Scholarships

In 2016, Girl Scout Service Unit 72 in Hillsborough began a scholarship program to offer two $500 scholarships to graduating Girl Scouts.   Applicants were asked to submit a short essay entitled “How Girl Scouts will Influence my Future”, where they were to describe their time as a Girl Scout and what they had learned through Girl Scouting.  In addition, and most importantly, the essay should share how their experience as a Girl Scout has shaped them, and how they will apply these lessons to their future.   We are so proud of all of our amazing graduating Girl Scouts – those who submitted an essay and those who didn’t.  These girls are our future, and they are the result of a lot of love and hard work put in by their parents, leaders, and others in this community. 

Below are the essays from the scholarship winners.  We hope you enjoy them, and, are as inspired by them as we were. - The Hillsborough Girl Scout Experience Award Committee

2023 Recipient - Amanda Gianetti

In second grade my mom decided to push me to join the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey organization. I remember meeting at the church after school. We completed many crafts and displays for the municipal buildings’ glass cases. I remember creating a mini-exhibit for the Girl Scout birthday where I learned the history of Girl Scouts and was interested to educate others about it as well. I quickly became excited when my troop leader would mention new service projects, and I learned how fulfilling it was to volunteer in my local community. My troop even from when we first started in second grade has been very active in the community and with service projects. In Girl Scouts my troop volunteered on many occasions for events like SHIP silverware packaging, we hosted world thinking day tables, and as an older troop volunteered for world thinking day, cooking for the food pantry, creating homemade cat toys for the animal shelters, and organizing supply donations for local women's shelters. We also completed our Bronze award together and designed activity bags for the local senior center. Hours of hard work and planning went into the project, but it all felt worth it seeing the resident's faces light up when we dropped off the bags. My leaders inspired me to always do better and help others around me. 

My troop specifically has completed many journeys like WOW the wonders of water, SOW What, aMUSE, and many others. For my SOW What take action project I invited my sister and the other neighborhood kids to plant seeds. My job donated planting materials and we planted fresh vegetables and herbs, while I told them about what I learned on the journey and the importance of keeping food waste to a minimum. When the parents picked up their kids all of them were so excited to show off their new vegetable plants. The journeys not only taught me new things they have taught me about the impact my actions can have on others. Whether it comes to food waste, my activity on social media, or the way I approach other people day to day. The numerous journeys I have completed over the many years as a Girl Scout contain many lessons I will carry with me. 

Not only was my troop active in service for the community, and completing the journeys we also loved to sell cookies. In second grade when we all first joined girl scouts we made it a friendly competition to see who can get the most cookie sales. My mom and I went door to door with the order form introducing myself to my neighbors and convincing them to buy some addictive girl scout cookies. I of course as a young girl scout sold lots of boxes, but I was not satisfied and insisted we take on my Grandparent’s neighborhood next. My mother agreed and for two more hours in the ice-cold weather of a New Jersey winter, we continued door to door. I returned home and although the full sheet was filled with many orders I persuaded my parents to also ask all their friends and co-workers to buy cookies. For the first time, I became committed to something I loved and I was now responsible for all of these orders. Months down the road the cookies came in and I had to take leadership and with my parents take my wagon and continue door to door for delivery. Cookie sales taught me an important lesson in leadership and commitment.

I vividly remember attending events like Camporee and fall camping for years. Those events have allowed me to create lifelong memories. I have very fond memories from my first few years attending these events. The older troops were always very involved with the younger troops. Truly my favorite memories are hanging out with the older girls and picking up on their Girl Scout knowledge like how to build a fire and make intricate friendship bracelets. Now returning to these trips as an older Girl Scout I am happy to pass on the traditions of teaching the younger girls. At the 2022 Camporee everyone was happy to return and many girls were there for their first time. I was able to utilize my leadership skills and teach the girls about SWAPS. I enjoyed leading the younger girls and my troop volunteered at the tie-dye t-shirt craft for last year's camp. By teaching the other girls I continued to gain confidence in my leadership. 

I am forever grateful for joining Girl Scouts because I have met friends who I am lucky to have known from such a young age. Through Girl Scouts, I was surrounded by many amazing women who I was able to look up to as role models. My troop leaders have helped build my character and leadership skills. Being a part of Girl Scouts has taught me confidence and female empowerment from a young age. Now, after over ten years of being a part of troop 60022, I have learned many life skills I will take with me throughout my college and adult years. I learned about helping other people and had amazing opportunities to complete service for my local community. 

Girl Scouts taught me a unique sisterhood bond. I always strive to support other women and I realize how notable it is to be a woman in a leadership position. I plan to take the lessons learned from my years in Girl Scouts and apply them to my adulthood. I have a passion for leading people and I attribute that to the many troop events and opportunities that have built my confidence. Now leaving high school I feel ready to enter college confidently. Because of Girl Scouts and the irreplaceable lessons learned, I feel prepared for any challenges that will come my way.

2023 Recipient - Charlotte Bruchey

Every June I anticipate my return to what is, in my opinion, the best place in the world; Day Camp. Summers at Camp Dewitt are a massive part of my life. Every summer morning since fourth grade, I have taken the bus into the mountains to get dropped off in the middle of the woods.

Back before I ever thought about being hired at Dewitt, I was perfectly content as a camper. To me, there were no boundaries, I really thought the camp stretched throughout the whole mountain. I have frequently struggled with being stuck at a desk in school, and camp gave me the opportunity to learn with my hands in the outdoors. I remember my days spent at the cabin, where my friends and I identified the leaves we wanted to make clay imprints with. I participated in a cooking camp in the upstairs of the cabin, where I baked apple crisp and learned how to make a quesadilla. While on long hikes my counselors carefully pointed out animal tracks we saw along the way, and made sure we remembered our golden rule; Leave No Trace. 

Being a counselor has been infinitely more rewarding than being a camper. Not only do I lead the girls through activities, but I actively participate too. At the brook, I show the girls how to find salamanders hidden under slick rocks. At the top of the mountains, I teach orienteering and the value of knowing how to read a compass. At the pool, aquatic yoga brings peace to loud days. At the craft cabin, huge buckets of tie-dye stain my socks and shoes, but it is worth it to see the colorful creations made. Getting my hands dirty is the best way for me to grasp a concept, and I can better teach my girls by giving them visual examples and working alongside them. After camp, my hands are stained by dye and paint, and there is dirt everywhere, but it is a sure sign of a successful day.

I have found that camp has broadened my interpersonal skills, and the things I deal with at camp translate surprisingly well to what I deal with at school. Two friends arguing over where to hang out are not that unlike my campers deciding between playing a field game or playing cards. The patience required to help kindergarten students really pulls through when I have frustrating assignments. The collaboration that forms with my coworkers has never been more helpful than on group projects, which I used to hate. My family has told me that I have really “come out of my shell” since finding what is now my dream job. 

Aside from camp, I do my best to stay involved in Scouting despite my booming schedule. I always admired the older girls when I was a kid, and made it my mission to be just like them. I remember being in fourth grade on a camping trip; an older girl named Brynne taught me how to make a fire, and I felt like the coolest person alive. I had known how to light a fire, but mine never really stayed. Up until she graduated, I “picked” Brynne. At every event, I volunteered to be in her group and admired her leadership skills. It was not long before I was the older girl, and I realized that she had inspired a lot of how I taught. 

The work that I do through Scouting means the world to me, especially if it means that I get to connect with younger girls the way I connected with Brynne. At events like the Leader Appreciation Breakfast, I love being able to hang out with the middle schoolers and talk to them about their teachers and classes, reminiscing about shared experiences. When we go camping, I am always the first to volunteer to lead a hike, and I make sure to share all my fun nature facts with the girls along the way. I will be hosting this year's Girl Scout Birthday event, and am super excited to share my love of Bingo with younger troops. Scouting has given me the opportunity to share my interests with the Hillsborough community, as camp has been a major influence in my Gold Award. I will be building an outdoor classroom at Auten Road Intermediate school, tying in the love of environmental education that I discovered at Camp Dewitt. While it may not be obvious (I have the ethos of a former shy kid), I know that the younger girls of my service unit are watching — and hopefully looking up to me.

My experiences in scouting have given me the words that I need to describe what I want to do for my future career as I truly believe there is no better learning experience than the outdoors. I love nothing more than seeing young girls grow and experience life at camp, just as I did when I was their age. Dewitt has improved my sense of responsibility and self, and my skills help me with more than just singing camp songs. 

After graduation, I plan on renewing my Girl Scout membership and becoming a lifetime member. I would be able to continue my Girl Scout career alongside my education, hopefully staying involved for the rest of my life. With my membership, I will be able to work with local troops in my college community. I would love more than anything to show them about the work that I have done in Hillsborough scouting and even teach them about the research and work that I will do in college. Wherever I go to school, I know I will find ways to be involved; through clubs, younger troops, or school organized endeavors, Girl Scouts is something I value greatly, and I will always make time for my efforts.

2023 Recipient - Claire Murphy

As I embark on continuing my last year in a Girl Scout troop, I can confidently say my involvement in Girl Scouts has changed my life in indescribable measures. Persuaded by my mother, I joined a troop as soon as I was old enough. Surrounded by other girls my age helped me to develop strong social and problem solving skills as I completed activities with my sisters. Whether it was through games, activities, service projects, or events, I was challenged to think creatively. Unknowingly, I was involving myself in a community of girls who I still call my close friends today. 

One of my favorite activities as a younger scout was attending Fall Camping at Camp Dewitt. As an avid nature enthusiast, this trip was my time to shine. I thrived working through all of the events, such as archery, first aid, hiking, and of course s’more making. However, my favorite was always firebuilding. Nothing beats the satisfaction of igniting a spark with flint and steel. When my troop became the older scouts attending Fall Camping, it became our duty to run the events for the younger scouts. I jumped at the chance to run firebuilding. I wanted to introduce others to my favorite activity in hopes that they would have just as much fun as I did. Setting up around the firepit was one of the first moments I was hit with the reality of my new responsibilities as an older Girl Scout. As I was once a young scout, I knew how much the older scouts served as my role models. I knew my attitude and involvement at camp was critical in order to set a good example for the girls. I made it my priority to remain engaged and excited to mold myself into the role models I used to look up to so fondly. Group after group, the girls worked through their camp stations for the day. I have never had more fun during a Fall Camping trip. As I sat around the campfire that night, I had a few leaders come up to me and express how impressed they were with how I ran my station. Easily, one of the most prominent things I’ve come to learn about myself through Girl Scouts is that my personal effort and attitude travels immense lengths in affecting other peoples and their experiences. 

Girl Scouts has also helped me to come up with creative solutions to educate others on everyday issues in my community and around the world. Instead of completing my Silver Award, I worked through completing two journeys and two take action projects. As I opened my email inbox one morning, the last thing I’d expected was an invitation to make pickles. Again. In completing my “Sow What?” journey surrounding environmental sustainability, I worked with my sister scout in order to teach Brownie scouts about the importance of food waste and preservation. 

In order to keep the young girls engaged, we crafted an activity that began with a conversation and presentation regarding what food waste is and how our everyday actions unknowingly contribute to the problem. As a child who hated the “snack”, I was nervous as to how the scouts would react when I told them they would be making their own pickles, a food representing our message, crafted from the beauty of food preservation. As my fellow scout gave each girl their apron, I then distributed them each their own mason jar to house their pickles for the next few weeks.

 I watched the excitement beam from my younger scouts' faces. It is in moments like these, where I am reminded of my love for working and creating change within my community. Being able to come up with creative solutions to educating others, especially young girls, on societal issues is incredibly important. By making pickles, the girls were able to engage themselves in a hands-on activity, as well as learn viable information to help save the planet. Since completing this take action project, I have shared my information and recipe with other troop leaders who have conducted the activity with their girls as well. I feel beyond honored to know that my activity and idea has been able to help educate younger scouts. 

