Merrick Girl Scouts Awarded Highest Honor

Merrick, 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 Awards, including Kaitlyn Paeth, Allison Trabold and Eugenia Vance of Merrick. 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. Each girl 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.”

The Gold Award Girl Scouts each tackled a project that held a deep significance to them. Their projects are described below.

Kaitlyn took on the challenge of spreading awareness about Heart Disease through her project “Happy Heart.” She used her own personal experience living with heart disease to create an educational workshop for community members which she presented at local blood drives, summer school health classes, and local Boy Scout meetings. Kaitlyn also wrote and published her own book Exposure, so people can continue to receive facts about the disease, tips to avoid it, and ways to cope with heart disease if diagnosed.

A rising sophomore at George Washington University, Kaitlyn is a member of the Symphonic and Colonial Brass Bands. Kaitlyn also enjoys writing in her free time. Her fondest Girl Scout memory is the Escape Room Challenge she did with her troop because it taught them the importance of working together as a team.

Allison addressed the problem of low literacy rates in her community through her project, “Reading is FUNdamental.” She created educational presentations and hands on activities to help teach the adults and children in her community that reading is not only fun, but important. Allison used the statistic that 40 percent of adults in the United States cannot read above a fifth-grade level to reach out to community members and provide them with resources to promote literacy education. Allison also provided her peers with similar information to help encourage them to foster and continue their love of reading.

As a rising senior at Calhoun High School, Allison is on the soccer and basketball teams, and is an active member of Key Club. Her fondest Girl Scout memory is going camping with her troop in the first grade, where she made great friends and memories.

Eugenia’s project “A Swimmer’s Nutrition,” helped educate athletes in her community about the importance of eating healthy and living an active lifestyle. Using her passion for swimming and living a healthy lifestyle, Eugenia created lesson plans for local coaches to include in their sports programs. She partnered with her school health teacher to create the lesson plans and present them to her peers. The lesson plans will be used in the district and by coaches for many years to come.

A graduate of Sacred Heart Academy, Eugenia was an active member of the theatre department and National Honor Society. She is a rising sophomore at Nassau Community College where she is studying engineering science. Her fondest Girl Scout memory is taking a Memorial Day trip to Adventure Park with her troop.

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 23,000 strong – 17,900 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.