Alumnae Story
First Plane Ride

By Norma Trevino-Latham

I will never forget representing Paisano Girl Scout Council at the Pow Wow '73 Wider Opportunity in Boone, Iowa.

It was my first plane ride and travel without my family. I learned so much about the Indian culture and customs and made some wonderful friends. We corresponded for many years until our families and job obligations moved us around so much we lost touch. (I bet if we posted a message on a council Web page somewhere we could re-connect.)

When I got back to my hometown, I was invited to speak to the clubs that had sponsored me and at my council banquet. I was not the best speaker when I started but I gained confidence and really enjoyed "playing" to an audience. I was so impressed by the newspaper reporter and TV reporters that interviewed me that I chose journalism as my major in college. Today, I'm a journalism teacher in Marshall High School, Marshall, Texas, and still a Girl Scout (an adult volunteer with Girl Scouts of Tejas Council). This whole experience was truly the opportunity that widened my horizons.

And the travel bug stuck. My oldest daughter attended a Wider Op in New York and will study abroad in Italy this summer. I staffed a Wider Op in 1996 in Chicago and my youngest daughter went to Japan as a Rotary Youth Ambassador last summer. (Both girls earned Silver and baby girl is working on Gold.)

There truly is no limit to what a Girl Scout can do!