Wisconsin Girl Scout Sells Over 35,000 Boxes Of Cookies, Breaks State Record

Someone has a bright future in sales.

As someone who loads up on Girl Scout cookies every year, even I must concede this is a legendary number of boxes.

According to the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Badgerland, Girl Scout Molly Lenius sold 35,598 boxes of cookies over 13 years, setting the state's record for individual sales. Molly estimates she's spent between 500-600 hours selling cookies.

But it's not just Molly with the extraordinary numbers. Victoria, Molly's older sibling, sold over 29,000 boxes of cookies. The family's cookie sales record stands at over 64,646 boxes.

Molly's cookie sales were lessons in customer service, budgeting, and resilience. Molly said:

As a child, I was very shy. Selling cookies helped me get out of my comfort zone and taught me how to talk to strangers. It also helped me with math and leadership. And it’s taken me to amazing places like Costa Rica, Panamá, Italy, and Hawaii.

This summer, Molly will also visit Italy, Turkey, and Greece, which is made possible from dedication to the Girl Scouts' Cookie Program. Sheila, Molly's mother, had advice for Girl Scout parents selling cookies:

Cookie selling is a bonding experience. Phones are put away and your kid gets your undivided attention when there aren’t customers. Use all this time with your kid to discuss anything and everything.

Meanwhile, in the future, Molly plans to go to Iowa State University, majoring in agricultural engineering and minoring in math.

In her time in Girl Scouts, Molly also led a community program at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, creating tutorials and "educational garden beds".