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| Victoria, Girl Scout & Miss Illinois Outstanding Teen 2018 1st Runner Up |
Victoria Shore believes in following her passion to create a
positive impact on society. The fifteen
year old from Marion, Illinois is incredibly engaged in community outreach and
giving back to others. She devotes
countless hours to two organizations in particular, Girl Scouts and the Miss
America Organization, all for one powerful purpose: to make a difference.
Due to her dedication of ambition and activity, Victoria is a
standout in both non-profits. She has
earned two of Girl Scouts’ highest individual awards – the Girl Scout Bronze
Award and Girl Scout Silver Award - and is currently serving as an ex-officio
Girl Board Member for Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Recently, she was also named Miss Illinois
Outstanding Teen 1st runner up. Her pageant
platform includes sharing the courage, confidence and character it takes to be
a Girl Scout and explaining how everyone can benefit from building these traits
that are integral to the Girl Scout mission into their lives.
She’s poised, powerful and has a promising future. Hear Victoria’s own words about her
experiences and aspirations, what Girl Scouts means to her and how girls can
change the world:
Congratulations on being named Miss Illinois Outstanding Teen 2018 1st Runner Up. Can you share
what this honor means to you?
I’ve
been involved in the Miss America organization for about 10 years now, so being
able to compete in the state pageant which would eventually lead to nationals
and to place so high and to earn scholarship money is just very important to
me. I think that it shows how much the organization means to me that I continue
to stick with it because I really, really love it.
You incorporate your Girl
Scout experience into your pageant platform.
What makes Girl Scouts so important to you?
I
love incorporating Girl Scouts and the three c’s of courage, confidence and
character into my involvement in the Miss America Organization because I’ve
been a Girl Scout for 8 years now and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time. I’ve learned so much and the badges that I’ve
earned have given me awesome stories to tell. Being able to speak about girl empowerment and
being your best you is something that I’m very thankful for.
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| Victoria incorporates Girl Scouts into her pageant platform. |
What is one of your greatest
memories from Girl Scouts?
My
Girl Scout troop went to the Science Center in St. Louis. We got to spend the night in the planetarium
there, we got to speak to women about being involved in STEM careers and we
could create our own games in an app, and robots. It was really, really cool. And sleeping beneath the stars with my fellow
Girl Scouts – that is something that I’ll never forget.
It’s been 106 years since Girl
Scouts was founded. How would you say the organization stays relevant to girls
today?
I
think that Girl Scouts has done a great job of changing with the times. Girl
Scouts has adapted to talk about STEM and getting girls involved in STEM
because we need more women in those fields. We can earn different badges that
encourage us to be involved in those fields.
We use technology as well - I
can code online with Girl Scouts through their website and I think it’s
fantastic. It’s just another way that they have stayed relevant in involving
girls in society the way it is now.
Another recent initiative
that Girl Scouts has launched is the GIRL Agenda – getting girls more civically
engaged from gathering information on critical issues to voting to running for
office, etc. What are your thoughts on this initiative?
I
love the GIRL Agenda, especially because I love keeping up with current
events. A lot of my family is
politically involved – my aunt is running for judge right now. I am also thinking of minoring in political
science when I go to college. So having Girl Scouts encourage me and my peers to
be involved and be an active member in our community and in society, I think
that it is a fantastic initiative and more girls should participate in it as
well.
Do you think girls your age
are interested in being more involved in their communities and civic events?
I
think a lot of people know that community service and volunteerism is important
but I don’t think that they know how to get started, which is why organizations
like Girl Scouts are so important.
I
actually just recruited one of my friends, Bella, to be a Girl Scout in my
troop because she was seeing all of the things that I did – all of the badges
and events and community opportunities that I was given because of my
involvement in Girl Scouts. So I think
that having an outlet to get started in community volunteerism is very
important.
Community service is a huge part
of Girl Scouting. How is this important
to you?
I
think that the community you grow up in and the people that you are around as a
young individual who is being molded into who you will be in the future has
such an impact. Recognizing that the
people around you have had that influence on you, I think that it’s only
appropriate to give back. Just having
the opportunity to serve my community and those who have helped shape me into
the person I am is something that I will never, never stop doing.
You’ve been involved with
many community service projects – including those that helped you earn Girl
Scout Awards. What was your experience?
I
have loved working on my Girl Scout Awards.
