Published May 11, 2021 at 5:24pm.
Story by Katie Kelton. Photos courtesy of Kenedi Houston.
Kenedi Houston, Girl Scout alumna and Oak Cliff native, has experienced firsthand the transformational effect of Girl Scouts. From selling 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies her first year as a Daisy to earning her Silver Award for recycling and reducing landfill waste, she credits 12 years of Girl Scouts for her resilience, confidence, and communication skills. “There’s no one way to be a Girl Scout,” she says. “We’re world-changers; we’re going to do big things.”
Kenedi (R) with fellow Girl Scouts at the 2018 book tour for Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming.
Kenedi’s high school graduation in 2020.
She reflects on her personal experience of interacting with former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama as Girl Scouts councils around the country roll out the Becoming Me program. In December 2018, Kenedi represented the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas onstage at Michelle Obama’s Becoming book chat. “I remember being nervous and confident,” Kenedi smiles. “Her fortitude inspires me. I appreciated hearing her life story; how teachers didn’t always believe in her but her family always supported her.” While Kenedi and Mrs. Obama didn’t speak, Mrs. Obama wrote her an encouraging note afterward, forever becoming an inspiration to Kenedi.
May 5, 2018—Grand Opening for the GSNETX STEM Center of Excellence with GSNETX CEO Jennifer Bartkowski (L), with Sylvia Acevedo and Anne Chow (center). This is the first STEM Center in Girl Scout history in the country, and acts a model for other councils and locations. (Photo courtesy of Girl Scouts Northeast Texas.)
Kenedi now attends the University of Texas and studies Political Science and Communications. She dreams of becoming an advocate for S.T.E.M education for girls and bilingual literacy. “Hearing a variety of perspectives is what I love about studying at UT,” she says. “Professors want to engage with students, are knowledgeable, and teach us to learn and think for ourselves.”
Kenedi conveys the same thirst for learning in her own life, as she endeavors to become a bilingual attorney for her Oak Cliff community. She says, “I would like to see a new wave of community happen. I think we need to build bridges swiftly and sturdy. A lot of people are craving an authentic sense of allyship.”
Now, in collaboration with Penguin Random House and Michelle Obama, Girl Scouts is introducing the Becoming Me program to help Girl Scouts become their best selves. The program is inspired by themes from Michelle Obama’s Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers and launched in early May 2021.
Michelle Obama. Photo by Miller Mobley. Courtesy of Girl Scouts Northeast Texas.
The program includes a virtual event with Mrs. Obama and walks girls through earning three badges at each Girl Scout level and available at no cost to all Girl Scouts enrolled for the 2021-2022 year. The six- to eight-week experience features themes from Mrs. Obama’s Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers that align with the Girl Scout mission, such as knowing and telling your story, maintaining mental health and wellness, and supporting and nurturing girls on their own journeys. It includes a journey activity for participants to reflect on their personal experiences and whom they would like to become, a facilitator guide, free digital downloads, an exclusive Becoming Me patch, and Admission to a virtual event featuring a conversation between Girl Scouts and Mrs. Obama.
“I am so pleased to be working with Girl Scouts of the USA on the Becoming Me program,” says Mrs. Obama. “It is a joy and privilege to support young girls along their journeys of becoming, working together to unlock the unique and profound power that lies within each of our own stories.”
Learn more about the Becoming Me program or participate as a Girl Scout by visiting their website.
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