*This post is sponsored by Girl Scouts of the USA.*
When I found out I was pregnant with our first baby back in 2012, I was convinced we were having a boy. We had a name picked out, and I started pinning all of the baseball themed nursery inspiration I could find. As it turns out, mother’s intuition isn’t always accurate! Six years later, I am having a blast raising two bold, adventurous little girls (now ages 6 and 3). We are determined to teach our girls to be courageous and confident. And, as a teacher who works with juniors and seniors, I continually am thankful for and in awe of the inspiring young women who are role models for our girls.
Today, I’m sharing 10 awe-inspiring young women whose service and action research earned them the coveted Girls Scouts National Gold Award. These honorees were nominated by their local councils, as National Gold Award Girl Scouts, and the earned this prestigious honor for creating a project to address a local challenge related to a national or global issue.
As a teacher who believes in the power of project-based learning, I am so excited to share the 10 National Gold Award Girl Scouts and their projects. My hope is to provide inspiration for your own students, to uplift the voices of young women, and to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. Most importantly, I’m excited to share the amazing opportunities through the Girl Scouts for you share with your girl students. Let’s start with what you need to know about the Gold Program to share with your students!
Benefits of the Gold Program
The Gold Program is the epitome of project-based learning. The Gold Award is for ANY girl in high school who is interested in tackling issues that are dear to them and drive lasting change in their communities and beyond. It’s important to note the 10 National Gold Award Girl Scouts were selected from a large application pool for scholarships and recognition, but ANY high school Girl Scout can earn their Gold Award. What’s really exciting to share with our students is that a girl may join the Girl Scouts in High School for the first time and still be eligible to become Gold Award Girl Scouts.
These young women will gain experience in leadership, philanthropy, dedication, and working with others. These skills can prepare them for schooling and life outside of college. Plus, it can open doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, and amazing career opportunities. To check out the Gold Award Educator’s page, click here.
Let’s meet these amazing young women! Remember to click on the link after their description to hear about their projects in their own words. You can also access the 2019 National Gold Award Girl Scouts here.
Isabella
Isabella wrote and directed a play to shine a light on violence against Native American women. Read about her project here.
Mary Katherine
Mary Katherine founded Project Reeflove, an awareness and educational campaign that teaches kids and encourages lawmakers to outlaw sunscreen that damages coral reefs. Read her about her project here.
Minely
Minely fought for a change in a law in Puerto Rico to help deaf drivers. Read about her project here.
Lauren
Lauren wrote a book filled with stories of hope that is now distributed to oncology centers. Read about her project here.
Phoebe
Phoebe founded Glitterary, a digital literary magazine that’s both for and by LGBTQ+ youth, to show the world the diversity and depth of the LBGTQ+ community. Read about her project here.
Taryn-Marie
Taryn-Marie created a website full of information and a tip sheet for foster youth achieve their dreams of attending college. Read about her project here.
Gracie
Gracie built a mobile chicken coop to bring to classes to teach kids about farm to table. Read about her project here.
Megan
Megan spoke at the United States about how they could best support girls in STEM. Read about her project here.
Ana
Ana create a complete ethnic studies curriculum that was adopted by her school district. Read about her project here.
Kai
Kai created a music program for her middle school complete with an orchestra. Read about her project here.
Awesome Facts About the Girl Scouts
- Research shows that Girl Scouts are more likely than non–Girl Scouts to achieve academic excellence, and overachieve when it comes to team work, hands-on learning and reflection, and decision making.
- Girl Scouts understands the vital connection between young girls’ development and their future success, and offers a one-of-a-kind, proven leadership development program that prepares them to take the lead from age 5 to 18, and into adulthood.
- Girl Scouts teaches girls to things such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); entrepreneurship; life skills; financial literacy; and outdoor experiences—in the safe, all-girl environment of a Girl Scout troop, where they can try new things, develop a range of skills, take on leadership roles, and feel comfortable failing, dusting themselves off, and trying again!
- Girl Scouts programming meets state and national curriculum standards and educators can look up how badges and journey series correlate to in-classroom learning.
- Gold Award is the most highly regarded award in the world for girls. It’s the mark of the truly remarkable—proof that a girl can not only make a difference, but she already has. It’s a distinction that can open a girl’s world to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, and amazing career opportunities. To earn this unique award, Girl Scouts tackle issues dear to them and drive lasting change in their communities and beyond.
For more information on the benefits of the Girl Scout Gold Award, click here.
Thank you to the Girl Scouts for sponsoring this post. As always, my opinions are always my own.
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