Girl Scout Gold Award Ceremony Saturday, June 4, 2022 Hyatt Lodge Oakbrook
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Gold Award Girl Scouts Change the World Gold Award Girl Scouts are change-makers. They have changed the world, changed lives, and earned the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting. To earn the Gold Award, a Girl Scout identifies an issue in their community, drafts a plan to address the root cause, and leads a team of volunteers to implement it. When the project is complete, the Gold Award Girl Scout and her team have made a sustainable impact on the world that continues to last beyond her involvement. It’s a huge accomplishment that also impacts the Gold Award Girl Scout as a person. How she sees the world—and how the world sees her—is forever changed. It’s also a credential that will be with her for the rest of her life; having the Girl Scout Gold Award on a high school transcript or résumé can make a Girl Scout stand out when it comes to college admissions, scholarship applications, internships, and job interviews.
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We Are Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life as they work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them.
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Girl Scout Mission
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try: To serve God* and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
Girl Scout Law
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.
*Members may substitute for the word God in accordance with their own spiritual beliefs.
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2022 Gold Award Ceremony Refreshments Welcome
Jane Clark Emcee Shaela O’Keefe Emcee
Leadership Remarks
Sidney Dillard President and Board Chair Patty Fay GCNWI Chief of Staff
Presentation of Awards Closing Remarks
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Speaker Name Emcee
Emcees Jane Clark
Jane Clark is Vice President, Member Services for NationaLease. In this position, she is focused on managing the Member Services operation, as well as working to strengthen member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups. Prior to joining NationaLease, Jane served as Area Vice President for Randstad, one of the world’s largest recruitment agencies, and before that, she served in management posts with QPS Companies, Pro Staff, and Manpower, Inc. Jane received a B.A. degree in Communication from North Central College and an M.A. in Communication from Northern Illinois University. Jane is also the Gold Award Committee Volunteer Chair as has served in that position for more than 10 years.
Shaela O’Keefe
Hello! My name is Shaela O’Keefe! I am a 2021 Girl Scout Gold Award recipient and National Girl Scout Gold Award scholarship recipient. For my Gold Award project, I partnered with a local food pantry in order to assist my community physically and emotionally. I implemented facilities such as a Letters of Love box; Blessing Box/Micro-pantry; Drop-Off Donation Box; Drive-Thru Donation Drive, and other services for the betterment of my community and to increase products offered at the food pantry. I am incredibly excited and honored to be celebrating the wonderful accomplishments of the 2022 Gold Award Girl Scouts! Congratulations to each and every one of you, and thank you for making the world a better place! 7
Highest Awards by Numbers So Far in 2022
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Girl Scout Seniors & Ambassadors Earned the Gold Award THROUGH
of 4,268 Hours Service TO
7,824 People IN
78 Communities WITH
Donated 8,562 Items
876
Girl Scout Cadettes
Earned the Silver Award Scout 1,380 Girl Juniors Earned the Bronze Award 8
Gold Award Scholarships Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana thanks the generous donors who support our council’s Gold Award scholarship fund. In the sixth year of this scholarship fund, six Gold Award Girl Scouts received a total of $10,000 in college scholarships in honor of their commitment to making the world a better place.
2021 Scholarship Recipients Kayla Austin – Howard University Sophie Donnellan – Stanford University Olivia Jozaitis – Kent State University Lillian Ryan – University of Notre Dame Ashley Stis – University of Michigan Teagan Whiteside – Bradley University
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Award Recipients Jacqueline Barba Jackie’s Biblioteca
Jackie’s Biblioteca was a project that came from my love of reading and my wish to share that with other young girls. I collected over 200 books, written in Spanish, to establish a library in an all-girl’s elementary school in my hometown in Mexico. I wanted the books, ranging in topics, genres, and reading levels, to be able to provide the girls with the ability to literally take their education in their own hands.
Sara Bogan Calm Corner
I worked with second and third grade students at Forrestal Elementary School in North Chicago. My project was aimed at helping these students relieve anxiety from the trauma they experienced at home and during the pandemic.