Currently in my scouting journey, I am working towards completing my Gold Award. After the devastating effects of Hurricane Ida in Hillsborough, I am choosing to work towards increasing flood awareness and safety through education at the Green Living, Health, and Wellness Fair on June third. At the fair, I will be giving out bags with window breaker tools inside, as well as flashlights and other tools to help in possible flood incidents. In addition to a demonstration at this event, I will be working with Hillsborough Highschool Drivers-Ed teachers to share my research on flood safety with their students to increase awareness. This will also help my research find part of my target audience of new, naive drivers in town. In working with township officials, I have also been given the green light to include my research on a website which will be linked onto the Hillsborough Township website for all to access at any time.

In working through my Gold Award project specifically, Girl Scouts has taught me the vital skills of community outreach, communication with others, and planning. Taking on a project as thorough as the Gold Award was scary in the very beginning, but has proven to be incredibly rewarding. When I first settled on my idea for my project, I had no idea the amount of emails and meetings I would have to coordinate with those in my community in order to help me work towards achieving my project. As someone who is more on the anxious side, meeting township officials was not something easy for me. Attending meetings and increasing my communication with officials in my community has only helped me better my communication skills and shown me that working with those others is not scary but rather very rewarding. I have learned that taking initiative to meet with others is vital to create change, a skill which I will use daily in my future endeavors. Before I met with township officials for the very first time, my mother mentioned Eleanor Roosevelt by saying that “I should do something everyday that scares me”. Feeling uncomfortable and nervous, I didn’t want to believe her. But as mothers usually are, she was right. Staying in one's comfort bubble is easy, a space I didn’t want to leave. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone to accomplish has been proven vital for my personal and social development, something I owe wholeheartedly to Girl Scouts.

2023 Recipient - Kira Pinto

As a Girl Scout since kindergarten, I have had numerous opportunities to learn, grow, and develop important life skills. I have been an active member of my troop, but due to my involvement in other extracurricular activities, I have not always been able to attend many events or complete projects. However, the experiences that I have had in scouting, especially those where I have played a significant part have been invaluable in shaping my future.

One experience that particularly stands out to me is when I hosted a presentation as a part of a take-action project for a group of girls my age. Our topic was body image and the influence of social media. The purpose of the presentation was to educate and encourage the girls to appreciate their bodies and not compare themselves to unrealistic beauty standards portrayed on social media. It was an opportunity for me to lead and manage a group of girls and plan a successful event. Through this experience, I learned how to effectively communicate with others and organize an event from start to finish. These skills will undoubtedly influence my future in many ways, particularly as I pursue a career in business management and hospitality. Attending camp/camporee events has also been a significant part of my scouting experience. I have had the opportunity to develop my outdoor skills, learn how to work with my troop, and learn new skills I may not have had the experience to try such as boating, archery, ropes courses, and fishing 

In terms of awards, I have earned the Bronze Award, which involved planning and executing a take-action project to benefit my community. This experience taught me the importance of goal setting, time management, and teamwork. I have also service bars that recognize 20+ hours of service to a single organization. As a Cadette I earned a bar for volunteering as a teaching assistant at my dance studio. I had the opportunity to help share my passion for dance with young dancers and learn how to teach others. As a Senior I earned another bar for providing service toward Saint Joseph’s parish where I am a youth leader. I helped plan and run numerous church events as well as participate in service opportunities.

Moreover, I believe that the skills I have developed through Girl Scouts will have a significant impact on my personal success. Effective communication, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills are all critical in achieving personal and professional goals. As I move forward in life, I am confident that the lessons I have learned through scouting will be invaluable in helping me navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.In conclusion, my experiences as a Girl Scout have been an essential part of my personal and professional growth. From hosting a take-action project, participating in SU-sponsored events, attending camp/camporee events, and earning various awards, I have learned important life skills such as effective communication, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and goal setting. These skills will be instrumental in helping me achieve success in my future endeavors, especially as I explore potential career paths in business management and hospitality. I am grateful for the opportunities that Girl Scouts has provided me, and I look forward to continuing my journey as a learner and leader.

2023 Recipient - Kylie Marley

I first joined Girl Scouts in first grade, Troop 60576. Back then, we would sit around, eat snacks and talk about what we had done in previous weeks. We would go to Camp Canadensis once a year, where we bonded and I began to learn what it felt like to belong to a group. As I grew up, many people left and joined the troop, but my leaders and the core group of girls stayed the same.

In sixth grade, we began our Bronze award and created a lost and found at Auten Road Intemmediate School by the cafeteria. We bought and put together shelves and repainted the entire wall where we put up the lost and found storage area. It was a very usesful project and it is still used by the school today. By eighth grade, we began planning our Silver award. We decided to do a fundraiser at the local CYO basketball games at Mary Mother of God Church. We made baked goods and sold them at the front check in and had a donation basket. The money we raised through the baked goods and donations, went to cancer victims at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center. We also organized a donation bin for items such as clothes and toys that were given to a variety of cancer patients. The church allowed us to wave the entry fee for those who brought items to donate. Each girl in the troop was responsible for researching a type of cancer and everyone who came in was handed a pamphlet with information about leukemia, lung cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, and the challenges of childhood cancer. We also gave away pink socks for the home and away teams in honor of breast cancer. Before the games, we gave a speech telling everyone about our cause and raising awareness. Our silver award was a huge success and had a very positive impact on the Hillsborough community at that time. This event was one of the first of many large projects that I had to complete in my life for Girl Scouts. We began planning this event almost a year in advance, and we worked hard for months preparing for this all day event. It was one of the first times that I had learned almost complete independence from adults. Our troop leaders had us email the church on our own, each do research on our individual cancer, get prices for the pink socks, figure out which charity the money would go to and more. This event happening right before I entered high school, was definitely beneficial for myself and my troop. We finally entered thet age where we did not need our troop leaders to tell us what to do, or how to lead with honor and integrity. I was beginning to mature into my own person, who knew how to make appropriate decisions without being directed by an adult. 

I entered high school right before COVID hit the country. There was not much that we as a troop could do during such a tough time. Once restrictions began to lift, we started doing many acts of community service to give back to Hillsborough. We ran several canned food drives, planted flowers for Visions and Pathways, created Easter basket donations and more. Girl Scouts has been my longest commitment throughout my whole life. The friends that I made through my troop are my life long friends. We have done so much together. Even during the times that my troop could not meet because of COVID restrictions, I remained close with my friends and troop leaders. As the Girl Scout law says, “I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.” I can say with certainty that Girl Scouts has made me a different person, for the better. I feel as though Girl Scouts has made me much more open minded than most people. I also feel like it made me realize the importance of giving back to the community, and selflessly helping others. Although that is supposed to be a known fact, when you actually first hand give back to your community countless times for twelve years, you really see how rewarding and important it is. Girl Scouts has also taught me independence. I went from always needing my troop leaders to tell me what to do, to my troop and I doing things without even being told. I have grown and matured with my troop and with that was taught countless lessons,  all which I will carry with me in the future. 

2023 Recipient - Rebecca Gear

Throughout my life, I have been taught by many great leaders what it truly means to be a Girl Scout. I have been a part of my Troop, 60022, since First grade, and I absolutely wouldn't trade it for anything. When I first joined this Troop, at about 6 years old, I was shy and didn't have any friends. I am now 17 years old and have an absolute permanent bond with my Troop sisters and all of those who I have met along the way. Girl Scouts has made me the person I am today and I undeniably am grateful for every bit. I have learned such valuable lessons that will carry on to my future and help with my success, while also giving back to others and teaching them those same lessons I once learned. 

A few years back, my Troop worked together to complete our Bronze award. We had the brilliant idea to make care packages for the elderly, and hand-deliver them to their rooms. At first, I was pretty timid, I must admit. I was a young girl and seeing people sick or coming close to death absolutely terrified me. In my head I knew what we were doing was definitely a good deed, but I had no clue how I would react when being there. When we delivered the packages, I will never forget the look on some of those people's faces, it was truly indescribable. At that moment I learned the most valuable lesson that I wish to share with everyone I humanly can. It seems cliche, but I learned to never judge a book by its cover. All of those wonderful, wrinkly people I met, had hearts just like the rest of us. Although I was afraid at first, sisterhood prevailed and I quickly realized that all of those people were just like me once. After that moment, I knew I wanted to do more for elderly homes. Throughout the years I've attended Christmas carols for them and had a “pen pal” buddy to whom I wrote letters every once in a while until she unfortunately passed. All I care about is putting a smile on people's faces, that's why I do what I do. 

Ever since that small experience I have had with those kind people, it has made me want to do more. I love the way I feel afterward, because of how I made other people feel. I love to see their faces light up and their smiles get brighter. When I take the next step in life, I will never, ever, fail to make people feel loved and welcomed, regardless of the circumstances. Girl Scouts has shown me more than anything else, that absolutely everyone is welcome and will be treated with care. There have been numerous times when I have been scared to participate in something, and not only my troop, but many other girls, have helped me feel more comfortable. One example would definitely be attending Camporee. I was always nervous about being far from my parents, but the girls all included me and helped me not even think about wanting to go home. The girls who had taught the stations at Camporee always showed us how to have fun and build our friendships. Truly, those moments are ones I will never forget. Making people feel comfortable in their surroundings allows them to let loose in a sense and not have any doubts about anything. With age, after incidents like those, I've tried to do the same to everyone around me. My Troop and I have led many events and ceremonies and the first thing we always do is let them get to know us and each other, so everyone feels comfortable enough to enjoy their time and keep moving forward. 

Going onward, because of the influence other actions and lessons had on me, I have always wanted to share that feeling with others. Another event my Troop held was a movie night for younger troops to attend. We worked the stations and stayed active with the girls throughout the night. My girls and I were at an older age where we absolutely knew we had to be role models. When the young girls walked in, everyone could tell they were shy and afraid of us, being we were double their age and height. Our goal was to show them what sisterhood meant and teach them what we had learned throughout our years of service, just by our actions. By the end of the night, the girls were crying because they had to leave. The influence we had on them let them not only be more comfortable and open up to us, but also show them what an older Girl Scout looks like. There have been numerous other events held where I have made my best effort to teach the younger ones. When leading the Christmas Craft workshop I made sure every girl was undeniably enjoying themselves and having fun. All of those young girls were peacefully doing their crafts and laughing with each other for hours. It was my absolute goal to help them get to that point. Hopefully, those girls will go on and inspire many others as we have through the years. Those are the next generations of Girl Scouts who will soon take our place when moving on in life. 

Girl Scouts has quite obviously had a huge impact on my life. I give everything I have learned to my Troop Leaders Heather Bruchey and Jenn Beiderman. They have taught me so much in the many years I have been a part of this amazing organization. I am so thankful to have been a part of this Troop and to hopefully have taught others the real meaning of sisterhood. The takeaways from being a Girl Scout will stick with me throughout the next chapters of my life, wherever I go. I will never judge a book by its cover, I will always help ones in need, I will always be a shoulder to lean on, and I will absolutely always try and put a smile on someone’s face whenever I can. Finally, I will always be a sister to every Girl Scout. 

2022 Recipient - Hannah Weinglass

            As I walked into the Municipal Building a few weeks ago, I passed the displays full of artwork and flyers when a familiar exhibit caught my eye. It was my Silver Award!  Four years ago, two other Girl Scouts and I worked with the town’s Social Services department to create a Military Recognition Project. We wanted our project to be honest and do something that would make a difference. We created posters for local active military and veterans that are hung every Veterans Day and Memorial Day; veterans go through so much in service and we felt it was only fair that they receive more recognition. We used Photoshop to create these customized posters, which included a picture from their years in service, a current picture, the years and branch of service, among other information. I looked at the posters and thought about how long it had been since we worked on this project and realized some of the impacts it had on me. 

