It’s fair to say that Ruby Mavor is living her best life right now. 

While others were bunkering down for the Australian winter, the 25-year-old from Newcastle has been soaking up a full European summer for the past three months, representing Australia at the Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC) in Switzerland. 

Handpicked from just six Australian Scouts to work as short-term staff at KISC, Ruby has been guiding global scouts in everything from hiking and climbing, to canyoning and river rafting from her temporary home in the picturesque village of Kandersteg, in the Swiss Alps. 

When she returns to home to Newcastle on Sunday 1 September, it will be exactly 12 weeks since she set off from Sydney Airport for an adventure she says has changed her life. 

Ruby’s foray into International scouting started almost a decade ago, when her New Lambton Scout Group decided to attend the World Jamboree event in Japan.  

Since then, the vibrant Novocastrian has been serving as Deputy International Commissioner of Scouts Australia. 

It’s a role she’s fulfilled on three separate occasions. 

Travelling and working overseas with scouts, she says, has been an extraordinary experience that has opened the doors to countless opportunities in her life. 

“I learned way more in scouting and especially scouting overseas than I ever did in school,” she says. 

“The doors that it’s opened, the opportunities that it’s given me, and the personal growth is just absolutely wild.  

“You don’t get to experience that when you just travel by yourself or with your family.  

“Travelling within Scouting, there’s this sort of magic about it.  

“I’ve been involved in International Scouting for nine to 10 years now, so it’s been a big part of my life.” 

Scouts Australia currently boasts 70,000 members and is part of the 40-million member World Organisation of the Scout Movement.

Scouts NSW has almost 16,000 Youth and Adult members, from a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds, and with varying abilities. 

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