Mikaylah Boulds
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Accommodations and Badge Programs My Gold Award is solely based on the purpose of inclusion and making Girl Scouts enjoyable for all girls. I wanted there to be accommodations for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people whether it be the Girl Scouts themselves or the parents / troop leaders.
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Katherine Breinig
Bike Safety and Conservation Videos I often see people riding their bikes in unsafe ways and they dont know how to take care of the bike. My Gold Award worked to create videos about bike safety and maintenance. Through researching, creating and showing these videos I hope to raise awareness of bike safety in my community and beyond.
Carlie Ceska
The “BAG IT” GO GREEN Program My project helped to bring non-perishable, non-food items to families at risk of poverty or lack of housing. The concept of the “BAG IT” program is to bring awareness of feasible solutions to students from both public and parochial schools to connect them with their community. The solution- a free, reusable, eco-friendly bag made from T-shirts filled with the aforesaid items to be distributed along with the Greater Chicago Food Depository food program.
Madison Drees
Helping to Prevent Illiteracy in Young Children I began by looking at some key issues about why illiteracy was occurring in America. I found that an important part of cognitive development and education for young children is access to books in homes and at school. To help with this I hosted a book drive to collect books for children at the pre-k level for a low income school district. I collected over 500 books to be distributed to 185 students across three schools and be donated to classroom libraries. In addition, the locations that aided me in book collection agreed to collect books in future years to be donated to the same school district. 11
Sarah DuMoulin
School Pollinator Garden I decided to plant a pollinator garden at my high school. Throughout three years of high school, I researched, prepared, and brainstormed plans for the garden. By planting a variety of flowers and plants, and additional spots for the pollinators, such as rocks for butterflies to sun, and bees to bathe, I was able to create an environment for pollinators that I am very proud of. Throughout the project, I also wrote multiple articles for the school newspaper about the issues regarding pollinator decline, the project, and how people individually can help at home.
Lauren English
Cooking up a Healthy Lifestyle My Gold Award project taught kids how to cook for themselves by hosting a class for kids as well as handing out cookbooks. The class and cookbook taught the basics of kitchen safety and healthy eating. By teaching children the skills to cook for themselves, they are able to take more control over their health and decide what kind of lifestyle they want to live. This gives kids a sense of ownership over their life and provides an important life skill.
Emily Felts
Give a Toy, Take a Toy Box Play is an important part of childhood because it helps to support crutial development in children, yet many children don’t have access to toys. For my Gold Award project, I installed “give a toy, take a toy” bins in two different communities. One is outside of Little Beans Cafe, a children’s play center in Evanston, IL that offers free programs to low12
income kids in my community. The other is at a public beach on a small lake in Mundelein, IL that is always in need of sand toys. These bins are for people to donate toys they no longer use, and people to take toys that they need. It is modeled after the Little Free Library book boxes found around many neighborhoods. To expand my idea, I created a step-by-step guide to help others create a give a toy, take a toy box in their own community.
Hermella Fernandes Let’s Escape Anxiety
My Gold Award project was a way for teenagers to learn how to cope and identify their stress and anxiety. Learning certain techniques can help you get through your daily life and eventually for the long term. I wanted to make a difference and spread the word that no one is alone when it comes to stress and anxiety. I made a PowerPoint presentation explaining what exactly stress and anxiety are, along with several exercises that help calm you down and focus on the right thoughts instead of the wrong ones. Then I had a group of teenagers take a quiz before and after the video to observe if they had learned anything new and provide general feedback.
Hannah Finkelstein Tennis for Everyone
I created a program for children to learn tennis. My friends and I taught basic skills and provided tennis equipment for each child to keep. I documented everything I did and created a step-by-step sheet for girls on my high school tennis team to recreate this program in the future.
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Alma Fitzgerald
Creating a System for Providing Clothing to the Homeless I worked with a local Evanston non-profit, Connections for the Homeless, to organzie their storage room. When I began my Gold Award, Connections for the Homeless was having a difficult time getting clothing to people because their storage room was unorganized and lacking materials such as sorting tables, laundry baskets and racks. I worked to gather these supplies and provide a solution for their storage and organization needs.
