36 area Girl Scouts earn Gold Awards, the group's highest achievement

Gold Award Girl Scouts from across the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways Council attend a recognition event held at Drumlins in Syracuse, N.Y.  (Photo courtesy of Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways)

Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways (GSNYPENN) is proud to announce that 36 Girl Scouts from across its council territory have earned the prestigious Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. The council recently honored its Gold Award Girl Scouts at a recognition event held at Drumlins in Syracuse, N.Y., with keynote speaker and female entrepreneur Diana Jaramillo, owner of Kin Architecture Studio.

The Gold Award recognizes girls in grades 9 to 12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable Take Action projects. After minimum requirements are completed, the Gold Award project is the culmination of a girl's demonstration of self-discipline, leadership ability, time management, creativity, initiative and a significant mastery of skills. Each girl must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to planning and implementing her project, which must benefit the community and have lasting impact.

"The Girl Scout Gold Award acknowledges the power behind each Gold Award Girl Scout's dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others," says GSNYPENN CEO Julie Dale. "These 36 young women are courageous leaders and visionary change makers. They are our future, and it looks bright!"

In addition, three of the Gold Award Girl Scouts were selected for a special council scholarship. Each girl was awarded $1,000 to be used toward advancing her education at an institution of higher education. The girls were chosen by the award committee because their Take Action projects demonstrated the highest level of leadership, sustainability, measurability and national/global links. Scholarship winners are Kaitlyn Cook from Alfred, NY, Mara Frisbee from Downsville, NY, and Kristina Knight from Owego, NY.

Since 1916, Girl Scouting's highest award has stood for excellence and leadership for girls everywhere. Over the course of the last century, millions of Girl Scout alums have positively impacted their communities and the world with their creative, impactful and sustainable Take Action projects. It's not only Girl Scouts who understand the value of the Gold Award. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award Girl Scouts and girls who enlist in the U.S. armed forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.

2018 GSNYPENN Gold Award Girl Scouts

Natalie Barrus - Liverpool, NY
Take Action Project: Tables and Benches for Retreat Center
Natalie built plywood tables and benches for the Liverpool Art Center in order to give back to a place that has allowed her to disconnect and grow as an artist and person.

Autumn Cieplinski - Ontario, NY
Take Action Project: Cases of Love
Autumn provided Ontario County Department of Social Services with bags and blankets for children entering foster care so that they no longer used trash bags to carry their belongings with them and had a blanket to call their own.

Kaitlyn Cook - Alfred, NY
Take Action Project: Leave No Trace Trail
Kaitlyn shared her love of nature and concern for its preservation by creating a hiking path with signs explaining how to minimize one's impact while enjoying outdoors.

Kaitlyn Cook - Painted Post, NY
Take Action Project: Giving Back
Kaitlyn renovated the landscaping in front of All Saints Academy, dramatically improving the school's curb appeal. She dedicated her work in memory of her grandmother, who loved gardening.

Kaitlyn Czerow - Oswego, NY
Take Action Project: Camping Fun & Safety
Kaitlyn educated people on campfire safety and Lyme disease prevention by organizing family events at Oswego Public Library and designing informational pamphlets.

Catherine Delaney - Trumansburg, NY
Take Action Project: Music Classroom Upgrades at Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts (TCFA)
Catherine addressed youth music education and worked with TCFA to rehabilitate music rooms by repairing ceilings, repainting floors, installing acoustic panels and making rooms usable again.

Teresa Deskur - Vestal, NY
Take Action Project: Recorder Revival - Expanding the Recorder's Role
Teresa raised awareness about the recorder as an instrument and tool for music education by presenting an interactive half-hour program at local elementary schools, creating videos and a website and compiling teacher resources.

Mira Dhakal - Vestal, NY
Take Action Project: Outdoor Reading Area
Mira created an outdoor reading area to help beautify the front of her local library to shed light on the importance of reading and encourage community members to visit.

Hannah DiMarco - Mansfield, PA
Take Action Project: Camp Tennis
Hannah addressed lack of interest in her school's tennis program by creating a Tennis Camp to encourage youth to develop a lifelong love of the sport.

Rebecca Dromms - Liverpool, NY
Take Action Project: Girls in STEM
Rebecca focused on enabling young girls to be exposed to STEM-related activities by coordinating a "Girls in STEM" Day at SRC, Inc. 

Megan Feely - Trumansburg, NY 
Take Action Project: Wellness Day
Megan organized a Wellness Day workshop focused on teenage health and wellbeing; experiences included yoga, massage, smoothie making and nature walks

Molly Feustel - Endwell, NY
Take Action Project: Reading for Fun
Molly addressed children's lack of interest in reading and decreasing use of libraries by creating a program for elementary schools based on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl.

Hailey Fox - Kirkwood, NY
Take Action Project: Art of Dance with Miss Judy
Hailey focused on dance and its benefits for people of any age--including children, those with differing abilities and the elderly.

Mara Frisbee - Downsville, NY 
Take Action Project: Online Library
Mara promoted reading and education in her community by making her local library more accessible with an online card catalog system using computers, barcodes and scanners.  

Brianna Gerhardt - Walworth, NY
Take Action Project: The Magic of Music
Brianna encouraged middle schoolers to continue with music during their transition to high school by organizing a showcase concert, video and pamphlet to highlight music's mental and physical benefits.   

