Local Teen Strives for Girl Scout Gold Award

Rhegan Graham of Arlington Heights is no stranger to the spotlight. The Prospect High School junior has been acting since she was 3 and directing since she was 8. So it makes perfect sense that Rhegan, a 16-year-old Girl Scout Senior, is planning to share her passion for performing as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project.

On Sunday, Oct. 18, Rhegan will host “A Day in the Spotlight” from 12 - 5 p.m. at Prospect High School for elementary and middle school students to learn about theatrical techniques. The workshop, which costs $25, comprises five workshops (costume design, character development, scene study, movement and improvisation) taught by high school students. Admission includes a shirt and snacks. To RSVP, please contact Heidi Graham at graham847@gmail.com.

“The most important part about performing or any drama is to make people feel something,” said Rhegan, who inherited her love of performing from her mother, Heidi Graham, who is a drama teacher and her troop leader. “I want to be a filmmaker and make people feel emotions through my work.”

The Girl Scout Gold Award, which celebrates its centennial in 2016, is the highest award that Girl Scouts ages 14-18 may earn. The leadership skills, organizational skills, and sense of community and commitment required to complete the process set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship. Girls complete seven steps to earn the Gold Award, including the completion of a significant service project.

“Girl Scouts is all about making connections with other girls and the community,” said Rhegan. “The Gold Award project is a great opportunity for us to identify a problem in our community, analyze it and create a solution. It’s a lot of work, but I’ve found something I’m passionate about, which makes it easier and more fun.”

The project fulfills a need within a girl’s community (whether local or global), creates change and is sustaining. The Gold Award recognizes the work of Girl Scouts who demonstrate leadership culminating in 80 hours or more, dedicated towards their service project. Girls complete a minimum of 40 hours in a leadership role before embarking on the final project.

Girls have earned Girl Scouts of the USA’s highest awards since 1916, just four years after the organization’s founding in 1912. These awards include the Golden Eagle of Merit, Golden Eaglet, Curved Bar, First Class and the current Girl Scout Gold Award which was introduced in 1980.

As awareness of the Girl Scout Gold Award continues to grow, so does its prestige. An increasing number of colleges are offering financial incentives to those who earn Girl Scout Gold Awards and admissions counselors view it as a sign of an individual girl’s ability to lead.

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana impacts the lives of more than 61,100 girls and 21,000 adult members in 245 communities in six Illinois counties (Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kanakee, Lake, and Will) and four Indiana counties (Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter). Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. For more information, visit www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org.