One of the aspects that Girl Scouts emphasized was the importance of sustainability. Seeing how the project that I had played a part in with the department that had been friendly enough to include us in, was still running gave me a sense of satisfaction. I want anything that I put effort into to have a long lasting positive impact that is helpful to the community, whether that be something material, like the posters still being hung, or an emotional impact. I plan on becoming a teacher, and I know that this is one of the most impactful professions out there. Students need a teacher who will be considerate and caring, someone who will look out for them when they have a bad day. I work with kids now, and it can be scary to be in front of people, with all eyes watching me. I used to get flustered when talking, especially when I needed to discipline, but I learned to be courageous when talking to a group of people and not stutter over my words. I have seen the effect that teaching can have on young adults, and how hard it is to be positive every day. I will work every day to be as strong as I can be so my students can have the teacher they deserve. 

 Every day I am going to be an authority figure in front of many impressionable minds, and I have to be responsible for what I say and do. It is imperative that I always have respect for my students and for myself. Anything I do has the potential to have a positive or negative impact on a child. Girl Scouts has taught me that I have the opportunity to be remembered by my future students, and it is up to me for that remembrance to be positive.

I remembered making the posters, and it was not as easy as it looked. Photoshop was a new platform for me and formatting, cropping, and clipping were new skills for me. It was stressful sometimes, and I would get frustrated after being on the computer for hours, and some of the processes the department took seemed tedious and arbitrary. But, this was the department in charge, and looking back I am proud of myself for respecting authority. The computers and access to Photoshop was a resource that we used wisely, though it was often frustrating. The last part of our Silver Award was volunteering at the Veterans breakfast before the Memorial Day parade. That was when all the hard work paid off. The posters were hung up all around the hallway leading into the breakfast room. It was so rewarding to watch the veterans and their families search for themselves and take pictures with their posters. They would thank us and tell us how much they appreciated it. Many asked for more forms to give to their veteran friends so they could have a poster too. I hope that the happiness I saw made the world a better place in some capacity. 

My many years of Girl Scouts impact me every day. I remember my first troop leaders telling us Kindergarteners as we cleaned up to always leave a space better than we found it. That is something I always think back to when I leave anywhere. I truly believe that Girl Scouts has taught me so many important lessons and I know I will continue to be a sister to every Girl Scout although my time in the program has come to an end. 

2022 Recipient - Katelyn Herterich

I have been a Girl Scout since Kindergarten. I remember having meetings after school at Amsterdam Elementary. We planted flowers in the pots at the front of the school to make it look inviting. Thinking back now, this makes me feel like I have a sense of community. Our act of kindness made people smile when they walked to the front of the school on a daily basis.  Our troop was very active with service projects throughout Hillsborough.  

I have learned many skills such as communication, leadership, time management by participating in Girl Scouts for 13 years. I continued to learn these skills through the various Girl Scout events I have participated in, these include: Cookie sales, Camporee for 9 years, day trips, baking for SHIP, taking donations for holiday food drives, packing supplies for Operation Shoebox for the military, Camp Dewitt and Hoover Summer Camps, Girl Scouts 100th Birthday, building Little Free Libraries for my Bronze Award, and the various journeys I have done.

Since my mom was very involved with the service unit, there were always projects my sisters and I would assist her with completing.  The major event that taught me leadership, and marketing skills was the 100 year event that was held at Camp Dewitt in 2012.  I assisted with collecting donations from Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart and other local businesses.  I got to see first hand how much planning and delegation it took to run a town wide Girl Scout event with over 150 participants and leaders.  I’ll never forget teaching younger troops how to put together the sit upons that we made from Home Depot buckets, carpet padding and fabric.  We still have some of those in our garage 10 years later and I’ve seen them around town at other friends' houses.  

When it came time to raise funds and talk to sponsors about our Bronze award project,  Hillsborough’s Little Free Library, I had the skills and knowledge to write letters and ask for donations.  I also learned how to manage money and market products with the cookie sales every year.  These are definitely skills I plan to use in the future when I attend college as a Marketing and Business major.  

I have very fond memories of attending Camporee since Kindergarten.  Over the years I gained skills and leadership helping younger troops with their swaps, songs and outdoor activities.  The older I got, the more involved I became helping my younger sister’s troop. Our troop would oversee the arts and craft projects and help them make swaps.  I really enjoyed teaching the younger girls how to make things and be creative. Usually it was making lanyards or teaching them how to tie shirts for tie dye.  My artistic skills will be put to use for sure in the future. By teaching other Girl Scouts these activities, I gained leadership skills and confidence. Camporee also helped me acquire physical skills.  At Camporee I learned how to fish, climb a rock wall, kayak and do archery.  At first I was hesitant as a 7 year old to try any of those outdoor activities.  Over the years, my confidence built and by the 9th year, I was hopping in the kayak fearlessly paddling to the other side of the lake and climbing to the top of the rock wall ringing the bell with ease. 

All in all, Girl Scouts has given me the confidence to be a leader, try new things, meet new people, and be prepared for life beyond my high school years. I’ve always liked being outdoors and from the experiences I’ve had through Girl Scouts I will continue my love of nature.  One of my best friends today started as a Daisy scout with me and we will cherish the memories.  I will always have my fond memories of being a Girl Scout to remind me that life can be hectic but there’s always time to reflect and be in nature to keep me grounded.

2022 Recipient - Kelly Irwin

Girl Scouts, even as a young Daisy, taught me the importance of community service. From cooking meals for those in need, writing cards to nursing homes, or donating to SHIP after the impact of Hurricane Ida, I strive to achieve the Girl Scout Promise “to help people at all times.”

A significant part of my life is music, so for my Gold Award project, I implemented Music Together, a free music camp for elementary students. Unfortunately, my goals of an in-person camp were put on hold due to the pandemic and I was forced to pivot. However, I stuck to the plan of a camp as music and social interaction was needed, even if through a computer screen. 

The weeks leading up to the music camp, I recruited students from kindergarten through fifth grade. I spent time creating lesson plans and also videos to supplement the live Zoom lessons. I loved researching ways to present information to be more accessible to younger musicians. I worked to create fun lesson plans that incorporated known songs like “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana to keep the lessons engaging. 

The first day of camp, I started a Zoom call with the 2nd-4th graders, and fell in love with teaching music. I loved sharing my passion with younger students and to see their energetic excitement when they learned something new. Many of these students were unable to have their music classes because of the pandemic, and I brought music back into their lives. My interactions with these young musicians cemented my plans to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. 

This music camp taught me the importance of social interactions and I saw firsthand how children were lacking in socialization due to the pandemic. With that knowledge I knew I needed to do more so I created Boro Buddies Online, an online mentoring program that matches elementary students one-on-one with high school volunteers. I personally mentored three students in the program and have recruited and coordinated the 160 high school volunteers who have mentored 140 elementary students. Little did I know when the program was implemented the impact it would have on the community. It has helped the mentees’ confidence grow, provided an outlet for working parents, created friendships and provided volunteer opportunities for HHS students.

Girl Scouts taught me to always persevere in adversity and find ways to help others. I will continue this mindset of serving others as I seek volunteer opportunities in college as a mentor, as a performer where I can share my vocal talents with those that are sick or in nursing homes and as a volunteer in student-led music classes offered to the local community. As a music educator, I will create opportunities for my students to give back to the community through music, and I will carry the lesson I learned during my Gold Award that when facing adversity a solution can be found which many times will open the door to other wonderful opportunities.

2021 Recipient - Allison Compell

Girl Scouts has played a larger role in my life than I ever thought was possible. I joined Girl Scouts at the age of 6 more or less against my will. I was new to Hillsborough and my mom thought this would be a good way to make friends. I was petrified and even remember having multiple meltdowns at my dinner table about how I did not want to go. Yet my mom dragged me to the meeting. As the meetings went on, the dragging turned into me running into the meeting to see what we would be doing each day. I gradually became more and more excited to learn about my community while participating in fun activities. Throughout my life Girl Scouts was integrated immensely. I went to several Girl Scout camps and participated in many Girl Scout ran events. When I got older I even ran some events. I remember one of the main events my troop ran was a circus event. In the weeks leading up to it, I was busy putting together groups and compiling spreadsheets to help things run smoothly. When the event finally came I was so proud of all of the work which I completed and it was amazing to see what I had accomplished come to life. The smiles on all of the girls' faces made my day and I'll never forget all of the parents thanking me and my troop for putting together the event. Another highlight of my Girl Scout career was my silver award. My troop decided to plant a garden for the St. Joseph's church. This took many months however, it was very rewarding to see people sit in the garden as well as to watch people look at it and have it bring them joy was fulfilling. We were able to raise all of the money ourselves through bake sales and events for younger girls. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, I was unable to complete my Gold Award. My idea had to do with the hospital since I aspire to become a surgeon, however, plans fell through when COVID struck. Although I was unable to complete my Gold Award due to covid, through other activities along with the Girl Scout community as a whole, I have learned teamwork and discipline. These are two things that I plan to take with me to college and apply to my future. As stated before I aspire to become a surgeon so I believe these qualities will help get me through med school and residency. I am so grateful for the experiences that the Girl Scouts have brought me and I would not trade them for the world.

2021 Recipient - Julia Hopson

Young minds are taught important values to guide their development towards responsible, intelligent people. Without strong examples and visualizations, these messages are difficult to grasp at a young age. My experiences as a Girl Scout allowed me to truly see the impact that my actions can have and the importance of following these principles. When I was very young, my troop picked up garbage in the park and I was able to see the meaning of making the world a better place. When my troop led a yoga class for younger girls, I was able to understand what it meant to be a sister to every Girl Scout. As I got older, these lessons grew in significance. My Gold Award was a grand summation of all of these experiences, packed into one accomplishment that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I learned to connect with the people in my community and listen to their stories. There were so many instances during the process of achieving my Gold Award in which I was able to learn something new about my town. For example, in fulfilling the sustainability of my project, I attended a volunteer training session at the Literacy Society of Somerset Country, where volunteer tutors were taught different methods of teaching English to citizens who moved to America from another country. My interactions with these volunteers made my contribution to their society all the more special. I also learned that there is no greater sense of pride then when I can see the change I made in another person’s life. Whether it was the volunteers at the Literacy Society, the students I was able to tutor, or any of the other people I was able to make an impact on during my time as a Girl Scout, there is truly no feeling more rewarding than that of giving back. Not only was I taught that I am courageous and strong, helpful and kind, but I was given the opportunity to see the impact I can make by believing in these values. I am so grateful to have been able to have these experiences, and share them with other strong females in my life, like my mom, my sister, and all my sister Girl Scouts. Moving forward, I could not feel more prepared to enter this next chapter of my life, equipped with the knowledge that Girl Scouts has provided me. I learned so much about what it means to be a good person, an empowered woman, and an active member of a community. Because of Girl Scouts, I foresee myself being aware of those around me, considering what I can do to make a difference, and seeking an active role in my community.

2021 Recipient - Sophia Naumovski

From the ebullient age of 6 to the ripe age of 17 Girl Scouts has been a constant source of support in my life. When I first joined as a Daisy, I viewed the club as little more than a group playdate. Truthfully, Girl Scouts has united me with some of my closest friends along the way. From selling cookies to spending late nights together at Camporee, I have Girl Scouts to thank for cementing my sisterhoods. However, I've grown out of this 6-year-old perspective to appreciate Girl Scouts as not only a means for friendship but as a method to engage with my community and inspire younger generations of girls. 

