Girl Scouts -- not just for little girls

While many people may think Girl Scouts ends after grade school, that couldn't be further from the truth. Girl Scouting can go all the way through college. In fact, IU has its very own Campus Girl Scouts chapter. The chapter consists of four officers, a faculty advisor and members.\nTreasurer and junior Beth Pietrzak loves being a girl scout. \n"I've been a Girl Scout for 16 years," she said. "Continuing with Girl Scouts didn't seem like a choice. Girl Scouting is normalcy to me."\nPresident Maria Gaetani has been a girl scout for 15 years and enjoys every minute of it. \n"I'm very passionate about it, and it's a useful way to spend my time," Gaetani said.\nThe IU Campus Girl Scouts meet anywhere from once a week to once a month, depending on its needs. \n"We try to be very accommodating to everyone's schedules," Pietrzak said. \n"Anyone can become an IU Campus Girl Scout," Gaetani said. "Both men and women are welcome to join. All you have to do is show up at a meeting and register with the University. No Girl Scout history is necessary,"\nThe IU campus Girl Scouts are involved in many activities throughout the community, such as volunteering at the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. However, their main volunteer work comes from working with the Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace Council -- a group of girls from kindergarten through high school in south central Indiana.\nProgram specialist for Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace Council and IU Council liaison Holly Bales said the members of the IU campus Girl Scouts act as role models for girls who are up and coming. \n"They turn simple things into learning experience for the girls," Bales said.\nSome of the activities the IU campus Girl Scouts facilitate include tea parties with the Brownie troop of Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace Council, where they teach the brownies manners and how to be polite. They also participate in Sports Spectacular lock-ins, where the IU campus Girl Scouts act as chaperones. \nA large volunteer project the IU campus Girl Scouts are involved in is Campus Invasion. \n"We take the high school girl scouts on a tour of the campus, show them dorms and sororities, and basically just answer their questions," Gaetani said.\nBales is very appreciative of all the work the IU campus Girl Scouts do for the Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace Council. \n"These women are shining examples of what (girls) can become," she said. "(The Tulip Trace Scouts) have blossomed because of their support. It is magic moments when they want to give back what they received. It's so powerful."\nFor more information about the IU campus Girl Scouts, visit http://mypage.iu.edu/~girlsct/. \n-- Contact staff writer Lauren Bristow at lbristow@indiana.edu.