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40 Colorado Girl Scouts earn Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts

Gold Award Girl Scouts are high school girls who address issues they’re passionate about by planning and implementing a project that produces lasting change in their communities and beyond
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Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-gold-medal-on-a-black-surface-6120394/

NEWS RELEASE
GIRL SCOUTS OF COLORADO
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Girl Scouts make our world a better place by taking action to address issues facing their local communities. There are no better examples of this Girl Scout spirit and resiliency than the 40 Girl Scouts from across Colorado who this year earned the distinction of Gold Award Girl Scout, the highest honor in Girl Scouts. Gold Award Girl Scouts are high school girls who address issues they’re passionate about by planning and implementing a project that produces lasting change in their communities and beyond. They include:

  • Charlotte Alegranti, Superior, Girl Scout Green Certification Program – Charlie created an environmental certification program to encourage restaurants in Superior and Boulder to be more sustainable. The certification addresses the business’s water, waste, and energy management. The decal in the windows of certified businesses indicates to the community they are trying to protect the environment. 
  • Paige Bauer, Berthoud, Berthoud Memorial Garden – Paige’s school community had experienced several unexpected losses, inspiring Paige to create a memorial garden where people are encouraged to write the name of their loved one to reflect and remember those they have lost. 
  • Kenyan Clarkson, Berthoud, Protecting Our Pollinators – Kenyan found the main cause of the declining pollinator populations is habitat loss and increased use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals. To combat this, she built a garden in her community to promote natural foraging habits. She then created an awareness campaign by educating children in her community and promoting an online pledge for others in her community to host natural and organic habitats.  
  • Lea Cook, Broomfield, Project Mind Over Matter – To address the rise of mental health issues in middle schoolers, Lea created the Mind Over Matter program for sixth graders in her community. The program teaches students how to monitor and regulate their emotions through a series of breathing exercises and techniques that they can take with them into their teenage years.  
  • Rosemary Elliot, Superior, I’m An Engineer – Closing the STEM Gender Gap – Rosemary noticed that interest in STEM for girls tends to drop off in middle school, so she created a middle school club in her community that promotes fun STEM activities and keeps girls engaged and inspired to prioritize STEM classes and professions for their future.  
  • Chanah Janzen, Fort Collins, Why Shop When You Can Adopt – Chanah educated her community on the importance of adopting pets from shelters by creating a comprehensive awareness campaign using social media. She also created an event where younger Girl Scouts can make toys to donate to local shelters and learn the importance of supporting adoption organizations in their community. 
  • Jasmine Kemp, Superior, TGTHR Holiday Gift Drive – Inspired by her troop’s annual support of the TGTHR nonprofit, Jasmine created a sustainable pipeline of volunteers through local organizations to donate gifts to TGTHR every year around the holidays to be given to teens experiencing homelessness. Her program will ensure that teens in need in her community will continue to receive gifts every year even though her Girl Scout troop is bridging to adult members this year.  
  • Meghana Kumar, Superior, Help for Mental Health – Meghana created an easy-to-navigate online resource for students at Monarch High School to find quick art therapy activities like crafts, coloring, and breathing exercises. The exercises are great for students who may be feeling overwhelmed or struggling with other mental health issues and will be available for all students at her school going forward.  
  • Ella Malm, Superior, Remembering the Superior Historical Museum – During the Marshall Fire in 2021, the Superior Historical Museum was destroyed. The process of rebuilding has begun. To benefit the future of the museum, Ella created a scale model of the historic building that is displayed at the Town of Superior Community Center to promote the museum and inspire people in her community to visit and support the organization.  
  • Bryn Rodgers, Boulder, Mindfulness Zone – Bryn worked with the City of Boulder to create a mindfulness zone in her community. The mindfulness zone is made up of natural elements and prompts that encourage visitors to decompress and learn a simple mindfulness activity that can help them in their daily lives. 

A Gold Award Girl Scout, no matter her background or ability, learns to tap into the world-changing power within her. She takes the lead in designing and enacting a plan for change and makes a positive impact in her community and beyond.

Gold Award Girl Scouts discover they have the power to create the future they want for themselves and others, and it shows. According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are significantly more satisfied—with their personal lives and professional careers—than non-Girl Scouts. 85% of Gold Award Girl Scouts say that earning their Gold Award gave them skills to succeed in their daily lives, and 87% say it gave them skills to help them succeed professionally.

"Gold Award Girl Scouts don’t just change the world for the better, they change it for good—and these Girl Scouts embody everything this achievement stands for," said Leanna Clark, CEO of Girl Scouts of Colorado. “Each of these young women addressed an issue that’s important to her in order to earn her Gold Award, and she’s grown as a leader in the process. We congratulate each of these Gold Award Girl Scouts on this momentous accomplishment, and I can’t wait to see what they can achieve in the future.”

Open only to girls in high school, the Girl Scout Gold Award is the most prestigious award in the world for girls. The Gold Award project involves seven steps: 1. Identify an issue, 2. Investigate it thoroughly, 3. Get help and build a team, 4. Create a plan, 5. Present the plan and gather feedback, 6. Take action, 7. Educate and inspire.

Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally.

Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award: 96% of Gold Award Girl Scouts say their experience inspired their ongoing commitment to service or volunteering, and 95% say it made them more responsible members of their communities.

You can learn more about these extraordinary young women and their projects on the Girl Scouts of Colorado blog. You have permission to use the photos and biographies of any of the girls listed above in print or online publications. If you would like to interview any of these Girl Scouts about their project and the impact it had, please contact Hannah Gutkind, Girl Scouts of Colorado public relations manager.

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