Community service has always been the cornerstone of the organization. I'm thankful for the selfless values Girl Scouts has instilled in me and the service opportunities it has provided me with over the years. Even when I was an overzealous Daisy, I remember braiding ropes for dog shelters and poorly caroling at senior centers. The lessons we learned as younger Scouts inspired me and my peers to lead our own projects. For my silver award, I ran food drives for our county's homeless shelter. I taught younger troops how to prepare meals and created cookbooks to distribute at leader meetings. Although I loathe cliches, it truly felt good to help others. I've continued to donate to food banks outside of Girl Scouts, and I hope to continue serving my community. Girl Scouts has nourished my social consciousness and ingrained a sense of altruism within me.

Additionally, one of my favorite aspects of Girl Scouts has been the opportunity to guide and enlighten younger troops. I love the sense of sisterhood and responsibility to younger generations involved in the organization. As Ambassadors, we've always taken younger girls under our wings to teach them values of self-empowerment and service. One of my favorite projects was creating a timeline of women's rights and holding an event for elementary-level girls to celebrate their femininity and strength. I've loved the opportunity to be a leader to my peers and younger troops. I hope they've appreciated these lessons and will follow suit with our examples. 

Girl Scouts has been a constant source of unity, community, and leadership throughout my life. I hope to transfer these lessons into my future college and career experiences as well. As a chemistry major, I want to help engineer environmentally sustainable fabrics to reduce our carbon footprint and waste in the world. I feel a sense of responsibility to future generations and the planet itself to ease the burden of humanity on our Earth. As an upcoming woman in STEM, I’m going to face a largely male-dominated community; however, I’m not intimidated by this prospect. I’ve learned how to be self-respecting and assertive through Girl Scouts. I’ll be able to stand up for myself when I face prejudice and persist through college and my career confidently. Girl Scouts has prepared me to mold my dreams to fit my community’s needs and filled me with the values to accomplish them. From singing "Make New Friends" to cooking meals for the homeless, I'm proud to call myself a life-long Girl Scout.

2021 Recipient - Lauren Radomski

Thank you for considering me as an honoree of the Hillsborough Girl Scout Experience Award. With being a Girl Scout, I learned at a young age to give back to my community through service and kindness. 

I recall my Bronze and Silver awards like it was yesterday. Decorating the Ronald McDonald House in New Brunswick and bringing food to the families brought me great joy. My troop and I decorated the house with giant snowflakes and puffy flowers. I never realized how lucky I was to be healthy and strong until I saw what those families were going through. My experience with my Silver Award was special because it involved the elderly. Along with another member of my troop, we were able to update the garden of the Hillsborough Senior Center. Painting the mailbox and redesigning the layout of the landscaping were a few of the key actions. I made centerpieces for their lunch tables out of pencils to celebrate back to school; everyone in the room smiled when I delivered them. This was the third time I was involved with the Senior Center. I remember singing songs to the folks at a young age, and although we were not the best, you could see the appreciation on their faces. Through Girl Scouts, I have been able to positively influence the elderly and many local families. Girl Scouts has instilled in me a love for serving my community, so anytime there is a volunteer opportunity, I raise my hand. 

Camporee weekends were the most memorable moments of being a Girl Scout. Nothing beats being away from home with your Girl Scout friends, participating in outdoor activities, and sleeping in a cabin. As I became older, I noticed that Camporee was more about leadership. Whether it was teaching younger girls how to make tye-dye shirts or how to shoot a bow and arrow, the impact of organizing an event and teaching younger scouts will continue to help me in the future. 

Selling Girl Scout cookies was always a favorite of mine. Being able to speak to adults, handle money, and set up the booths were all ways the cookie program had an impact on me. Being organized and timely were key benefits that I learned. The cookie program also brought out my competitive side as I always worked hard to be the top seller. I started to be in charge of the cookie program for our troop in eighth grade. Sorting cookies, collecting troop money, and reporting sales to my troop leader were all a part of the tasks. Selling cookies was the first step in preparing me for a career in business. 

When I think of the skill I learned most in Girl Scouts, one key item that comes to mind is decision making. From an early age, the approach of Girl-led activities was such an important concept. This organization afforded me the opportunity to provide ideas, ask questions, and make decisions. I will be forever grateful to have been involved with Girl Scouts. I met so many amazing people and formed friendships that will last a lifetime.

2021 Recipient - Katie Rygiel

All I had worked for could be a failure, and I could have done it for nothing. I was nervous. After getting ready and making sure every detail was in place, we arrived at our destination, Ann Van Middlesworth Park. I set up all my stations, and then people started arriving. Little girls hopped out of cars and ran towards the pavilion to join me in my day event. Although they didn’t know it, their presence was astonishing to me.  Fifty girls coming to participate in my event completely shocked me.

The Mayor introduced me to the group.  This was the part I had been dreading the most.  I had to speak in front of the girls, their parents, the volunteers, and the Mayor.  This was out of my comfort zone for sure.  My stomach had butterflies, but I started talking and explaining what my award had entailed.  We watched a video I had created with player interviews, and the opening part of the event was a success.  The rest of the event went seamlessly.  The girls had the chance to learn about the leadership and dedication that the sport I love teaches players.

    My Girl Scout Gold Award had a huge impact on me by giving me a new understanding of myself. This project showed me that if I worked hard enough, I could accomplish anything.  I found that no matter how daunting, if I put my mind to something, I could get it done. Working with different people and problem solving taught me different ways to overcome obstacles and communicate effectively. Before I started the award, I strongly disliked the idea of presenting in front of people or sharing my ideas. Now, that previously overwhelming task doesn't phase me anymore.

In addition, my Gold Award had an impact on my intellectual development by demonstrating real world uses for material I had learned in class.  I used data analysis skills in a different way by looking at trends in data for softball involvement and developing surveys for players.  I learned about creating movies and editing interviews to help share a message.  I learned about communication with others and about being professional through the interviews I had to do to get the proposal approved. I learned how to ask for help from different township agencies and to conduct myself professionally during the final interview to get the award approved.

Kindergarten through Senior year, my thirteen years in Girl Scouts have taught me lessons about leadership, collaborating with others, and interpersonal skills.  Earning my Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards, completing so many interesting badges, working with younger troops, and volunteerism all have helped me grow.  I know the principles of community service, collaboration, and leadership will continue to impact me as I work towards my teaching degree.  The Girl Scout motto of “be prepared” is truly indicative of my experience.  Due to my Girl Scout experience, I feel prepared for all of the challenges and work that lie ahead of me.

2021 Recipient - Jessica Tuck

Girl Scouts has helped teach me not only the importance of being educated about social and world issues, but also the value of enjoyment and satisfaction—two values I hope to keep inspiring wherever I end up. Most of the journeys my troop has chosen over the years have consisted of mainly environmental issues. While these issues come up occasionally in science class and on the news, the journeys are far more in depth and encourage girls to take matters into their own hands in order to make a change in their community. However, the true value of Girl Scouts really shines through in the activities we plan on our own and the actions we take. Over my years of being a Girl Scout, I have managed to earn multiple National Leadership and Mentoring awards. These awards have encouraged me to volunteer more around the community while still being able to support organizations close to my heart such as my church. The Bronze Award is a Girl Scout’s first experience taking action on their own. My troop’s Bronze Award consisted of making toys and blankets and raising awareness and money for animals being held in shelters. While not over complicating anything and still making it fun, my Bronze Award helped me get myself out there a little more. One of the tasks I was given during this project included making up flyers and distributing them around the neighborhood in hopes of collecting donations. By the time my Bronze Award was completed, I felt like I had made a positive impact on animal shelters and it was obvious that my troop and I’s hard work had paid off. My Silver Award on the other hand was a little closer to home. My troop and I refurbished a rundown outside space at my church into a lively outdoor gathering area. While it was not some earth shattering project that would heal all the wrongs in the world, it once again brought us a sense of satisfaction. In the end the place looked beautiful and was teeming with life and color, and most importantly it inspired joy in the parishioners. My troop and I also helped plan and run a SU-sponsored event for younger Girl Scouts. At this event, the girls were able to learn basic circus skills from The Circus Place such as how to juggle and do tricks with a yo-yo. This event allowed girls to dabble in a possible new hobby and was purely for fun—evident by the liveliness of the event. To me, that is the most fulfilling part of Girl Scouts: the ability to bring joy to my community and those in need through simple actions. I hope to bring this concept of joy bringing to whatever I do, wherever I end up. I want to continue to make people happy and make them smile through everything I do, whether it is just something as simple as donating clothes, or greeting someone as they walk by. 

2020 Recipient - Katrina Duque

The biggest lesson that Girl Scouts has taught me is to embrace "Why not?". In society today, there is a large normative pressure telling us that something is only worth doing if it has a tangible benefit. But it isn't true; growing up as a Girl Scout, there were countless opportunities for me to earn badges: to acquire skills simply for the sake of acquiring skills. And it taught me that "just for the sake of it" is an excellent reason to do anything. Would learning about the basics of textiles and how to crochet ensure a high-paying job for myself in the future? Probably not. But being interested in textiles and knowing how to work with yarn did predispose me to skills that I ended up needing to be able to visually untie a diagram of a protein that I had to record the alpha and beta sheets of for a big project in AP Biology. Learning new things expands the arsenal with which one can approach problems. We need niche interests because you never know when a problem with require an approach that comes from expertise in a completely unrelated area. 

And this concept - doing things for the sake of doing - goes doubly for active engagements as well as passive. A friend of mine is working on a project to re-form the Light it Up Blue event at HHS to be more positive and inclusive, and when I joined her efforts, she was surprised that I was so willing to commit to something for which there wasn't anything in it for me. But why wouldn't I? 

I grew up doing take-action projects and bronze and silver awards, and it taught me that you do these sorts of things because you believe in them and because you can. My troop's most recent take action project was to hold a day-long workshop for some younger troops teaching them about women in STEM jobs and generating interest by having them do stations where they could investigate various fields in STEM, for example my station about computer coding with activities that taught simple javascript concepts. Why did we choose to give ourselves homework? Give up weekends? Sacrifice free time?

Because why not?

When we learn to be helpless, we put inhibitions on all of these "Why not?" motivations, to our detriment. Girl Scouts taught me to follow my heart and be engaged in everything that there is, and I think that because of it, I live a more involved and more eclectic life that predisposes me to so many little things that will come in handy later, and most of all, taught me to be committed to living. 

So why would I work at a Girl Scout camp without the funds to pay me reasonably, why would I spend hours sewing pillowcases for long-term hospital patients that I'll never even meet, why would I dedicate my Monday afternoons to learning and service?

Well why not?

2020 Recipient - Grace Giordano

Girl Scouts has fashioned me into the tough, confident, supremely independent woman I am today. Starting as a daisy, every activity, badge ceremony, and service project participated in, have given me the chance to practice my public speaking, project planning, and social skills; all things essential to navigating higher education and future careers. My Gold Award, specifically, helped hone my leadership and social skills through invaluable real-world experience that will serve me greatly in my career. 

My educational interests lie in the arts. In fact, I will be attending the Pratt Institute for design in the fall as an animation student. My Gold Award gave me a taste of the business planning involved when creating in a professional environment. For my Gold Award, I created a project to strengthen the intergenerational relationships between the residents at Parker nursing home, and its staff. I found that there was a disconnect between the elderly and the staff. After doing research and polls, I found the one commonality that seemed to be at the root of all conflict, was age. Residents lacked respect for the staff and felt uncomfortable with a younger person taking care of them. So, I felt the best way to ease the tension would be to introduce a new method of communication. I created videos for each staff member where they spoke about their interests, families, and favorite moments with residents. The idea was, if the residents knew more about the people taking care of them, they would be more comfortable. However, I could not just make a film. 

