Nicole Thomasson, 18, (center) of Louisiana, gets a playful hug from Gavin Robinson, 18, on their day off at the jamboree. Kaycee Kemp, 19, is right. smc View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Coed Venturers: Scouting's new thing

Girls get a place in the Boy Scouts, with advent of Venturing subgroup. And the coed group proves popular at jamboree.

By AMBI BIGGS

Date published: 8/1/2001

BY NOW, 17-year-old Melissa Bosko knows how people will react when she tells them she's a Boy Scout.

"They're like, 'What? You're a girl!'"

And then she begins explaining. Like 283,000 other 14- to 20-year-olds in the country, the Chicago native is a Venturer.

Focused on high-adventure activities such as rock-climbing, caving and skiing, Venturing began three years ago as a subgroup of the Boy Scouts of America. Girls make up about 40 percent of the participants in the coed program, according to David Hayward, a spokesman at the jamboree.

"Venturing is definitely where it is now," said Kate Knuth, the outgoing national Venturing president.

That could be seen at this year's National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, where the Venturing exhibits drew crowds of Scouts.

"It definitely is one of the hottest attractions," Hayward said. "It's jam-packed."

At the Venturing rain forest, many Scouts made their way through a cave to a simulated airplane crash, where they tried to rescue the survivors. The forest also includes shooting galleries, a biking course with swamplike conditions and a scuba display.

Bosko, a guide in the rain forest, started a Venturing crew with her dad about three years ago. She was a Girl Scout until fifth grade but the organization didn't suit her, she said.

"Girl Scouts just sit in log cabins and sew," she said. "Here you can get dirty, climb and hike."

She's not the only Venturer who feels that way. Of the 70 who attended this year's jamboree, 28 were women.

Knuth, 20, said she decided to join a coed Explorer crew after seeing how much fun her older brother and male friends had in the Boy Scouts. Three years ago, Exploring split into more specialized programs such as Venturing and Learning for Life, a career-oriented organization.

"I kind of tagged along as a kid sister, and when I turned 14, it was like, of course, I'm going to join," Knuth said.

Although the female Venturers enjoy the activities the organization offers, they said being a woman in the Boy Scouts isn't always easy. While their male crew members make them feel welcome, the same can't be said of some older troop leaders.

Karen Stachowicz, an 18-year-old Venturer from Waukesha, Wis., said she is the only young woman in the area where she sleeps at the jamboree.

"It's tough. They [adults] don't think we should be here," Stachowicz said. "The new generation growing up is more used to it."

Chris Warsawich, a 17-year-old Venturer from an all-male crew in Shelton, Conn., had no problems with female Venturers attending the jamboree.

"We're all in this together for the same reason--to have fun," he said.

The women aren't just having fun, but their breaking stereotypes, too.

Laura Haderxhanaj from San Marcos, Texas, worked as a volunteer in the chemistry area at this year's jamboree, her second. She has been on four expeditions at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Charles Johnson, the adult leader of her Venturer crew, praises her energy: "There are few Boy Scouts who have done as much high adventure as Laura," he said.

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Date published: 8/1/2001