Girls share their Girl Scout journey at Success to Significance Luncheon
October 10, 2024
For the first time, Girl Scouts took the stage as panelists at Success to Significance, the council's annual fundraising luncheon. Junior Ella P. and Seniors Valentina Urteaga and Advika Asthana shared their Girl Scout experiences as they answered questions from the keynote speaker, Karen Walrond, a Girl Scout alumna and bestselling author of "The Lightmaker's Manifesto: How to Work for Change Without Losing Your Joy."
More than 650 Girl Scout supporters attended the event at Hilton Americas on Tuesday. Event Co-Chairs Kirsten Davenport and Mel Underhill welcomed attendees and recognized event sponsors, thanking them for their generosity and commitment to Girl Scouts. They also announced that Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, also a Girl Scout alumna, presented the council with a $100,000 check as a part of her office’s community reinvestment program.
Betsy Kamin, president of the council and chair of the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Board of Directors, gave the opening remarks. “Supporting the next generation of female leaders starts with supporting girls now, offering them safe, challenging experiences that nurture their leadership skills, encourage them to push their boundaries, and help them explore their passions,” Kamin said. “Your support helps girls face challenges with confidence and reinforces their belief that they can achieve their goals.”
Mary Vitek, GSSJC CEO, introduced Walrond saying “her work helps us identify the values, skills, and actions that bring us joy, tap into the causes that ignite our empathy, and channel all of that energy to change the world. She invites us to live with integrity, conviction, and joy. By discovering our passions and gifts, Karen shows us how to become advocates to make our world a better place- how to become makers of light.”
The girl panel followed Walrond's speech, which focused on her exploration of joy and activism for her book. The Houston native expanded the definition of activism to encourage more people to view themselves as activists or "lightmakers."
"Activism, in my mind, is any person who is led by their skills and values to do purposeful action in the hopes of making the world brighter for others,” Walrond said. "When you look at the Girl Scout mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place, this organization is all about creating young leaders, young activists, which is great."
Walrond threaded this theme into the panel discussion as she asked the girls, whom she described as "lightmakers," several questions, including, "How did Girl Scouts help you figure out what you love to do?" Advika, a ninth grader, said she values the leadership skills she has learned. She emphasized that leadership is more than a title. "Leadership is leading by example, and that's what I've learned in Girl Scouts," Advika said. "We've gotten so many opportunities to work with younger girls and to set the example, and I learned a lot more myself, going out of my comfort zone. It made me understand what leadership is about."
Valentina, a 10th grader, said Girl Scouts has provided her with numerous opportunities for public speaking, which has led to her doing more things in school, including leader development events where she can use her gift of public speaking skills in both English and Spanish. Ella, a fifth grader, shared that she was introduced to archery during camp and is now training to be a future U.S. Olympian.
The girls also shared a question they wish people would ask about Girl Scouts. Ella responded: "I wish they would ask me about the opportunities because it opens up so many doors for me. I've done all of these badges. It led me to different careers and ideas to do when I'm older, and I would like to put out there that Girl Scouts has made a big difference in my life."
In her speech, Walrond talked about the intersection of joy and activism and using our gifts to make a difference in the world. She suggested that we must figure out the difference between joy and happiness. "Happiness is usually externally motivated and can be fleeting,” Walrond told the audience. "I think joy is different. Joy is something really rooted in meaning and purpose. You feel joy when somebody says, 'I really appreciate what you did, and it changed my life.' It's something deeply foundational to who we want to be, so it's not so far from activism. It's possible to get joy from activism."
The key question is, "How do we make sure we're doing great stuff and we're hanging onto that joy?" People need to identify what they are passionate about and what their gifts are. Gifts are a spirit of trusteeship while we are here on Earth, and our responsibility is to figure out how to use them, Walrond said.
"I think it's doing what you love to do anyway and figuring out how to do it to serve other people," Walrond said. "That's actually the thing I love most about Girl Scouts because what Girl Scouts does is it gives our girls all these amazing opportunities to figure out what it is they love to do and what their gifts might be, and how they can use it to make the world better.”
During the final panel question, Walrond asked the girls about their future. Advika expressed her hope to pursue her interest in science, which she developed through Girl Scouting activities, and to combine it with what she has learned in Girl Scouts to "make a big impact in the world." Valentina said she intends to continue with public speaking and pursue a career in the medical field. Ella mentioned her ambition to participate in the 2032 Olympics but has not yet decided on a career path.
Money raised from the annual event supports camperships and other Girl Scouting activities for girls in our council. We look forward to seeing more of our Girl Scout family join us at Success to Significance in 2025!