The experiences entailed at Parker during this time will aide me in my future career. I now know how to properly present a creative project to business and produce art according to legal conditions and restrictions. As a high school art student, I am given the opportunity to create whatever I want. There are no constraints or stipulations when it comes to subject matter. It is an independent act that lacks collaboration, a term that is synonymous with the interworkings of business. This task required me to cooperate with lawyers, businessmen, chefs, caregivers, nurses, a menagerie of people; all of whose opinions held a prime stake in the production of my film. I had to find a way to incorporate my vision within the framework of a professional environment. 

For this project, I had to draft legal documents so I could disclose personal information. I created intricate filming schedules that worked for the staff’s busy, and ever-changing work life. I presented multiple times in front of the CEO and board of Parker in order to make sure the videos would be appropriate for a company setting. For these meetings, I wrote speeches and created PowerPoints, giving everyone a detailed copy of my plans in order to maintain an utmost professional atmosphere. I wanted to be fully prepared to lead the conferences, to not only make sure my ideas were expressed accordingly; but, to give credit to the pure passion I have for service. As you can see, this project forced me to use my social, leadership, and planning abilities to their fullest extent. 

I am forever grateful to this organization. Because of my Gold Award, I was able to come to the realization of the true amount of effort and skill it takes to be a professional artist. I am confident in my leadership and collaborative capabilities, only because Girl Scouts provided me with the environments and opportunities to practice them.

2020 Recipient - Jesi Herterich

For as long as I can remember, I have been a Girl Scout. We had meetings after my kindergarten class, walking around Amsterdam Elementary School picking up trash, planting trees, or picking weeds. These small acts have taught me how to help my surrounding community and to live by the Girl Scouts law at all times. I am always subconsciously helping others, whether it be holding the door open for a stranger or supporting my friends through tough times, I always lend a helpful hand. I have also learned many skills such as communication and leadership. I continue to learn these skills through the various Girl Scout events I have participated in, these include: Camporee, Hunger Games Camp, Liberty Science Center overnight, Camp Dewitt Summer Camp, Girl Scouts 100th Birthday, my Gold and Bronze Award, and the various journeys I have done. 

Trading Swaps in wooden cabins, smelling the campfire on a brisk night, rowing kayaks on a misty morning; all vivid memories I have of Camporee. Camporee is something I have always looked forward to as a Girl Scout, as I have attended 10 years of the event. Because it usually falls on my birthday weekend, I enjoyed spending it with my close friends by the lake doing outdoor activities. My mother was also very involved in Camporee as she coordinated it for many years and helped my troop run activities such as crafts and songs. By teaching other Girl Scouts these activities, I gained leadership skills and confidence. Camporee also helped me acquire physical skills. These include; fishing, archery, hiking, kayaking/boating, rock climbing, swimming, fire building, and more. Similarly, the Hunger Games Camp that I attended at Camp Dewitt during 5th and 6th grade taught me skills I thought I would never learn at that age. I learned essential survivorship skills like building a tent out of branches, setting animal traps and knife skills, knot tying, cooking food with sunlight, starting a fire with flint and steel, navigation skills, and dealing with injuries. This made me feel as if I was ready for anything and could be the next contestant on “Survivor”. Another Girl Scouts event I attended was summer camp at Camp Hoover with my younger sister. This was one of the most eye-opening experiences for me as we attended when we were 13 and 12. Most of the girls attending had been going there for years, but being our first year, there was a lot we had to learn. The culture and traditions that came along with the camp were great to experience and I am so glad I went and made new friends. We were a part of the basket-weaving program which was something I had always been interested in but never had the chance to learn about. However, thanks to Camp Hoover, I now know how to make all sorts of baskets and how to weave them. The Girl Scouts 100th Birthday was another enjoyable event where I learned how to teach younger Girl Scouts how to make sit-upons as my mother coordinated the event and made it successful. 

As for my Bronze and Gold Award, I have learned so much as a person. For my bronze award, my troop and I coordinated a dance for 5th/6th graders at a local church, raising money for Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. This taught me how to coordinate an event and raise money for a good cause. For my Gold Award (that is still in progress), I coordinated my own STEM event. The event was a five day camp for 5th/6th grade girls to encourage them to pursue a career in STEM. They participated in different experiments that taught them about science subjects like physics, chemistry, environmental, and biology. Because I ran the camp, I learned presentation skills, time management, and more. 

All in all, Girl Scouts has given me the confidence to be a leader, try new things, meet new people, and be prepared for life beyond my high school years. I’ve always liked being outdoors and from the experiences I’ve had through Girl Scouts, I’ve decided to attain my degree in Marine Biology at college.  I will always have my fond memories of being a Girl Scout to remind me that life can be hectic but there’s always time to reflect and be in nature to keep me grounded.    

2020 Recipient - Shweta Kumar

I started Girl Scouts when I was in kindergarten. From the pretty blue  Daisy vest, I have built my way up to become an Ambassador. This year I am being honored for receiving my Gold Award and successfully completing the Girl Scouts Trifecta. Regardless, this journey hasn’t been as smooth sailing as it might seem from the outside. 

As a Brownie, I got the opportunity to visit the Girl Scout’s first headquarters in Savannah, Georgia which showed me the depth that this program had and how committed girls around the country were to inspire a positive change in their communities. I was inspired by the army that Juliette Low had created and I became invested in everything the program had to offer. 

As I embarked on the journey to complete my Silver Award, I was eager to give back to the students in Hillsborough, especially girls, because I wanted to inspire them to look into STEM as a future career. I designed a program that would teach students how to solve the Rubik’s Cube over the course of 10 weeks at Triangle Elementary school, and I created youtube videos to go along with each lesson. I began to learn how to handle working with young students and, as this was the first project I had taken on by myself, I began to feel the pressure of leading an initiative on your own. There were many times when I ran into road bumps, but I persevered because I was determined to continue the Girl Scout’s legacy. 

Finally, I got to the largest project: the Gold Award. I was excited to continue to inspire students to go into STEM, especially computer science, so I decided to create a library program so I could reach students in surrounding towns as well. I designed a curriculum that would teach students HTML and CSS, which are languages that are used in webpage design. By the conclusion of the program, the students all had their own webpages. I also coded my own website which highlights multiple coding websites that can be used by people of all different skill levels. Throughout this project, I learned how to manage my time and how to be a leader to students who look up to me. Imparting knowledge on these young minds was so inspiring to me, and I plan to continue making an impact on young students.  

Most of all, Girl Scouts has shown me the power I have as a girl. I’m currently growing up in a time where women are fighting for their rights. I am so inspired seeing all these forces unite, and Girl Scouts has shown me how I can fight in my own way. Along with patience, determination, and perseverance Girl Scouts has helped me make an image for myself as a citizen by the impacts I have made. I’m eager to continue using the skills I have gained as a Girl Scouts to continue changing the world one step at a time. 

2020 Recipient - Rebecca Urm

I remember the excitement I felt when I slipped on the bright blue Daisy vest for the first time in Kindergarten. At that point, my biggest goal for Girl Scouting was to fill in all the missing daisy petals. I had no idea that in addition to earning all eleven petals, 13 years later I would be graduating from High School as an Ambassador Girl Scout. Not only have I made life-long friendships, shared laughs around a campfire, dressed up as a Trefoil cookie and filled a sash full of badges, I have gained life lessons that will undoubtedly shape my future endeavors. Firstly, Girl Scouts has provided me with responsibility and leadership opportunities that I would not have otherwise had. I have had the chance to organize and lead meetings, plan journeys, and choose and direct my own silver and bronze awards. In planning and running a meeting I obtained first hand experience in some of the responsibilities involved in creating training materials, writing lesson plans, time management, and conducting a presentation. My career aspiration is to work as a school psychologist. In that role, I will be regularly interacting with children, organizing events and planning and running meetings. These are all skills that I have learned and practiced as a Girl Scout. Looking back, I was a shy girl who was barely audible during the initiation into Daisies where I quietly mumbled my assigned piece of the Girl Scout Law during our initiation ceremony. As an Ambassador, I have gained so much from those early days and have since volunteered to assist in younger troop bridging ceremonies where I confidently speak and lead the younger troops. If it wasn't for Girl Scouts, I wouldn't have had these opportunities where I could take risks and practice new skills in a safe, supportive environment. I am now also much more comfortable contacting different organizations over the phone, through email, and in person. In addition to the skills I have gained, I have also made many new relationships and connections that have helped me to develop as a person, and gain traits such as loyalty, trust and communicative skills. These are the types of experiences and opportunities that Girl Scouting makes possible for young females. I hope that the Girl Scout organization continues to grow and flourish so that others can experience all that I did. I believe that Girl Scouts provides girls unique and special opportunities that allow them to learn new skills, build relationships, contribute to their community and develop their sense of self. All of these experiences I have had in these past 13 years will shape my future and I will fondly remember my days of wearing a sash, and.... maybe even the cookie costume.

2020 Recipient - Amanda Wendt

I have enjoyed being a Girl Scout since Kindergarten. A major part of my Girl Scouting experience has been volunteering and giving back to my community. I have sung many Christmas carols to Nursing Home residents, made meals for the less fortunate, and participated in Operation Shoe Box for the overseas Military, just to name a few. In 2018 and 2019, I earned the Hillsborough Girl Scout Community Service awards for my service projects for my community. 

I have earned the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards, by making child friendly custom pillow cases for children in local hospitals with critical illnesses. My child friendly pillow cases brighten up an often sterile and scary hospital room and provide some comfort in a scary time for children. I was that child in the children’s hospital at age 9 in need of extra support when I was given a fun pillow case giving me hope and a smile at I time I needed it thanks to someone else’s community service.

In 2019, I earned the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award.  I chose to do my project spreading awareness in the community about food allergies. I am passionate about advocating for this food allergy disability because my sister has life-threatening food allergies and I have seen the challenges that she has faced. Community empathy and compassion can have a positive impact on the lives of those that manage any kind of disability. By providing awareness of food allergies in my community, it created a more compassionate community of people that will take responsibility and help care for each other. By helping to promote inclusion of those with a disability such as food allergies, the community will be positively affected, and it will improve the lives of those with food allergies.

I recently was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Level Award in 2019 which recognizes the important role of my volunteering service in America. This Gold level award honors individuals whose service of 250 plus hours positively impacts the nation improving the lives of others and those most in need.

Being a Girl Scout for so many years has positively impacted my future in so many ways. Being in Girl Scouts has given me the confidence and skills to take on any kind of project. Planning and executing my Gold Award project especially, gave me great experience in completing a challenging and complex project. I developed many different skills including communicating, leading, prioritization, budgeting time and money, and delegating responsibilities. The experience and skills I gained by leading my Girl Scout Gold Award project, will be valuable in college and future employment. Additionally, I have gained confidence in taking on big challenges and goals and knowing I can complete future challenges like this. 

Volunteering in my community as a Girl Scout, has always been a significant part of my life. I find it very rewarding to give back to my community and to help others to make a positive impact to society. 

2019 Recipient - Jacqueline Brilliant

Being a six year old, thinking Girl Scouts was amazing and following in my sister's footsteps was a dream come true. I did not realize this experience would last for 13 years allowing me to earn my Bronze Award as well as my Silver Award. For my Bronze Award, my troop and I collected recipes to create a cookbook for foster families in Trenton, New Jersey. We collected recipes from appetizers to desserts. We asked family and friends to send their favorite and fun recipes. We told them, it was recipes to give to their children so think about what your children, or grandchildren would enjoy cooking. Trenton is our state capital and it is a very poor town as well as a high crime rate. The recipes were on the budget friendly side. We wanted the citizens to enjoy and still be able to afford the meal. 

