Bailee Thompson has been a Girl Scout as long as she can remember.
She knows the question on everybody’s mind. She estimates in 13 years she has sold in excess of 10,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. The proceeds have funded scout trips to New York and Savannah, Ga., and a canoe trip to Ely, Minn.
Besides her exceptional salesmanship, Thompson is a top scholar. In fact, she is a National Merit Finalist. She is hopeful the honor will result in scholarship money to help pay college tuition next fall, but there is no guarantee. She has enrolled at the University of Oklahoma and plans to major in Electrical Engineering.
Thompson, 18, is a Yukon High School senior who is also about to complete the Pre-Engineering program at Canadian Valley Technology Center. Class curriculum includes engineering design concepts.
She recently put the knowledge to good use by completing a project to benefit Girl Scouts statewide. Thompson planned, designed and built a hammock campsite at Camp Ekowah, near Marlow. The idea is to allow up to 11 people to sit in their hammocks, facing each other within a 10-foot dimeter. Then, when night falls, there is the added benefit of sleeping in the hammocks.
The project is the final requirement for the Gold Award, which is the highest achievement for Girl Scouts. Only 5 percent of Girl Scouts earn the award. Substantial community involvement is also required through donations of materials and cash. Thompson has been notified her project was approved, and she is the recipient of the Gold Award.
“Girl Scouts, to me, is about opportunity,” she said. “You have chances to do a lot of things that you wouldn’t otherwise do. And you make connections and friends along the way.”
Thompson spent three years in CV Tech’s Pre-Engineering program and competed on last year’s VEX Robotics team. She envisions a career as a robotics engineer.
She said CV Tech properly prepared her for the next step, which is college life. The college-prep curriculum within the Pre-Engineering program is designed to immerse high school students in rigorous math and science courses to prepare them to be more successful at a university.
CV Tech’s Pre-Engineering program began at the El Reno Campus in 2008. The school’s Chickasha Campus also has a Pre-Engineering program. For more information, visit cvtech.edu, or call (405) 262-2629 to speak to a career counselor.
