What is Scouting?:

Scouting America, formally known as the Boy Scouts of America, is an organization that allows young adults from all over the nation to come together and experience the Great Outdoors. Under Scouting America exists the Scouts BSA, which offers programs to young adults between the ages of 10 and 18. This is the program I went into after crossing over from Cub Scouts. Over my scouting career I’ve been able to learn a lot, anything from first aid, knot tying, to orienteering, and additionally I’ve gone to countless camping trips, learning how to cook, clean, and set up a campsite in the woods. I’ve even worked on summer camp staff, which is probably the highlight of my career. But Scouting isn’t all about skills and camping, because the thing I believe Scouting does best is teach you leadership skills you use in your everyday life. Youth are able to hold leadership positions such as Patrol leader and Senior Patrol Leader, which force you to learn how to manage meetings and lead a team. This all accumulated when I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, which forced me to learn how to plan and propose a project, manage a work crew, and do all the paperwork that came with it. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what scouting has offered me, and I’m sure you could have just as much fun as I did. 

Are You Sure it’s for Me?: 

Scouting America has a lot to offer, but some people feel that it’s not for them. However scouting is a program that is open for everyone who is interested. Now Scouting America is a Co-ed program, meaning that it is open to both males and females, featuring B and G troops. 

Also many people feel that it is too late to join scouting as you age out from your troop at 18. While this may be true there are still ways to stay involved as a youth member until you are 21. Under the umbrella of Scouting, there exists the Scouts BSA (as Troops), Venturers (as Crews), and Sea Scouts (as Ships). Venturing Crews and Ships offer programs to those between the ages of 14 – 21. In addition there is the Order of the Arrow, the Honor Society of Scouting, which has no minimum age requirement, but also goes until 21. 

Scouting is a program that has something to offer for everyone even if you’re a teenager just about to become 18, so it’s never too late to join.

What Else?:

In the beginning I discussed some of my experiences, not all of which may have sounded appealing to you, so I encourage you to find something you enjoy within the program. For example, I stated that I reached the rank of Eagle Scout, but inevitably not every scout can do this, and not every scout has too. Scouting America is a program in which you get out of it whatever you put into it after all, so if you would rather relax and have fun with your friends and meet new people, perfect. It would also help to know that each Troop is different, my troop is a smaller Troop (16-22 youth) that focuses on camping, hiking, sometimes even skiing, canoeing, or whitewater rafting. Some other Troops focus more on service projects and helping out the community and cleaning various campgrounds. Some other Troops focus heavily on Scout Skills so that they can show off their skills at council events, which face Troop up against each other in friendly competition. Venturing Crews offer more extreme versions of what my Troop does, going on High Adventure trips for example (which is a physically challenging experience). Sea Scouts ships focus more on how to run a ship on the water, and promote more water bound programs. Lastly the OA prioritizes heavily on Fellowship and Service, mixing fun activities with your friends with helping out fellow scouts. Asides from all of that, there is also Summer Camp, which promotes year round program as many Troops don’t meet over the summer. Summer Camp allows scouts to earn many merit badges over the course of a week, which will allow you to explore many areas of interest. 

Now I’ve talked a lot about this program, and I think it’s about time you explore for yourself what the possibilities are, so sign up for your local troop today. (for Levittown, try Troop 323.)