Volunteer Spotlight-July
July 22, 2024
Congratulations to Krista Katzen who was awarded GSNI’s Volunteer Spotlight for July 2024!
Krista participated in Girl Scouts for 10 years during her youth as a member of Wisconsin’s Riverland Council. She enjoyed many adventures, earned the Girl Scout Silver Award and the Girl Scout Gold Award, and was able to travel. Now Krista has been one of the leaders for GSNI’s Troop 539 for three years and volunteers as one of Trefoil Service Unit’s Co-Managers and as their Service Unit Events Coordinator.
She was nominated to receive this Volunteer Spotlight award by Lauri Doyle, her GSNI Membership Engagement Specialist. Lauri stated, “Krista has stepped into the Events Coordinator role this year and is committed to creating Girl Scout opportunities for all girls in the Trefoil Service Unit. As a troop leader, Krista is always willing to welcome new girls to their troop and has been instrumental in keeping the troop option open to many girls in her community. In her day job at the Oswego Public Library, she has also worked to create programming which supports education for the community about Juliette Gordon Lowe and to provide Girl Scout opportunities for the Girl Scouts in the Genesis Service Unit.”
When asked about her favorite Girl Scout memory, Krista explained, “As a Girl Scout, I was lucky enough to go on a GSUSA Wider Op (now called GSUSA Destinations). In 1995, I traveled to Virginia for two weeks for an event called ‘Pioneers, Peaks, and Presidents’. We travelled around historic Virginia, visiting Presidential houses and historic sites. We hiked the Blue Ridge Mountains. We also learned how the pioneers lived by spending a full day living like a pioneer on a historic farm and learning skills such as blacksmithing, wood carving, weaving, rug braiding, and storytelling. It was the first time I had traveled alone, and the entire experience was amazing!”
“I volunteered because I wanted my daughter to have the same opportunity to be a Girl Scout that I did.” Krista added. “Girl Scouts was really meaningful to me, and I hope it will be for her. It’s amazing watching my daughter and the other girls in the troop grow. Also, I have been surprised by how much I enjoy being a troop leader. Every girl in our troop is different, and I love getting to learn alongside all of them.”
How are The Three Processes (girl-led, learn by doing, and cooperative learning) integrated into their Girl Scout troop experience? Krista replied, “We are doing our best to let the girls vote on what they want to do and how they want to spend their troop money. As they grow older, we are working to have them do more of the planning and running of what we do, and we incorporate as many hands-on activities as we can.”
When asked what advice Krista would give to other volunteers or parents, she responded, “You don’t have to know everything to be a good leader or volunteer. We are all learning as we go, and the girls really love seeing their parent help and participate, even if it is in small ways.”
Thank you, Krista! It’s rewarding to have wonderful volunteers like you, too.
GSNI wants to thank Patty Donahue and Image Awards Engraving and Creative Keepsakes in Geneva, Illinois, for providing the beautiful tile trivet awards for our Volunteer Spotlight Program.
