A Gold Star For Ashley

Ramapo High School Senior Ashley Garbaccio was recently bestowed the Gold Award, Girl Scouting’s highest honor, after creating a coloring book on the history of Wyckoff which was distributed to local children throughout the school district.

Garbaccio, 18,  researched, designed, and illustrated the 14 page-coloring book titled, Wonders of Wyckoff, which features various landmarks and historical sites within the township, with brief facts about their significance.

A member of Troop No. 166, each Girl Scout had to complete a leadership project of at least 100 hours that addresses a community need. The Girl Scout Gold Award is achieved by only 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts nationwide, according to the Girl Scouts of the USA Web site.  In northern New Jersey, about 12 percent of eligible girls complete the award.

"I wanted to do something that combined my love for history and art," Garbaccio told Patch. "I was thinking about it and thought a coloring book would allow me to draw and research the history of the town. It was so interesting to learn more about buildings in town that I see everyday."

Garbaccio's mother Donna said she was thrilled with her daughter's achievement.

"I was so proud of her balancing her schoolwork and this project," Donna said. "She had been determined to get her Gold Award since she was in kindergarten. I had no doubt she'd finish it and make it work."

Also instrumental in helping Garbaccio was local graphic designer Linda Vreeland, who assisted in preparing material, and township committeeman Brian Scanlan, who acted as her adviser. Scanlan helped Garbaccio expand her original 1000 print run to 5000 copies through a business relationship he had a printer.

"I was delighted to help and think she did a great job," Scanlan said after putting Garbaccio together with Sheridan Press, a scientific and medical journal printer in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Sheridan liked her project and agreed to do the entire 5000 print run for free.  

"Ashley is a very special kind of young woman. She's extraordinary because she has this deep interest in history and skills as an artist. I think it's great she was able to marry those two interests to create this coloring book," he said.

Scanlan was with Garbaccio when she distributed copies of the coloring book at her alma mata, The Lincoln School. "The kids were in awe of her," Scanlan said. "She set a great example for the girls in the class in what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it."

Garbaccio, who will be attending George Washington University in Washington D.C. in the fall, said while the project was a major undertaking, she's more than pleased with the final result.

"I'm really shocked and so happy that everyone appreciates the book," Garbaccio said. "It's exciting for the kids to see the buildings around town that they knew but didn't know the details about. It was really such a great opportunity."

To see Garbaccio's coloring book, go to: www.wyckoff-nj.com, About Wyckoff-Brief History, scroll down and click on the Wonders of Wyckoff.  It is also available on the elementary school websites www.wyckoffps.org, under Announcements.