Ossining Girl Scouts Has Record Number of Graduating Seniors

Ossining Girl Scouts recognized the achievements of 31 Ambassador Girl Scouts who will be graduating from high school this year, with most of the girls participating in scouting since kindergarten or 1st grade. It is the largest number of graduating scouts the Ossining Girl Scout community has ever had in its 101-year history, and an exceptionally high number compared with most Girl Scout communities.

The girls were honored at the annual Bridging and Awards Ceremony, held May 18 in the Ossining High School gymnasium. Local elected officials participated in the ceremony, including Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, Mayor Victoria Gearity, and Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg. Governor Andrew Cuomo sent a special message congratulating the graduates and four younger troops who bridged to the next level of scouting.

"With the range of opportunities for girls to explore in today's world, it is exciting to know that being a Girl Scout is still a top choice," said Debbie Lenaghan, who has led Girl Scout Troop 2296 with Jennifer Jones since the girls were in kindergarten. She is amazed at the number of girls in the Ossining community who have stayed in Girl Scouts through their middle and high school years.

"Our troop was a group of very eclectic girls from different backgrounds who were not always parts of the same friend groups but who, when they came together, learned to support each other, their ideas, and their community," added Elizabeth Santiago, who leads Troop 2295 with Karen Kamp and Terri McNamara. "It’s been amazing to watch these girls grow from shy, funny, rambunctious little girls into strong, smart, independent young women. They work hard in school, have jobs, and are now all heading off to various colleges. All of them have the drive, passion, and determination to make something of their futures and their place in the world."

Girl Scouts can begin as early as kindergarten, when they are Daisies. They bridge to Brownies in 2nd grade, Juniors in 4th grade, Cadettes in 6th grade, Seniors in 9th grade, and Ambassadors in 11th grade. "It's not unusual for girls to leave scouting in middle school, when sports and other activities begin to take up their hours outside of school," said Rosie Foster, Service Unit Manager, who co-leads the Ossining Girl Scout community with Rose Marie Jost. "But in Ossining, many girls stay on all the way through high school, cherishing the bonds they have formed with their Girl Scout sisters as they navigate adolescence and enter young adulthood."

This year's graduating scouts leave a legacy of community commitment. They've baked and delivered apple and pumpkin pies to the Ossining Food Pantry each November, lit the way with flashlights for younger troops gathering at Croton Point Park each fall for the annual community bonfire, purchased and wrapped gifts for children in need through the holiday Family-to-Family campaign, collected food donations at the Ossining Farmers Market, and sung holiday carols to residents of local nursing homes. They have coordinated community scout events like Baskets and Bingo and the Sock Hop dance, taught younger girls holiday party crafts and camping activities, prepared foods from around the world at the International Dinner, led the yearly Tea Party for Daisies and Brownies, erected scarecrows around Ossining during October's Scarecrow-a-Palooza, made wreaths for veterans, and marched in the Memorial Day Parade. They've even cleared pathways and planted mangrove trees in the rain forests of Costa Rica.

"I enjoyed the traditions our troop built over the years, from tie-dying a shirt every first meeting of the year to baking apple pies for the Food Pantry," noted Olivia Lenaghan, a member of Troop 2296. "We lit pumpkins at The Blaze in Croton and ran all through Target looking for the perfect holiday gifts for our 'adopted' family. We loved to camp, excelling at toasting marshmallows and eating too many s'mores."

Today's Girl Scouts learn to become confident and strong G.I.R.L.s: Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-Takers, and Leaders. "As a result of being a Girl Scout, I have become a better leader, public speaker, and generally a more caring person who truly knows the meaning and value of community," explained Jillian McGuckin, who has been a member of Troop 2294 since 2007, led by Kellie Ishmael and Nancy Kress. "If it wasn't for Girl Scouts, I wouldn't have taken as many risks, such as joining the high school engineering team and applying to difficult colleges. Now I'm one of the core leaders of the engineering team and will soon be heading to The University of Pittsburgh to study biomechanical engineering."

"I hope that our girls will look back fondly on this time and possibly become Girl Scout leaders themselves," concluded Ms. Santiago. "That would be my greatest joy of all.

To learn more about Ossining Girl Scouts, visit ossininggirlscouts.org or the Ossining Girl Scouts Facebook page.