What did you do for your Gold Award project?
For my Gold Award project, I worked with Mrs. Kassib, a health teacher at Summit High School, to create a lesson plan to educate health students about food allergies. I taught six classes using the lesson plan I developed and I also led epi-pen training after I had finished my lesson. To make my project accessible to a broader community, I created a video, using the lesson plan, and posted it on YouTube.
How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience?
I measured my project’s impact on my target audience by having the students take a Kahoot, an educational tool used to check the student’s knowledge while making it a fun game for the students. It was a fun way to motivate them to listen, and it also let me see how well they understood my presentation. At most, the students got two wrong out of ten questions in each class period.
How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement?
My project will be continued to be used in Summit High School’s health program where they will show the video I created and use some demo epi-pens I donated to train students. I also created a video that was put on YouTube. I shared the link on all my social media networks, so people could always access it and continue to share the video.
What is your project’s global and/or national connection?
While small, the national link is through YouTube and social media. Because social media is widely used, both nationally and globally, my project will be seen by people outside of my community. Those people will then be able to share the video with their friends and they can share them with their friends and so on.
What did you learn about yourself?
I learned that I like to take on all the responsibility and do everything myself, which isn’t the best way to get projects completed. So, I learned how important delegating can be when you have a big project or are working with a group. I also learned that teaching and leading a class made me feel so accomplished. I learned how to speak in front of groups better than I could before, and because of that, I felt accomplished.
How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future?
In the future, I will be more likely to take up leadership roles. I feel more comfortable leading a group effectively. Because I feel more comfortable overall leading, I will take up opportunities to lead. The more I lead the more my leadership skills will grow. Because I strengthened certain leadership skills on this project, I will be able to strengthen other leadership skills that may not have been as strong on this project, like my communication skills.
Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience?
The Gold Award helped me to realize more about myself, like little habits that really slowed down my project. It was important because it used all the little bits of information and skill I had learned throughout all my years of being a Girl Scout. I then had to apply all those to my project, and it felt as though everything came full circle.
How did earning your Gold Award help you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)?
The Gold Award helped me to become an overall better leader. It helped me to step out of my comfort zone to talk to people whom I normally wouldn’t as well as push me to stand up in front of 20 or so children per class and talk for an hour. It also pushed me to think of creative solutions to problems that I normally would have let stop me from completing a project.
**IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog represents only a small fraction of the hard work, dedication, and requirements that go into earning a Girl Scout Gold Award. It is simply a brief summary, which is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to Go Gold in the future. For more information on earning your Gold Award, please email highestawards@gscolorado.org.