Two Farmington Girl Scouts Earn Highest National Girl Scout Honor

Above: Natalie Gallo and Lauren Rossitto

Natalie Gallo and Lauren Rossitto of Farmington have received their Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

In order to earn the Gold Award, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts grades nine through 12 spend at least 80 hours researching issues, assessing community needs and resources, building a team, and making a sustainable impact in the community. A Gold Award recipient’s accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart as a community leader.

Natalie’s project helped spearhead four different STEM-related club meetings in order to empower young girls and introduce them to STEM fields. In each meeting, Natalie taught the girls how to conduct two different experiments and help get them excited about science. Natalie’s project helped raise awareness in her community about the divide between men and women in STEM fields. Natalie plans to pursue a career in the STEM field after she graduates.

Lauren’s project helped elementary school students build confidence in mathematics by hosting “Family Math Nights.” During the math nights, elementary school students were able to play games created by Lauren, and also given the opportunity to create their own board games to take home with them and maintain an interest in math. Lauren plans to pursue a career in elementary education after she graduates.

“On a national level, only four to six percent of Girl Scouts earn this prestigious honor, and I am beyond proud of our girls,” said Mary Barneby, CEO of Girl Scouts of Connecticut. “By earning the Gold Award, Girl Scouts set themselves apart as top achievers, and are incredible women of confidence, courage, and character, who make the world a better place. Next year, we are excited to celebrate our 100th year of encouraging girls to Go Gold!”

For more information about the Gold Award or how to become a Gold Award volunteer or mentor, visit http://www.gsofct.org/pages/GoldAward.php.