For my Silver Award, my best friend and I ran a blood drive inspired by our friend and fellow Girl Scout, fighting leukemia since second grade. We wanted to teach friends, family and the public the importance of donating blood to those who need it. Furthermore, we baked goods to sell at our own bake sale. The bake sale money went into a iTunes gift card so she and her family can all enjoy it. I taught my friend, how to make brownies as she did not know to read a liquid measuring cup! Instead of using 13 of a cup, she put in 1% of a cup. The batter became to oily and the brownie mix turned into mush. We had to start over. 

My love of food even carried on to teaching my troop members how to peel and cut potatoes properly. This tradition ran for four years. Each year as a troop we made 10 pounds of meatloaf, 25 pounds of sweet and mashed potatoes, and over 80 brownies since freshman year. I started this tradition when I was in CCD back in fifth grade, and I carried it on in Girl Scouts. All the goods go to our Samaritan Homeless Interim Program (S.H.I.P). The workers at S.H.I.P go around in their van to the homeless in our community. Along with, all the volunteering I do for Girl Scouts, I alter serve every Sunday at my church, St. Joseph, for the past eight years. I am also a mentor for the younger children by answering their questions in Church and hoping they will catch on like I did. I try to stress the importance of being a responsible person, rituals and services. In June 2018, Girl Scouts presented me with an award lay for repeatedly showing my hard work I put in for being an alter server and I am receiving one in June of 2019. Knowing that I am able to use my leadership in Girl Scouts and in altar serving will help me reach my goal of being a GM for a five star hotel. Culinary Institute of America's program is year-round school for three years, then I will hopefully be able to find a job right out of college and find employment faster in my field. I am a very hands on type of person so allowing myself to be in the industry can change the world for me. Without Girl Scouts I am not nearly as prepared for college and life. I know my strong suits as well as my flaws. CIA is the Harvard for hospitality industry, and without my Girl Scout experience I would not be as prepared to be a leader, to serve others and I am a true G.I.R.L.

2019 Recipient - Samantha Holt

Beginning as Daisies, my troop would end every meeting with a friendship circle. We all would hold each others hands, make a wish in our head, and then signal that we were done by squeezing the next girl's hand. In theory, it was a fun way to end our meeting. In reality, there was often more screaming during this five minute tradition than any other time we were together! Between the "OWww, she squeezed my hand too long," or "she's taking too long," this circle was not always a great representation of our friendship. Over the years, however, as we bridged from Daisies to Brownies and beyond, the girls in my troop grew to be great friends, supporting each other whenever one of us was going through a tough time. We all experienced some “issues” during our Girl Scout years, whether it was broken friendships, parents who fought, or the very worst, when one of us was diagnosed with cancer; we managed to stay together through it all and learned how to be strong when the others needed us to be. 

During elementary school, our time spent in Girl Scouts included coloring “Color A Smiles," caroling at a local retirement home, donating food to SHIP, making annual trips to Camporee, and finally, earning our Bronze Award together, by updating the gym at WRS. 

Moving on to the Intermediate and Middle Schools, many of the girls in my troop left, some because they moved away and others because they moved on to other activities they felt were more important. I, however, always considered Girl Scouts as my most important activity, one I never wanted to give up. Becoming an older scout meant more responsibility, and I was happy to begin to take on leadership roles in scouting. Hosting a table at World Thinking Day assisting the younger girls with a Camporee Craft, helping out at the ARIS Stem Summit and hosting a Summer Bash for incoming HMS girl scouts all helped shape my role as a leader, giving me the confidence I would need to further achieve the goals I had laid out for myself as a Girl Scout. This newfound confidence gave me the ability to complete my Silver Award on my own, by renovating the Nursery at St. Joseph Parish, and to complete my Gold Award in which I made pillows, blankets, and pillow packets, as well as hosted craft events to benefit Visions and Pathways. 

There is no question that Girl Scouts has helped improve my leadership skills and foster a lifelong desire to make a difference in the world. Girl Scouts is one of the major reasons I want to be teacher. I believe that teachers are some of the most important people in the lives of their students. I am lucky to have been given opportunities, through Girl Scouts, that allow me to see the change that I, as just one person, can make in lives of others. I never want that to end. And while my troop's friendship circle is now comprised of only eight hands, our friendship is strong and our last meeting will hold a bittersweet sadness, as I squeeze the hands of my fellow Girl Scouts for one last time.

2019 Recipient - Reilly Finn McHugh

I've been a Girl Scout since I was six years old. Since then, I've grown out of my small brown vest and into a mature, aware, caring, and strong individual. As a Girl Scout, I've had the privilege to participate in some amazing projects and events, impact the lives of others, and learn some extremely valuable lessons that will influence my future. 

For several years, my troop held a patch event. The My American Girl Doll and Me program invited young girls and their dolls to a night of games, crafts and fun. I took great joy in combing through the messy locks of much-loved dolls and watching the girl's faces light up when I completed the desired look. This experience taught me how to interact with others, especially those who aren't my age. Talking to both parents and little girls was a challenge, but now I know how to successfully navigate a conversation with all age groups, and I will take this with me as I enter college and eventually the workforce. 

In addition to helping with many years' worth of events and badges, I've earned my Bronze and Silver Awards. My Bronze Award focused on providing the less fortunate with pajamas. I'll never forget the image of that gym filled with pairs upon pairs of pajamas in numbers so great that the floor was rendered invisible. For my Silver Award I made short films about what it's like to deal with food allergies. I directed, wrote, produced, filmed, and edited the videos, and then uploaded them to the website I built which centered around educating people about the dangers of food allergies. After my project, people started coming up to me and telling me about changes they had made to their life in order to help and protect their friends and family members who had allergies. This made me realize how good it feels to inspire and create change, and has motivated me to continue to do so for the rest of my life. My Silver Award required a great deal of hard work, discipline, determination, and time management to make sure I finished before my deadline. These are invaluable life skills that I will take with me wherever I go. 

I am incredibly proud to say that Girl Scouts has changed my life. Because of my involvement with this program, I will head into the world as a confident young woman with the means to face and overcome challenges. These assets will be invaluable as I complete my degree and find a job. Life isn't going to be easy; however, I believe that Girl Scouts has given me a leg up. I have the drive to complete my work, the confidence to head into scary situations with a smile, and the compassion to understand others. In other words, Girl Scouts is one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I will treasure these past twelve years for the rest of my life. 

2019 Recipient - Jessica Muth

I have been a Girl Scout for as long as I can remember; I can genuinely look back after thirteen years and say being a Girl Scout has shaped me into who I am today. When I started off in kindergarten, I thought of it as a fun activity, but even then I always recognized the importance of what we were doing. Before each activity, no matter how eager each one of us was to begin, we all repeated the Girl Scout Law: “On my honor I will try: to serve God and my country, To help people at all times, And live by the Girl Scout Law.” Reciting this, I never forgot my duty as a Girl Scout. 

My favorite activity each year was around the holidays when all levels of Girl Scouts would pack into the school cafeteria and assemble shoeboxes to ship out to soldiers. We would fill these with candy, essentials, and even holiday notes. Doing something little to make their holiday season a little brighter for the soldiers made me proud to be a Girl Scout. Operation Shoebox is just one example of when I first felt fulfilled through helping people, but it is certainly not the last. Over the years, I have sent food to needy, volunteered for anything and everything imaginable, and even went door to door singing holiday carols. Through Girl Scouts, I have learned that working for the public good can be something as small as putting a smile on the face of someone. Whether it be the face of residents getting sung to at assisted living homes, or the smile of a sick person when they receive our prepared food, being a Girl Scout makes me never want to stop giving. 

Aside from community service and directly helping people, through Girl Scouts, I have worked to help the environment. As part of my silver project, I focused on helping the earth, which would in turn help the people. Along with my troop, I sent letters and flyers around town showing people the proper ways to recycle — always taking the cap off of water bottles, and always crushing the bottles so they will not blow out of cans. I also made a video demonstrating the importance of recycling. This project, though lengthy, was worth it in the end. Even today, I still take the cap off before I recycle, and I never throw plastic bottles in the garbage can. By helping the environment, we were doing our duty of helping people, which is something I will never forget. This was my first big project where I hoped to make a difference, and after seeing the difference it made, in my future I will always look for opportunities to inflict positive change. 

Although I will not be a Girl Scout after this year, I will always have the values of a Girl Scout instilled within me. Girl Scouts is so much more than a club to me; it is my childhood and more. Even when not actively participating in Girl Scout activities, I am still devoted to helping people, because it is now part of who I am. In my future endeavors, I hope that I can continue associating myself with helping people, whether it be through community service or putting a smile on the face of people. Even after graduation, I can confidently say, wherever life takes me, I will always be devoted to the helping people. Whether I go into Biomedical Engineering or Pharmacy, I hope to develop devices and medications to help people with diseases and disabilities. These fields are so appealing to me for the sole reason that I can use my capabilities to help people while doing something I love. If it was not for Girl Scouts, I would never have had this outlook to think about helping people as much as I do now think about it.

2019 Recipient - Megha Sawhney

Being a girl scout was one of the most influential experiences of my childhood that will impact my thinking and decision-making for the rest of my life. I know that I am prepared to meet the challenges that lie ahead in college and in my career because of lessons I learned and the skills I developed through teamwork within my troop and the leadership roles I fulfilled as a girl scout. 

In my younger years, my involvement in girl scouts was my first experience reaching out to others for the public good. We visited nursing homes, cleaned the local environment, collected and donated to food pantries and animal shelters, hosted American Girl Patches for younger troops, implemented numerous journeys, and lent a helping hand wherever necessary. As I grew older, my love for helping people grew as well, through my volunteer work throughout my local community, my country, and my world. For my Silver Award Project, I distributed over 3,000 new and gently used books to the children in a neighboring community school to help develop their English language and literacy skills. Then I organized summer reading parties to distribute the books to the kids, which included an interactive presentation on the importance of literacy. I cleaned garages and pulled weeds for the elderly close to home and then reached across the globe to help others when I served on week long mission trips to Philadelphia, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. 

Making a difference in the lives of others is purposeful and fulfilling in an indescribable way. It is my greatest reward. Because of my early scouting experiences, I am certain that I will continue to dedicate my time and talents to my collegiate community and the local community wherever life will lead me. Furthermore, I intend to use the collaborative leadership skills I developed through girl scouts, as I pursue a career in engineering with the desire to advance technology for all people. I don't know for sure if I will help create more efficient waterways in Africa or if I will help make lighting more feasible and accessible in remote villages of the Dominican Republic, but I know that my path will lead to improving the lives of others, continuing to serve with the same mission and desire that was instilled within me as a young scout. 

I will enter college and my adult life with the confidence to set goals and work hard to achieve them, have the desire be a friendly and helpful member of my community, and the determination to step up and assume leadership responsibilities. When I encounter obstacles, or have set backs, I won't give up. Girl scouts never do! I will always believe my impact to make change, lead with honesty and fairness, and be a courageous and strong community problem solver, while always striving to care for those in need, being a sister to everyone I meet, and giving back to the world I live in. The humble truths of the girl scout law will guide me wherever my journey leads.

2019 Recipient - Haylee Sheldon

In many ways, Girl Scouts has shaped my life into what it is today. I began in Girl Scouts as a Brownie with a decent size troop. I remember having so much fun doing every badge we could think of including visiting our local Police Department. As time went on, my troop started to get smaller and I could not understand why anyone would want to drop out of Girl Scouts. Soon after this point I started to become a little discouraged. I missed all my friends that had left. When it was finally down to six of us, we ended up merging into another troop. I vividly remember going to the first meeting and instantly being thrilled to find so many uplifting girls who shared my interests. Together we volunteered for many activities going on in the Service Unit and my passion for helping others grew. I started to realize there was more to Girl Scouts than crafts and singing. I knew that this was really somewhere I belonged. 

