Karin Ashley Leiper of North Stonington has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. In order to earn the Gold Award, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts between the grades of 9-12 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. Karin created the Hewitt Farm Butterfly Garden on the town’s newly purchased Hewitt Property. It is the first town attraction to be placed on the property, now open for families and children to visit. The garden was planted with perennials that will bloom each year. Karin joined the “Friends of the Hewitt Farm” group that will care for the garden. She plans to study radio broadcasting and communication. The Gold Award is the highest achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting, meeting national standards set by Girl Scouts of the USA. Since 1916, girls have successfully answered the call to Go Gold, an act that indelibly marks them as accomplished members of their communities and the world. This year, 70 young women from around the state earned their Girl Scout Gold Award, an unprecedented number and the most recipients in Girl Scouts of Connecticut’s history. Many of the Gold Award recipients attended a special ceremony on June 2 at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford and received certificates from Girl Scouts of Connecticut and Girl Scouts of the USA, as well as a congratulatory letter from Girl Scouts of Connecticut CEO, Mary Barneby. The Gold Award recipients will also receive certificates or letters from Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, United States Senator Chris Murphy, the Connecticut General Assembly, and Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed fraternity. 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.