Lisette Gregory - Andover, NY
Take Action Project: Bikers First Aid Kits
Lisette addressed the lack of motorcyclists who carry first aid kits and the importance of knowing how to use them by organizing a Stop the Bleed training class that will continue to provide free first aid kits for bikers at area events.

Erika Hanson - Hastings, NY
Take Action Project: Constitution for Kids
Erika addressed disinterest in the U.S. Constitution by creating a children's book about the values surrounding the supreme law of America titled "Penny Copper and The Constitution."

Kaylie Holz - Baldwinsville, NY
Take Action Project: Education for Girls in El Salvador
Kaylie raised awareness about how education for girls in developing countries decreases infant/maternal mortality, militancy, and lower economic status by collecting supplies which she delivered to a town in rural El Salvador and while there assisted with structural repairs and helped residents receive medical care from visiting doctors.

Anna Hotalen - Vestal, NY
Take Action Project: Fleece Tie Blanket
Anna made fleece blankets for Saint Mary's Children's Hospital, a long-term hospital where most patients have lifelong issues, with hopes that the children will bring their blankets back with them each time they are admitted.

Kayla Hughey - Sayre, PA
Take Action Project: Costume Closet
Kayla created a community Halloween costume closet so that all children and their families can participate in a fun holiday tradition; the closet provides free costumes and accessories to those in need.

Nancy Jackson - Watkins Glen, NY 
Take Action Project: Educate Yourself
Nancy organized a college fair at Watkins Glen High School open to all students in grades 9-12, including those from surrounding schools.

Bridget Kinsell - Cicero, NY
Take Action Project: The Importance of Free Play and Our Environment
Bridget addressed free play and its benefits and the importance of recycling for the environment by working with children to build a garden using recycled tires.

Kristina Knight - Owego, NY
Take Action Project: Bee Aware
Kristina addressed the decline of bees and their importance to our ecosystem and food supply by planting a pollinator garden with perennial plants native to New York State.

McKenzie Lohmer - Canaseraga, NY
Take Action Project: There Should Be Fun for Everyone
McKenzie purchased an accessible swing for her school to stress the importance of "fun is for everyone" and educated her community about the importance of acceptance through social media, word of mouth and setting up a booth at local functions.

Natalie Novak - Johnson City, NY
Take Action Project: Stress Reduction Kits
Natalie addressed stress experienced by children and adolescents who suffer from mental and emotional disorders by developing stress reduction comfort kits for a local agency in her community.

Sydney Preston - Trumansburg, NY
Take Action Project: What's All the Buzz?
Sydney raised awareness about honeybee health through an informative presentation to younger Girl Scouts in her community and creating a natural flower garden and permanent information board in her local park.

Bryanne Reynolds - Baldwinsville, NY
Take Action Project: Stay Warm
Bryanne made 20 fleece tie blankets and activity boxes and donated them to a local Senior Living program.

Madison Romberger - Sayre, PA
Take Action Project: Buddy Bench
Maddie addressed childhood loneliness and fostering friendships on her elementary school's playground through the addition of a custom bench and used resources in her community to complete the project.

Lindsey Schaeffer - Victor, NY
Take Action Project: Victor Astronomy Club 
Lindsey created the Victor Astronomy Club, the first astronomy offering at Victor Senior High, featuring college-level lectures, activities and presentations.

Amber Taylor - Macedon, NY
Take Action Project: Bring on the Books
Amber addressed the issue of people, especially children, reading less and playing on electronics more by creating a "Little Free Library" in Macedon. She is also helping to establish one in Oneonta.

Ginger Van Allen - Central Square, NY
Take Action Project: Short Film - "It's Who I Want to Be"
Ginger empowered young minds to follow their passion by creating a short film outlining the lives of three individuals in "non-traditional" careers based on gender (female engineer, male hairdresser, etc.) and focused on the struggles and discouragement from family and friends that led them to achieve the goal that called them.

Anneke Van Slyke - Manlius, NY
Take Action Project: Encourage and Entertain - Passing the Time at CPEP
Anneke supplied forms of entertainment and inspirational quotes to occupy, motivate and inspire youth admitted to the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) at St. Joseph's Health Hospital.

Maija Vizvary - Vestal, NY
Take Action Project: Memorial Bench of Honor
Maija built a memorial bench to recognize 10 Civil War veterans buried at Ingraham Hill Cemetery to raise awareness of the soldiers and their service to our country.

Julia Wicks - Baldwinsville, NY 
Take Action Project: Sunshine Bags
Julia created Sunshine Bags to fill the needs of older teens in the hospital (because donations are often for younger-aged children) and filled them with a variety of age-appropriate items to help lift their spirits.

Morgan Wright - Ogdensburg, NY
Take Action Project: Morristown Backpack Program
Morgan learned that more than 70% of students who attend her local school receive free or reduced lunch, and personally witnessed classmates go hungry because they didn't have resources, so she started a Backpack Program now being sustained by the school's Parent Teacher Organization.

Lauren Young - Vestal, NY
Take Action Project: Back Fixing Work
Lauren addressed the issue of back pain caused by heavy backpacks in her school by refurbishing lockers and providing students with information about how that by using the locker, they could prevent future back pain.

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