My new found troop finished badge after badge and Journey after Journey until we were ready to start our first big project, our Bronze Award. We all had a love for animals so we decided to help a local animal shelter. We put boxes out for donations of blankets and socks that we used to make homemade dog and cat toys. This award made feel very empowered and confident and from then on my goal was to volunteer more often and I started signing up for as many opportunities as I possibly could. My passion for Girl Scouts kept growing even as some of my closest friends began to drop out. 

When it was time for my troop's Silver Award, the now three of us, put our heads together and decided that we wanted to help spread awareness about pollution and overfishing.  We made a song with an accompanying video on Youtube. We did a presentation of our topic at a local agricultural fair at Duke Farms as well as the Health and Wellness Fair.  

Finally, after continuing to bridge up further into Girl Scouts I have made it to my Gold Award. This has probably been one of the biggest impacts for me in all of the years of Girl Scouts. I had attended cooking classes as a young child put on by the Recreation Department and they were asking for someone to create a new one. I decided to make a cooking class for kids in Kindergarten to Fourth Grade. I have just recently finished the classes and am in the process of putting together the final presentation to the Gold Award Committee. In my time working on this award I found many skills that will be very helpful in the future. One of the biggest things for me was being able to find my voice. I persevered through anxiety inducing phone calls, meetings with the Hillsborough Department of Recreation, and talking to my student and their parents to overcome my timidity and take charge. I developed my skills of organization and communication. Working with kids through Girl Scouts has taught me some of the biggest life lessons that I will be able to use in my future. Girl Scouts has truly shaped me into the girl I am today and the skills I have learned will serve me well for my future. 

2019 Recipient - Dora Stefan Szegedy

When I joined Girl Scouts as a first grader, we were entrusted with simple tasks like caroling for the elderly and illustrating “Color A Smile” drawings to send to overseas troops and senior citizens. Easy enough, but it instilled in us a responsibility towards others from a young age. 

My favorite memory from the earlier years was trading handmade Swaps at the annual Camporee. The more diverse our Swap collections became, the more triumphant we grew. The Swap portion of the weekend was the most awaited every year, and retrospectively, I realize how valuable it was to have face-to-face time with Girl Scouts we wouldn't have met otherwise. 

Later on, after summers filled with Girl Scout camp at Dewitt and troop geocaching trips, we began to hold moneymakers for troop funds. We came up with the idea to hold a “My American Girl Doll and Me” night for younger troops, where we turned into hair stylists, fashion designers, and entertainers for an evening. It was a riot, and even more troops signed up in subsequent years. The specifics of this night involved multiple stations, such as a jewelry-making station, a clothing station where girls could make their dolls their very own Girl Scout vest, complete with patches, and--my personal favorite: the hairdressing station. I relished in fixing the knotted hairdos and creating intricate braids for the dolls. As the youngest in my family, I didn't have much experience with talking to younger children, but that didn't keep me from stepping out of my comfort zone and belting out all 16 verses of “Three Little Angels” during my job as the song leader for the music station. Dealing with younger children and acting in roles of leadership were two valuable skills I picked up from the American Girl Doll event every year. 

When I moved to California for a year, I made sure to join a Girl Scout troop for the little time that I spent there. There, I attended my first Skills Camporee, where my new troop and I competed against other troops in activities like setting up tents and flipping pancakes. This was also my first Girl Scout tent-camping trip, and it boggled and thrilled my mind how these girls so eagerly insisted on sleeping outside the tent under the stars. This troop had a much different dynamic that taught me practical things about being in the wilderness with others, while my New Jersey troop, which I returned to when I moved back, taught me moreso about community service. Both skills are extremely valuable to me, especially because both involved copious amounts of teamwork, which I was not very familiar with before, and I know it will serve me well in the future--whether I'm adventuring or partaking in the working world. 

I completed my Bronze Award, a celebration for 100 years of Girl Scouts, which I designed the logo for. I am now in preparation for my Gold Award project, which will be an effort to create coalitions with restaurants in Hillsborough to eliminate their usage of plastic straws that are so harmful to the environment. 

I wasn't always so comfortable with putting myself out there and depending on other people, but from my various Girl Scouts experiences, events, and responsibilities, I've worked on developing those skills that I struggle with so I can be a more productive community member now and in the future.

2018 Recipient - Hana Bahlawan

Being involved in Girl Scouts since I was in Kindergarten has exposed me to experiences and taught me life lessons that I never would have had the opportunity to learn if it wasn’t for this amazing program.  Throughout my time as a Girl Scout, I have had the opportunity to host many events for younger troops, participate in journey-related projects, attend camps and earn my Bronze and Silver Awards. One of the largest, most impactful events that my Girl Scout troop hosted was a duct tape workshop.  At this workshop, we taught dozens of younger troops how to make cute accessories, bookmarks, and more out of simple duct tape. It was a blast for the younger girls and seeing them so excited definitely made it worth it. Although organizing large events sometimes proved to be stressful, our troop received amazing feedback from parents who asked us if we would host more events in the future.  Not only did we continue to host more events but we also expanded our registration numbers in order to reach more troops. Through Girl Scouts, I have developed a big sister role to younger girls, and have created many special bonds.

Completing my Bronze and Silver Awards were also two major accomplishments that I take pride in for completing during my time as a Girl Scout.  For my Bronze Award, I spent countless hours volunteering at an animal shelter, where we interacted with the animals, made homemade dog toys and treats, and overlooked how an animal shelter is run.  I loved completing my Bronze Award because I was able to interact and learn about something that I was passionate about. I knew I was volunteering my time to a good cause, and I loved interacting with the animals.  For my Silver Award, I worked alongside two other girls to teach younger Girl Scouts about the importance of nutrition and exercise. We created different games and stations that the girls participated in where they completed an obstacle course, played a “Healthy or Not?” game, and learned how to balance a healthy diet every day.  Because I also have a passion for working out and eating healthy, I enjoyed spreading the word to younger girls in hopes that they would learn something new. Completing these awards taught me that I love enlightening people and forming substantial relationships with people.

The experiences that I’ve had as a Girl Scout have undoubtedly set me up for success in the future.  I have learned valuable life lessons, such as patience, communication skills, and organization skills that will assist me in almost any occupational field, especially communications.  I confidently believe that I will be successful in my life, and I owe it all to Girl Scouts.

2018 Recipient - Brynne Briegs

As an involved senior at Hillsborough High School, I can say I am many things:  a dedicated student, a Raider, a daughter, a musician. But one of the things I am proudest to say is that after all these years, I am a Girl Scout.  Those words have infinite meaning behind them for me, my twelve years in Girl Scouts have already brought me so far and will continue to help me reach my goals with the courage and strength I have discovered through the opportunities I have been given.  My involvement in Girl Scouts has truly elevated the characteristics of success in me and will continue to bring out the best in who I am as I go into my freshman year at college. Although my time as a Girl Scout is coming to an end, the experiences, lessons and tools it has provided me with will forever impact my steps forward.

The most significant lesson I’ve learned from my career in Girl Scouts was how much we can achieve when we work together.  The most prevalent example of this for me was the first time I volunteered with the organization “Feed My Starving Children” at their Feed the Need event.  A gym full of strangers were able to produce thousands of meals for starving families living in impoverished countries around the world. However humbling it is to know the significance of how we helped others that day, it’s astonishing when I think about how much we accomplished because we put down our differences and worked together towards a shared goal.  Throughout several service projects and Girl Scout events I have been a part of including caroling at nursing homes, running a service-unit wide camping weekend, or a Gymnastics Day accommodating Scouts from states all over and their families, I have had to work with others to bring these events the most success possible. How to effectively work with others is one of the greatest lessons we can learn before going to college and off into the workforce, and to have that opportunity since the first grade has given me a skill I will use every day of my life.

After completing my Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards, I have received so much more from the process than the title of a Precious Medals recipient.  The confidence I gained from working with a team whose goal was centered around my dream is unmeasurable; without the self-awareness that Girl Scouts has brought me, I don’t believe I would be as successful a public speaker, leader and teacher to others – all attributes that facilitate success in furthering one’s education.  While achieving my Gold Award, I experienced countless setbacks as unexpected some of they were, I take pride in how I found ways to make the best out of those situations. Looking back, I don’t see all the paperwork I had to force myself to do or the days I was so close to giving it up. I see the people I met along the way, the lessons I learned from mistakes I make, and the difference my project made in my community.

Wherever I end up next year, I know I may be leaving this chapter of Girl Scouts behind, but what I never go a step without are the aspects of Girl Scouts that has made me who I am.  I have learned to be a leader and a team player, a student and a teacher, a confident young women, and most importantly, I have learned who I am. I am so lucky that I took this opportunity and that it led me to places that I had never imagined, and I plan on using what Girl Scouts has provided for me to reach the heights I cannot yet image.  But one day, I’ll look back on what I do next in my journey through life, just like how I do now on when I started as a brownie, and think how grateful I am to forever be a Girl Scout.

2018 Recipient - Alexis Feder

“We cannot hear you.  Please speak up!” my teachers asserted.  “I…” My voice faltered. “You need to speak louder, no one can hear you!” my mom interjected.  As time passed, these phrases sounded less like words of encouragement and more like negatives. Frankly, I hated it.  At the same time, I knew I had to push myself and improve my confidence in social situations. As time went on, I learned that I have a processing issue, and need more time to understand information or apply it, on tests or quizzes.

Although I was shy I wanted to be understood.  My first step was joining Girl Scouts in kindergarten.  I advanced and “bridged” from a Daisy to Brownie to Junior to Cadette to Senior, and finally, Ambassador.  Girl Scouts helped me improve fine motor, communication and interpersonal skills. I learned to work as part of a team and share as a team.  My social and physical skills increased and so did my self-confidence. I received the Girl Scout awards: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can achieve.  It is difficult to earn. For the Silver Award, everyone picked partners to practice with. I froze with nervous anticipation. “Do you want to be my partner?” one of the girls asked and smiled. My new friend Marisa and her friends accepted me.  With their help I developed confidence to speak in class. I received my Silver Award and decided for my Gold Award project would feed the less fortunate in my community. Although in a prosperous area, some people are hungry. My project was to grow a vegetable garden from scratch.  The Hillsborough Presbyterian Church donated the land. I planted, grew, harvested and delivered over three hundred pounds of fresh vegetables to local food banks. I wrote a book helping other Girl Scouts learn how to plan, grow, distribute and most importantly sustain a large fresh vegetable garden.  My book is available at my local library. It was hard work but also fun and pleasurable. Receiving my Gold Award was and is my proudest accomplishment.

My goals are to get into college and use my education to help others.  I want to be self-sufficient and earn my own way in life. Because of my learning disorder, I need support services in college and will need to find the best college program for me.  I want to major in early education. I am proud to have been accepted to Montclair, Rider and Rutgers. Nothing has been easy, but I know that I will succeed.

My wonderful experiences with Girl Scouts has helped me grow as a person.  If it was not for the Girl Scouts I would not be where I am – poised to start my new life as a college student and then (hopefully) in my career as an early education teacher.

2018 Recipient - Shreeshruthi Raghavan

I believe that my experience as a Girl Scout is full of sincerity and empowerment.  Ever since I was a Brownie, Girl Scouts has taught me immensely about the importance of two things:  self-worth and dedication to others. My journey as a Girl Scout has been able to and continues to make me a more confident and driven version of myself.

