Massapequa Girl Scout Awarded Highest Honor

Massapequa, NY (July 9, 2018)—Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently hosted its annual Gold Award ceremony at Adelphi University. During the event, more than 70 local Girl Scouts earned their Gold Award, including Bridget Mairead Neal of Massapequa. The Gold Award program recognizes the power and dedication shared by an elite group of young women who earn the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. Bridget spent more than 80 hours over the past year planning, executing and presenting the results of her project, which aimed to make the world a better place for others as well as herself.

“These young women are among an exclusive group of leaders who have earned the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn. I commend each and every one of them for the countless hours they have spent dedicated to their project—not only to empower and better themselves, but to make the world a better place,” said Rande Bynum, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “Gold Award projects have positively impacted girls’ lives, their communities and the world for over one hundred years.”

After suffering a concussion, Bridget wanted to educate her community about the effects concussions have on females through her project “Girls Get Concussions Too.” Noticing that concussions are rarely talked about in female sports, Bridget created a program to help female athletes understand the potential risks for concussions, as well as ways to cope with the symptoms and their aftermath. She also created an educational video which featured neck strengthening exercises. Her video and educational materials continue to be used in elementary, middle, and high schools in her community to help young female athletes.

A rising sophomore at The University of Scranton, Bridget is a student in the Exercise Science program. Bridget is a graduate of Massapequa High School where she was a member of the National, Music, and Spanish Honor Societies. Her fondest Girl Scout memory is volunteering with her troop at the Ronald McDonald House.

Approximately 1 million Girl Scout alumnae have developed Gold Award projects that addressed local or global issues. After identifying an area of interest, a successful Gold Award recipient performs hours of research and prepares a project proposal to be submitted for feedback and approval to the Girl Scout Council before embarking on her project. The Girl Scout presents her final conclusions as the last step of the journey.

Lifelong value comes with having earned a Gold Award. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Gold Award Girl Scouts display more positive life outcomes pertaining to sense of self, life, satisfaction, leadership, life success, community service and civic engagement. Recipients of the award who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank for their achievements and can receive scholarships or other recognition from most colleges or universities.

We’re the Girl Scouts of Nassau County: We’re 22,000 strong – 17,000 girls and 5,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ from Nassau County to change the world. Our extraordinary journey began more than 100 years ago with the original G.I.R.L., Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low. On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, she organized the very first Girl Scout Troop, and every year since we’ve honored her vision and legacy, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs in Nassau County, across Long Island and throughout the United States and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success.

We’re the Girl Scouts. To volunteer, reconnect, donate or join, visit www.gsnc.org or contact Donna Rivera-Downey at 516 741-2550.