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Living Her Legacy Award: Trina
Dr. Trina Moskalik is a self-described serial hobbyist in creative arts, so it comes as no surprise that arts and crafts were one of her favorite aspects of being a Girl Scout troop leader.
“I’m not going to lie: if there’s a glue gun required, I’m probably interested,” laughs Trina.
Still, cross-stitching and crocheting were only a small part of her efforts while she volunteered with her daughter’s troop. Trina was with the troop for 13 years, beginning when the girls were in kindergarten and ending once they all graduated from high school. It’s for these efforts that she was recently awarded the Living Her Legacy Award for her outstanding service.
Today, Trina is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but she hasn’t always called the Cream City home. Her father was in the military so her family moved quite frequently; she lived in 19 states before settling in Wisconsin as an adult. She likes to joke about geographic trivia — if you tell her where you live, she can probably fire back a tidbit of information about your home state. But, all of the moves weren’t only because of her dad’s work. After college, Trina took a “traveling salesman job” that had her bouncing around the United States. “For a while, the thought of being somewhere for a long time made me itchy,” she recalls.
When she and her now-husband found themselves unhappy with life in Los Angeles, they relocated to Wyoming for a quieter way of living. After a decade in the country’s least-populous state, the couple and their new daughter moved to Milwaukee. After settling in, the family went to the kindergarten orientation and spotted a table for Girl Scout registration. Both she and her daughter thought the Girl Scout program would be a wonderful way to meet new friends, but there was one problem — they didn’t have a troop leader. Trina had never been a Girl Scout so she didn’t know much, but she was willing to try. Ultimately, she partnered up with another woman to lead the troop together. The rest, as they say, is history.
It was an impromptu decision that changed the next decade of Trina’s life. As she spent more time with her troop, the more she enjoyed everything the Girl Scouts offered. She holds a doctorate in organizational leadership and is also a professor of leadership and management in the Rader School of Business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Helping people grow into who they want to be is her passion, both in her free time and for her profession. Spending time with her troop was intrinsically rewarding as she enjoyed what she was teaching while also watching the girls develop over the years.
The bonds she created with her troop was special, too. When Trina began the troop in kindergarten, she had 32 girls. Over time, life changes and attrition whittled away those numbers to four by graduation, but she still has deep bonds with all of the girls — even if they didn’t last the entire 13 years.
“Even the girls that dropped along the way will call me their second mom when we run into each other,” she says.
Still, 13 years is a long time to dedicate to anything, but Trina is adamant that the Girl Scouts are worth the effort and energy. Not only does she feel that the organization is unparalleled when it comes to developing and growing female leaders, but she also believes the Girl Scouts offer an environment free of bias or conflict for the girls.
“It’s a safe space for girls to talk about things without having to look cool in front of others,” she says. “They can talk about the challenges and benefits and amazing parts and struggles of being a girl.
“There’s not much better in the world than women lifting up other women.”
The Living Her Legacy Award recognizes a troop leader who started a troop as kindergarten Daisies and continued the same group of Girl Scouts until they became graduated Ambassadors. Nominees must be active, registered Girl Scouts.
