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Spokane Valley High senior uses Scout knowledge gained since kindergarten

Jaqui McPeck, a senior at Spokane Valley High, has been active in Girl Scouts for over 10 years, has volunteered at the Community Garden, Spokane ValleyÕs PartnerÕ Food Bank, Spokane Humane Society, the Union Gospel Mission and at Crosswalk. She plans to attend Whitworth University to major in physics while mojoring in art. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
By Madeline Keckler For The Spokesman-Review

While the Girl Scouts are best-known for their cookies, the commitment to community service that the organization inspires in its participants has a much greater impact than a box of Thin Mints.

Jacqui McPeck, a senior at Spokane Valley High School, has been involved with the Girl Scouts since she began as a Daisy Scout in kindergarten.

Since then, she has completed both the Bronze and Silver awards, two of the three highest awards a Girl Scout can achieve. The awards encourage girls to create and complete projects that will have a lasting impact on their community.

“Especially in recent years, with the Bronze and Silver awards, we’ve been focusing on working really closely with the food bank,” she said.

McPeck said her troop’s community garden at Veradale United Church of Christ produced roughly 500 pounds of food per harvest season, all of which was donated to the church’s food bank.

Bonnie McPeck, Jacqui’s mother and troop co-leader, has seen her daughter’s troop mature into young women dedicated to service.

“She has such a good work ethic in terms of wanting to help the community,” Bonnie McPeck said.

“Instead of focusing on the badges we were really more focused on doing the community service aspect,” Jacqui said about her troop.

She started doing community service in eighth grade by collecting stamps for the Spokane Humane Society to use on their mailers and donation letters.

“I think it’s definitely impacted my empathy and being able to really connect with people and see where their opinions are coming from,” she said, explaining how service has influenced her.

She named the Girl Scouts’ Thinking Day, a day dedicated to recognizing and celebrating cultures around the world, as a favorite Girl Scout experience.

“I really enjoyed doing all of the different activities, like the Thinking Day, because I enjoyed seeing how other countries and cultures work, and kind of expanding myself that way,” she said.

Her father, Jack McPeck, credited the Girl Scouts for introducing his daughter to the world of physics, which she intends to study at Whitworth University in the fall, along with a minor in art.

Jacqui hopes to blend her passion for science with her artistic talents in her future career, much like how she has combined art and community service.

Jacqui was asked to design and create a mosaic of Spokane Valley High School’s mascot, a phoenix. She estimated she spent over 100 hours working on the project.

The circular piece is on display in the school’s front office, one of the first things visitors see when they walk in the building.

Jacqui will complete her Girl Scout journey in May, when she bridges from Ambassador to Adult Girl Scout.

While she won’t be selling Thin Mints anymore, Jacqui McPeck will continue to uphold the pillars of the Girl Scout Law far beyond her years as a Scout: to be friendly, considerate, courageous, helpful, and to strive to make the world a better place.