dedicated
to earning her Gold Award to aide her on this new journey. It goes without
saying that that she’s grown thanks to her years and lessons she’s gained in
Girl Scouts.
