Christina Eddleman, senior, participated in a nation Girl Scouts convention this past week in Utah. 

This convention occurs every three years and is all about empowering women to take a stand against global problems like poverty, health, and education. Past years’ events have been held in cities such as Houston, Texas and Savannah, Georgia.

The opportunity to travel with Girl Scouts comes up more often as the members get older, according to Eddleman.

“As a kid, you focus on earning badges and learning new skills,” Eddleman said. “But for me, I’ve had a lot more opportunities to travel as an older scout. I’ve been to different areas in the Midwest, and this winter I’m going to London over New Year’s Eve.”

In addition to travel opportunities, the older members receive more responsibility as a leader for the younger girls. One way that the Girl Scouts organization helps to recognize exceptional leaders is to choose delegates. Applicants to become a delegates had to write an essay or short response and based on those responses, they were either elected as a delegate or not. Eddleman is one of the Girl Scout members chosen to become a delegate.

Even though Eddleman has received special recognition for specific events, she still values what Girl Scouts has taught her overall since she joined in first grade.

“Girl Scouts in general has taught me to take more initiative and experience the world,” Eddleman said. “There are so many places to go and see, and you can’t limit yourself to one place. And also you learn about leading girls, peers, and people in general not always through verbal leadership, but doing the right thing, and emphasizing that to younger kids it really important.Girl scouts has taught me to do that. The convention specifically is a great place to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people, especially because you are in a safe environment. I think when we leave the convention, we feel more empowered to take action in our community and impact our daily lives.”