We know you’re in a rush to open that box of Thin Mints you just bought, but if you pause to look at the front, you might recognize one girl.
She’s Trinity Brewer – choir singer, volleyball player and member of Irvine Girl Scout Troop 157. That’s her in the photo leading a group of Girl Scouts carrying a canoe.
Since the cookies went on sale in January, Trinity has appeared on local TV, in newspapers – and on an estimated 50 million cookie boxes.
Oh yeah, she’s also on the front of the Shortbread cookie box.
“It’s really crazy,” says the 16-year-old high school junior. “When I was younger, I used to look at the boxes and say, ‘That’s cool.’ But I wasn’t picked randomly. I earned it. And it has been an honor.”
Two years ago, she wrote a qualifying essay about herself, focusing on her community involvement and leadership. Six girls were picked for the cover shoots.
Today, Trinity is a Girl Scout Ambassador, a designation provided to older members, and is working toward the organization’s highest award, the Gold Award. She also is thinking about another important application process – college.
And she is ready for the challenge. “Girl Scouts has given me so many opportunities and helped me better myself,” she says. She’s not alone. According to Vikki Shepp, CEO of Girl Scouts of Orange County, 52% of female business leaders, 72% of female U.S. senators, 100% of U.S. secretaries of state, and 80% of female tech leaders were Girl Scouts at one point.
Nationwide, there are more than 2.5 million Girl Scouts who sell about 200 million boxes of cookies each year – including 2.5 million boxes in Orange County and 188,000 in Irvine. Sales end March 8.
Over her lifetime, Trinity says she’s sold more than 10,000 boxes of cookies. And she’s eaten a few, too.
“There was one day,” she says, “I ate a box and a half.”