For my Bronze Award, my troop and I partnered with our local Lighthouse
Shelter, which is our homeless shelter, and we made enough blankets for every
child in the shelter to have one when they went to bed at night. We also cooked a meal and sat down and talked
to the residents. Often we don’t think
about how there are people who are struggling and don’t have as much as us, but
we can still help and we can still be there for them. Being able to incorporate community activism
and volunteerism into earning my Girl Scout Bronze Award was awesome.
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| Victoria with her Girl Scout Silver Award |
Do you think it’s valuable
for young girls to have female role models?
I
think that in terms of powerful women and women who take charge, sometimes they
are not looked up to as much as strong male role models. I think there are a lot of males who do great
things in their communities, but women also do fantastic things for the people
around them. I think that building up
women, as a fellow girl myself, is just as important as recognizing the men in
our lives.
Do you have future plans to earn the
Girl Scout Gold Award?
I
absolutely do plan to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award. My involvement with the Miss America Organization
helps foster a love for education and also helps me realize the importance of
scholarships, which I can earn with the Gold Award. I think that I plan on taking that on as a
Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador. I don’t quite know what I’m going to do with
my project yet, but it’s something that my Girl Scout Troop Leader and I have
already put some thought into.
One of your other many Girl
Scout roles is being an Ex-Officio Girl Board Member. What has that been like
for you so far?
I
had the opportunity to go to our Annual Meeting and I loved it. I loved seeing the business side of Girl
Scouts of Southern Illinois and meeting all of the women who put in the work to
allow the Girl Scouts and our troops to have smooth experiences and to benefit
from what we’re doing to the best of our abilities. Plus, I got to meet our new CEO, who is a
wonderful woman. I loved meeting her and
talking to her. I also loved the idea of
a public forum where Girl Scout troop leaders and members of the Board can share
their own input. I actually got to speak
as well, with my fellow ex-officio Board Member, and touch on subjects that
affected us as Girl Scouts. I absolutely
loved it and I cannot wait to continue to work as ex-officio Board Member.
What are your future goals
and dreams?
My
biggest dream right now is to be a news anchor on GMA or the Today Show because
I love talking to other people about their stories and what is a passion for
them. Northwestern is my dream school
and I would like to major in broadcast journalism and as I mentioned, maybe
political science as a minor. That’s why
organizations like Miss America and Girl Scouts are important to me because
they give me scholarship opportunities. I
just know that I want to do something that helps others and benefits others who
deserve to be recognized.
You speak with such
confidence and poise. What would you say to girls who are developing their
voice?
I think that girls my age, as we grow up in a society that
is very active in feminism, especially with the #MeToo movement and #TimesUp
and different movements like that coming to the forefront - we have to
understand that if we are not part of the solution, then we are contributing to
being part of the problem. If you have a
voice – if you feel like there’s something that is deep inside of you and you
want to spread the message of something you care about, now is the time to
start speaking about it. Every second that you don’t talk about the thing that
you’re passionate about – you’re losing that time. Do something amazing with
it. I think that every single girl has
something she can contribute to the world around her and encourage them to use
their voice in that way.
Do you have tips for
girls to get started and develop confidence sharing their voices?
I think that talking with your friends about the issues that
you feel are burning inside of your heart that you would like to help correct
or help aid in society is very important. I love talking to my friends about what I feel
I could be doing and how we as girls growing up can help be the solutions to
these problems in society. I think it’s
very important to bounce ideas off each other – especially other girls in your
inner circle or your family. I think
everyone has a sister or an aunt, a mother or a grandma who would love to talk
to them about using your voice and utilizing what’s in your heart and your mind
to change the world.
Do you feel that an all-girl
environment is still a valuable part of the Girl Scouting experience?
Absolutely. I think that you get this amazing feeling when
you’re in an atmosphere that is created by women, for women with women in it -
especially as you become an older Girl Scout and you have the opportunity to
mentor younger Girl Scouts. It is something that is surreal when you’re in that
moment because we always talk about growing up and helping influence other
people, but now I am getting the chance to do that. I think that for 106 years Girl Scouts has
done beautifully – they’ve given this wonderful atmosphere and space for girls to
be their very best and I don’t think that anyone can do it better than Girl
Scouts.
I just encourage people to get involved in Girl Scouts because
it is amazing. That is the one anthem
that I try to spread through everything I do because Girl Scouts has changed my
life, and my friends lives.
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| Victoria is often out in the community volunteering through Girl Scouts |
