By Eliza PARTIKA

Girl Scout Troop #1601 celebrated its last bridging from Ambassador rank to adults in a unique and memorable way – a trip to England, a trip that was a decade in the making.

The majority of the troop of seven have been in Girl Scouts since they were in kindergarten. They developed close relationships with one another over the years and, with leader encouragement, decided they wanted to do their last celebration abroad as a group. A decade ago, the troop began saving some of the proceeds from cookie and
fall product sales to fund their trip overseas for its final bridging ceremony, which would take place after the girls’ high school graduation. Last year, they made the final decision to go to London.

Five of the seven troop members traveled to the UK to officially mark their last Scout rank by crossing the Tower of London Bridge. Bridging ceremonies, the traditional way a Girl Scout marks transiting to the next level of the program, involves crossing a bridge from one side to the other, and are important markers of Scouts’ coming of age, said parent Melanie Burzynski.

In the past, the troop’s bridging ceremonies took place on a bridge at a local park or at the Montrose Girl Scouts campus. But Burzynski said leaders and parents felt their last crossing should be a special way to mark Troop #1601’s transition into adulthood.

Girl Scouts go through several ranks as they move up in grade level, with Daisies being the youngest level and Ambassadors the final step, usually in 11th or 12th grade.

“As a parent, I really get to see these Scouts come into their own – where they’re going, what they’re going to be doing. To be able to see the Scouts, be able to have more of a voice of what’ happening, into what they’d like to see, what they’d like to do [is important for parents, too],” she said.

The Scouts planned the entire trip themselves, including bus routes and local attractions they wanted to visit. Some of the Scouts’ favorite locations included the Globe Theater, Big Ben and the London Eye. Some might say these are just “trademark areas” but they’re choices that reflect what interests speak to some of the girls.

“For some of the girls, it was their first time to London, so there was excitement around learning about something new,” said Burzynski.

The troop and their chaperones stayed together in London before continuing their own family vacations to other parts of Europe. Burzynski said turning the bridging into a family occasion made the time even more memorable for Scouts and
their families.

“It’s quite an exciting time for the Scouts to be able to have that memorable trip,” Burzynski said. “We knew that when we bridged over for the international trip, we had to find a location that was right for that.”

Donations to programs like Girl Scouts allowed Burzynski and her daughter Avalon, who is a member of Troop #1601, to plan and enjoy the trip. For Avalon and her fellow Scouts, the trip was a “last hurrah” and “a way to wrap up all the years we spent together.”

“I loved being with my troop; I felt like it’s the closest we’ve ever been,” Avalon told CV Weekly. “I was in [scouting] for 13 years, and each bridging meant moving to the next stage of Girl Scouts and learning to do more for the community. Now that I’m done with bridging, it’s like I’m able to take all I learned in those past years and use [those skills] in my life.”