Academic adviser leads girl scout troop to bond with daughter
By day Jamie Brown helps college students choose their academic path, but two nights each month she plays mentor to a younger crowd.
Brown, an academic adviser at the Towers Success Center, is a Girl Scout leader for Brownie Troop 50814.
She was a girl scout in the 6th grade and has been a leader for the last two years, following in the footsteps of her mother.
“The most I remember doing is selling cookies (as a girl scout)," Brown said. "What is great is that people have a positive attitude about girl-scout cookies. My daughter is now selling them."
Brown said she believes it’s important for the kids to have their parents involved in their lives, which is why she first became a leader for her daughter Katherine.
“I took my daughter and some of her friends out to dinner once," Brown said. "They asked me questions; stuff that they probably wouldn’t ask their moms. I feel like they see me as some type of role-model."
Brown leads the troop of nine third grade girls from Vowles Elementary School with two other leaders, Lisa Thackery and Becky Kaniski. Both Mount Pleasant residents have daughters within the troop.
Thackery, whose daughter Mackenzie is a brownie, said the position can be difficult.
“It’s challenging (to be a troop leader), because I’m a chemist and I’m used to working in a lab all day,” said Thackery, who works for Dow Corning Corporation.
Kaniski has been a troop leader for six years and is currently leading two troops with a daughter in each; Megan is in her Brownie troop.
On Feb. 6, the Brownies gathered in the Jane Harris Cabin near Barkley Road to discuss their future involvement in the Festival of Banners.
“This is the first time we decided to do this (be in the festival) as a troop,” Kaniski said. “They get to see what they can do as a team when they put their heads together.”
One of their goals is to help the girls become strong leaders, stay substance free, able (to make) good decisions and provide for themselves," Brown said. "The lessons built in their activities have more depth and meaning. Traits, such as cooking, aren't taught to make them good homemakers but to teach them about nutrition, eating healthy and taking care of themselves."
Supported by the funds they receive from selling cookies, magazines and nuts, the Brownies are able to plan field trips and buy supplies for badges and crafts. They also go on smaller outings, such as bowling, swimming at the Student Activity Center and roller skating, Kaniski said.
The girls also help out by visiting the nursing home, the Laurels of Mt. Pleasant, 400 S. Crapo St. Last Christmas, they sang carols for the elderly and made ornaments and cards, Thackery said.
Aside from getting together with friends, brownie Taylor Strom said she thinks it's good to be a girl scout, because it helps nature.
"Sometimes we do walks and look for garbage," Strom said.