When I started my Gold Award application process, I was nervous beyond imagination.  The initial interview was in the Montclair branch of GSHNJ, and I had never met my interviewers before.  Yet as I started the interview, I realized that it was more similar to a casual conversation rather than a rigid interview, which is what I had been expecting.  My Gold Award was centered on conquering cognitive decline within senior citizens at Brookdale Assisted Living Center in Hillsborough. Brookdale was kind enough to offer me 3 hour slots every Friday after dinner, so I could host games and activities that were proven to slow cognitive decline within senior citizens.  Yet receiving the award was not the most fun or fulfilling part of the journey. The time I enjoyed the most was the time I spent interacting with the residents and getting to know them better. As the weeks went on, the residents at Brookdale felt more like friends than they did senior citizens. They would tell me about their life stories, and one woman even told me about her time marching against Vietnam in the 60s.  It gave me such a sense of awe and inspiration that the people I was helping once took part in monumental events that gave me the rights I have today.

I think joining Girl Scouts as a first grader was one of the best decisions I have made or ever will make in life.  Not only has it taught me how to give back to others, it has also taught me about self-respect and empowerment. I remember going to Camp Canadensis in third grade and having to present a mini play in the amphitheater in front of several people I had never even seen before.  As nerve wracking as it was, it taught me that Girl Scouts was a place where all girls could thrive and be encouraged. I think giving back and empowerment will have the greatest impact on my future successes because they’ll help me attain my goals and aid me in helping others reach their goals as well.  And that is what is amazing about Girl Scouts:  you learn about empowering yourself while empowering others at the same time.

2017 Recipient- Emily Duque

I vividly remember my first Girl Scout meeting.  I was only five years old, sitting in my kindergarten classroom, and wearing my bright blue Daisy apron.  I was surrounded by many girls and their parents, some I had never met, and some that I vaguely recognized from class.  I remember being nervous, but excited, because I wanted to learn everything that I could about being a Girl Scout.

I vividly remember my most recent Girl Scout meeting as well.  This time I was seventeen years old, sitting around the table at my leader’s house, wearing the same outfit I wore to school that day (I had forgotten my vest at home but we didn’t really need it that day anyway).  Now, I was surrounded by girls that I had grown closer with than anybody else, since we’ve known each other for twelve years. A lot has happened and a lot had changed in those twelve years, but one that remained constant was my love for Girl Scouts and for my troop.

The things I love most of all about Girl Scouts are somewhat typical; I love spending summer weeks at Camp Hoover, and I love how popular I get during cookie season.  But the one thing that is the most rewarding about Girl Scout is the service experiences I have had. One important thing that my troop always does is every year we volunteer at a collection drive for Rawhide Rescue, an organization that rescues dogs and cats and tries to get them adopted.  We have been doing this since our first year as Brownies, and have done it every year since. It does not seem like much to just stand there and collect donations, but it has taught me one of the biggest lessons. In order to do community service, or to help others, sometimes it is the smallest things that have the biggest impact.  So, even if you cannot immediately cause major change, any small bit of volunteering is helpful. This message will remain with me my whole life, and be what encourages me to always dedicate myself to service. Another one of the most resonating moments of my experience as a Girl Scout is working towards my Gold Award. I have not completed it yet, but my idea was to help Cross Roads Camp repair, expand, and build their archery field with a new pavilion.  This project required so many hours of work and I had to communicate with the camp directors, with volunteers, with architects and many other people. Talking to strangers, especially adults, had never been my strong point, but I can easily say that this experience has made me braver and more confident in that aspect. My newly found skills have greatly helped me already, in things like college interviews and some other volunteer work.  

Mostly however, the skills and knowledge that I have obtained through Girl Scouts will enable me to become more successful in the future.  I want to be a math teacher because teaching and helping others is so important to me. Girl Scouts had taught me to be dedicated and hardworking, but also kind and caring which are the perfect combination of traits to be a teacher.  Overall, being a Girl Scout has shaped my personality and who I am throughout my entire life, and my life would not be the same without it.

2017 Recipient - Tara Wattal


A girl enters the world with a brain and a set of wings. Her sights are as unbounded as the wings that give her flight, and her passions are as unbridled as the triumphs that occupy her dreams. Ambition propels her forward from infanthood to adolescence as she takes on the world without a glance back.

A woman ventures the world with a brain and two feet. Her sights are as bounded as her wings (now clipped), and her passions are limited to the scope of her self-worth. She stagnates in her journey forward, boxed in by standards and expectations.

The disjointed transition from childhood to adulthood is not an isolated experience for girls worldwide. Without visible women dominating their intended paths, young girls see limited success in dreams that once absorbed their imaginations. Instead, they pursue alternative goals, despite the unique perspective they could provide in their initial objectives. 

However, this narrative does not always have to be the norm. In fact, Girl Scouts “mended my wings” before I knew that they were fated to break. When I joined Troop 60392 as a shy fourth grader, I was unsure what to expect, aside from Girl Scout cookies and vests with patches. At the time, my primary goal in life was to “save the world.” Eight years later, I have not given up on this goal and find it impossible to offer my gratitude to Girl Scouts with a single sentence, let alone an essay. 

 Without the support of Girl Scouts, I would not have been able to pursue my Bronze Award, a Ziti for the Needy service booth, and my Silver Award, a skin care awareness project. Each of these awards introduced me to widespread community action, a pursuit that I hope to continue for the rest of my life. But most notably, my Gold Award was the highlight of my time as a Girl Scout and the project that I am the most proud of. Aided by troop leaders, local women, and my fellow troop members, I conceived, promoted, and led workshops featuring local women leaders, to empower girls. SheTalks attracted 50 attendants, 4 speakers, and an online presence of over 100 followers. Through anecdotes on passion, community, bravery, and advocacy, the speakers mended the girls’ wings and provided reasons for renewed flight. Yet, beyond numbers, I will never forget the individual stories of girls that SheTalks touched. At a political action meeting that I recently attended, I was approached by the father of a girl who attended a SheTalks workshop. I was honored to learn that his daughter still remembered her experience and implemented the workshop lessons in her daily life. Her story is one of the several reasons why I am grateful to be a Girl Scout and motivated to become an activist in every avenue that I pursue, including my future career as an economics researcher. 

Girl Scouts illuminated new experiences. My troop brought me sisterhood and taught me empathy. The countless service projects and journeys that I completed over the years gave me a purpose. The organization served as a catalyst for my interest in feminism and social justice. And ultimately, Girl Scouts taught me that my dream to save the world is not reserved for childhood fantasy. 

2016 Recipient - Emily Washbourn 

Each part of my Girl Scout journey has been rewarding in its own, unique way.  Beginning as a Daisy in Kindergarten, me and the 14 other girls in my Troop learned how to braid hair, make friends, and live by the Girl Scout Law.  Moving through the ranks meant that the lessons became more substantial and we were taught how to survive both in and outside of the home. Our time at Camp DeWitt allowed us to explore the outdoors, while learning to create a sling from a t-shirt, light a fire, sew and much more.  For my troop’s Bronze Award, we worked with the Samaritan Homeless Interim Program to help make food and feed the homeless in Somerville, NJ. Our Silver Award involved making blankets for Project Linus, which is a foundation that provides blankets for critically ill children in hospitals.  Finally, as the only girl in my troop to continue Girl Scouts, I am in the process of completing my Gold Award. My project involves educating students ages 11-14 about the dangers of driving under the influence, before they are placed into drivers’ education sophomore year. I believe it is important for driving under the influence to be as taboo as not wearing a seat belt, and the only way to do this is by targeting students before they even have a chance get behind the wheel.  

Girl Scouts has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and has taught me many lessons that I will carry with me forever.  Doing all of these activities has taught me how to give back to others without expecting anything in return, as well as the value in continuing an activity, even if no one else is doing the same.  Between my Bronze and Silver Awards, I learned how rewarding it is to give to others who cannot give anything back to you. Helping those less fortunate than I opened my eyes to volunteerism and sparked a need to help others now and in the future.  Girl Scouts also allowed me to learn that it is okay to continue doing something even when no one else wants to. My troop went from 15 girls to three, with me being the only one to work towards my Gold Award. Though it was tempting to quit with the rest of my friends, I stayed with the program because I truly believe in the message it sends, and the lessons it teaches.  This persistence despite other’s opinions is something that I have only learned from Girl Scouts and I will carry the lesson with me for years to come in college and eventually the workplace. Overall, Girl Scouts has taught me the fundamentals of life and I will embrace these lessons as they help me achieve personal success and continue to shape me into a better person.

Follow Up:  Emily Washbourn has continued her passion for Girl Scouts while in college where her sorority, Kappa Delta, focuses their philanthropy efforts on the Girl Scouts of America. Each semester, the students host a number of Girl Scout events where young girls are involved in activities to help them build confidence while having fun.  The sorority sisters also give campus tours to inspire girls to seek higher education and serve as mentors to these younger girls. “Be a Sister to every Girl Scout” is truly in action with the Sisters of Kappa Delta and the Girl Scouts. Emily’s essay predicted that she would carry the lessons of Girl Scouting forward into her life as a college student and beyond, and she was right!  

2016 Recipient- Emily Van Pelt

Girl Scouts has always meant more to me than cookies and Camporee.  Though I loved both, being a Girl Scout gave me invaluable skills. I am a strong woman.  I am a leader, a coordinator and a hard worker because of the values instilled in me during Girl Scouts. Women today often fall victim to self-doubt and I am no exception.  But throughout my years from Daisy on, my leaders and sisters pushed me to become the best I can and to ignore the voices that tell me I’m not good enough.  

Juliette Gordon Low once said “Scouting rises within you and inspires you to put forth your best.”  The fun of Camp DeWitt and the hard work of completing journeys and bronze, silver and gold awards showed me how an upstanding citizen and woman act.  And nothing affected me quite as much as my Gold Award which I completed in 2014.  

The summer before my junior year I confronted a monumental question; “What problem will I solve to earn my Gold Award”.  My older sister, my role model for everything Girl Scout related, advised me to pick a subject I loved. I determined that Hillsborough needed a field hockey field.  I’ve played since 2008 but had no designated space for field hockey. When I approached my township’s Parks and Recreation department, I was granted field space.  

I also created a plan for a field hockey clinic.  The clinic exposed girls grades four through eight to field hockey.  Watching the girls grow as players made me swell with pride, though they insisted on calling me Coach Emily.  I applied for a USA Field Hockey grant and received sticks, balls and cones. The playbook of drills and games I was sent was invaluable.  Hillsborough Jr Raider Field Hockey was born, as a result of more than 120 hours of work, sweat and yes, tears.

Seeing the tangible result of my dream was the best reward I could have received, and well worth the anxiety I felt over having to talk to adults.  The phone calls made my hands shake and my voice tremble, the emails made me second guess every word I ever wrote and don’t even mention the meetings.  From the outset I doubted my ability to deliver a finished project. I had to challenge myself to take charge and become the leader I always knew I was.  I led adults for the majority of my project. The summer before my junior year of high school I became a stronger person. I developed a loud, clear voice.  I grew confident. I seized the opportunity to spread my love of field hockey and it worked. I succeeded under the pressure. I flourished.

Follow Up: Emily Van Pelt entered Kean University as a freshmen in 2016 where she continues to put time and attention into her local community by working on service projects with the clubs she belongs to.  In 2015 the Junior Raiders took over the field hockey project and by 2016 the number of teams had doubled with over 70 girls competing as Hillsborough athletes! In 2017, Emily was contacted by USA Field Hockey who will be replicating her model across the country as part of a new partnership with Girl Scouts USA.  The organization will provide coaches and equipment to local communities and offer additional support to girls like Emily who chose field hockey as the focus of their Silver or Gold awards. “Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place” and Emily is the embodiment of this mantra.