Pearland Girl Scout with viral video shares cookie sale success

PEARLAND, Texas – A local Girl Scout is turning lemons into Lemonades after her story about a stolen pencil shot her into social media stardom. Since sharing her story, Taylor James, 7, has gained thousands of likes and followers on Instagram, as well as an invitation to be a guest on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

“I met Ellen DeGeneres...It was nice. She gave me the giant pencil. It was funny,” said James.

Now she is using her newfound fame for a good cause: selling Girl Scout Cookies. James, a Girl Scout Brownie, is currently in her third year of the program. Her cookie pitch videos have thousands of views and hundreds of comments. This Girl Scout Cookie Season, James has sold more than 4,000 boxes of cookies, smashing her original goal of 2,000 boxes.

James enjoys earning Girl Scout badges for different activities like archery, painting and her favorite: STEM. During her three years in the program, she has learned about coding, engineering and even medical skills.

“When I grow up I want to be a science teacher because...you never know what’s going to happen, but something cool always happens,” said James.

Taylor James, 7, enjoys STEM programming in Girl Scouts. (KPRC)

The Girl Scout characteristics of courage, confidence and character are clearly evident in James. She will be celebrating her eighth birthday next month, but even at her young age, she has words of wisdom to share from her life experiences.

“Ask more than once...I would say just keep asking, and if they don’t give it back, hopefully someone else will give it back to you,” said James.

To learn more about Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, click here.


About the Author:

Olivia Kolanek is the Features Producer of KPRC 2's Houston Life. She joined the KPRC family in the summer of 2019 after working in non-profit communications for three years. She is passionate about creating content that features good people, good food or a good story. Olivia is a University of Houston alumna, Audible junkie and scuba novice.