The Global Action Volunteer Team (GAVT) is a group of volunteers who LOVE all things global and travel. They’ve traveled extensively locally, nationally and internationally with Girl Scouts and on their own. The team is here to serve the members of GSGCNWI to make global, cultural and travel experiences fun and accessible to our entire Girl Scout community. These adults are here to help you every step of the way, ensuring you are ready for your next adventure.

We interviewed each of the volunteers and asked them for their tips and tricks when it comes to local, national and international travel!

Get To Know GAVT

When were you first bitten by the travel bug?

Maureen: The travel bug bit me when I was in 7th grade, and I applied for my first Destinations (called Wider Opportunity when I was a girl), a trip to Wyoming (National Center West) for horseback riding. I loved traveling by myself, meeting girls from across the country, having my own horse for two weeks, and learning how much more traveling I could do. I ended up going on five Destinations! and I never stopped traveling!

Fawna: When I was in second grade my grandparents took me to California and I was blown away by the ocean and how different it looked from where I lived in Michigan. After that I was really interested in exploring other places and seeing as much as I could.

Shari: Growing up, my cousins lived in different states and we spent every Winter and Spring Break driving to see them. I loved exploring different parts of the Unites Stated and it inspired me to continue to travel as an adult.

What Inspired You to Continue Your Involvement with Girl Scouts?

Madison: I am currently involved as a volunteer on the Global Action Volunteer Team to help advocate for travel for girls from a young age. I want girls to know they can truly run the world (and seeing the world is the first part of that!).

Maureen: I was a Girl Scout for 12 years, then immediately became a Lifetime Member, volunteering first as a Campus Girl Scout and in various ways over the past 26 years. I still volunteer because I believe that Girl Scouts gave me the courage and confidence to dream big, give back, and engage in the community. I want to help more girls learn about different cultures and to see the world! 

Alex: I believe that all girls should be given the opportunity and the resources to experience the world. 

Karen: I joined Girl Scouts in 1977 and have been involved at all levels since then.  I have helped with or run many troops, been a national delegate 4 times, earned my Girl Scout Gold Award and everything in-between.

What (So Far) Has Been Your Greatest Adventure?

Camille: The most adventurous thing I have done is take a boat trip down the Amazon.  My traveling partner and I had to take a ponga (smaller speed boat) to reach the larger cargo boat to travel from Iquitos, Peru to Manaus, Brazil.  We slept under the stars in net-hammocks that we tied up on the ship.

Clarissa: Recently, I traveled to Colombia, and I trekked for four days in the jungle during the rainy season to visit the Ciudad Perdida (“the Lost City”), which is a city built in approximately 800 AD by the Teyuna indigenous people.  Through this adventure, I met people from multiple countries, slept in hammocks, hiked barefoot after blisters prevented me from wearing shoes, crossed roaring rivers by only holding onto a line, and learned about indigenous Colombian peoples. It was amazing!

Rosy: I swam in a spring at the top of a mountain, on a cliff, overlooking a petrified waterfall in Oaxaca, Mexico. It was terrifying but the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. 

Karen: The most adventurous things I’ve done are night diving the coral reefs off an island close to Cuba, hiking my first 14er (a mountain over 14,000 ft high!) in a snow storm and taking my Girl Scout troop to Europe for 3 weeks!

Madison: I have a 3-way tie: riding a camel in Chefchaouen, Morocco; canyoning in Interlaken, Switzerland; and climbing Huayna Picchu in Peru!

Alex: Taking the Trans-Siberian rail all the way across Russia!

Interested in taking your own adventure?

Learn more about traveling with Girl Scouts GCNWI

Plan your trip with Girl Scouts Destinations!

Are you an adult interested in becoming a GAVT Member? APPLY NOW!

Girls can ALSO join GAVT! Email Ashley at achristensen@girlscoutsgcnwi.org for more information.