28 October 2008
Woman President? You Betcha!
Posted by admin under: leadership .
If any organization could be called an old-boys network, the Boy Scouts of America would certainly fit the bill. However, since the 70’s girls have been allowed to join the non-traditional part of the BSA in the Explorer or Venturing programs. Now, the national President of Venturing is a young woman named Amanda Vogt. I’ve heard complaints from girls who left the GSUSA that they didn’t get enough adventure in their troops and were tired of making crafts and talking all the time. Venturing is the perfect fit for them. You might even become President! To make this story even more surprising, KSDK in St. Louis says that Amanda is also a cancer survivor.
Just months before Amanda took on the opportunity of a lifetime, she wasn’t sure how long that lifetime would last. She was having seizures.
“Anytime I ate anything I’d start going like that. My head would just snap to the right,” she says.
Dozens of tests later, doctors discovered that Amanda had a brain tumor. Her mother got the phone call.
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Surgery was an option; but not only was it dangerous, there were no guarantees. One day, under the weight of the burden, Amanda broke down.
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On the morning of January 3, Amanda went into the operating room. Twelve hours later, she was wheeled into recovery.
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Five days later she was out of the hospital and attended a scout meeting.
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She doesn’t talk much about her ordeal but she doesn’t deny it’s changed her.
“She’s more nurturing to other people. She’s more understanding,” says her mother.
“I learned over the last year: don’t put off something you can do today until tomorrow,” Amanda says, “because last year I didn’t know if I would have a tomorrow.”
It’s been said that facing our fears make us stronger and after everything she’s been through, the Boy Scout motto could be her own.
When it comes to the future, Amanda Vogt will be prepared.
What a phenomenal story. Somebody contact Walden Media. Here’s your tough cookie!
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