Scouting America
Scouting America
Gavin Pitts
Formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, but changed in 2025 to Scouting America for more inclusivity, Scouting has troops all
across the world. In Flagstaff alone, there are 4 Scout Troops, Troop 7031, 7033, 9033, 7036, and 7039, with 9033 being a girls’ troop. Scouting teaches skills from first-aid to basic wilderness survival. Merit badges are also offered as a way for scouts to learn more about things they’re already interested in. These badges also give scouts chances to try new things they couldn’t access outside of scouts, since badges range wildly from computer programming to shotgunning to horseback riding. Scouting has personally given me chances to do a lot of things like canoeing on the border between the US and Canada in Minnesota or sailing off the Florida Keys, and I want to give more opportunities like that to more people, because I know they definitely are some of the impactful experiences I’ve had.
My scoutmaster once told the troop: “be prepared for anything, anywhere, all the time.” That stuck with me because I realized I would never have another time when I wouldn’t bring something I might need with me to fulfill that motto, be prepared.
Scouting is a great opportunity to not only do cool things, but to do them with the people that become your siblings over time, even if you hate them at first. That’s what scouting does, it brings people together and teaches them how to get used to each other, which is a skill that is necessary in a world where you can’t avoid working with people you don’t necessarily like.