Samantha Fitzgerald
Math and Reading Flashcard Kits I created over 100 math and sight word flashcards. These were given to tutors to use with underprivileged students in Pre-K through 2nd grade. I worked with the tutors to create kits which were split into different age groups and personalized ability levels. I also included in the kits given to each student stickers, bookmarks and a chart to keep track of their progress.
Moorea Gay
The Journey: A Girl’s Guide to the Challenges of Life I created The Journey: A Girl’s Guide to the Challenges of Life a book meant to empower girls of all ages and guide them through the many obstacles that they will face when transitioning from a young girl to a young woman. This book discusses topics such as setting boundaries, bullying, sexual assault, gender inequity, systemic racism, homophobia, body
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image, and mental health. Through this book, young girls will begin to understand these essential concepts and apply them in their own lives as they go through the journey of life.
Megan Gianino Sweet Dreams
My Gold Award project addressed the lack of resources available to families impacted by domestic abuse. With the help of a previous consumer science teacher, I constructed an ongoing project to help raise awareness of domestic violence to local students by teaching them to sew and donate pajama pant bundles to the shelter as part of their curriculum. I made a video to explain the project to the students and how they can contribute to the cause. I also donated extra fabric to the program to encourage the students to make additional pants if they choose.
Melissa Gibbs In My Backyard
In My Backyard is made up of a series of kits to be checked out at the library. They provide information on rocks/fossils, the sky, bugs, and flora/fauna that the kids can explore at home, with examples that can be found in their own backyards. The activities, crafts, and information provides some of my favorite aspects of Girl Scouting to kids in the community.
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Kayleigh Glickley Little Food Pantry
My Gold Award project aimed to address the issue of families and students who are experiencing food insecurity in my community. This is especially important since the pandemic has taken so much from our community such as jobs which allow people to buy necessities to survive. I created a Little Food Pantry where locals could donate food or take food based on their need.
Emma Gossman
Accessibility in the State Park The root cause of the issue addressed by my Gold Award was the accessibility for all visitors of the Indiana Dunes State Park. My family and I enjoy visiting state parks throughout the year. My sister has a disability that does not allow her to walk long distances so the utilization of accessible parking is very important to my family when we visit the parks. The Indiana Dunes State Park and myself recognized that throughout the years the wear and tear made the lines no longer visible to the accessible parking spaces. Not only were the lines not visible, some parking spaces were not up to ADA code. I worked with the park to fix these issues as well as create awareness surrounding the importance of ADAaccessible parking and pathways.
Inaya Gray
Party with a Purpose “Party with a Purpose” aimed to address the issue of how domestic violence and foster care impact children. All too often children who are affected by domestic violence and foster care have to deal with “adult issues” rather than 16
being allowed to just be children. Children housed in a local domestic violence facility and some who participated in its foster care program were provided with a temporary “mental escape” from domestic violence and foster care while they were allowed to reclaim their innocence and enjoy being children through the enjoyment of a celebratory birthday party (with food and gifts) hosted in their honor. The goal of the yoga and stress management mini-workshop component of the party was to provide participants with strategies to better manage stress and their temperaments, which can lead to domestic violence situations and poor short- and longterm mental health if not properly managed.
Kayla Hansen
The Viking’s Library I built a mini library in one of the most diverse zip codes in Chicago. This library would provide residents with access to all kinds of books, flyers for community resources and events, and encourage community connection. I included books for kids, adults, books in different languages, and Braille books. My hope for this project is that it will help everyone have equal access to books to ultimately decrease the illiteracy rate in some communities.
Faith Harper
Rooted Paradise Club (RPC) My Gold Award project addressed the issue of bringing the topic of black hair in the conversation and the things that some may feel uncomfortable to talk about aloud pertaining to their appearance. I created the Rooted Paradise Club (RPC) as a space for those to reemphasize that our differences are
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our biggest strength and it is what brings us closer together as a community than ever before. Hair has been a central topic in my life and the lives of so many other girls and guys, so founding this club allowed me to create a safe space for all to discuss different kinds of hair, which is the first and biggest step we can all take in order to acquire knowledge about the forever evolving society we live in.
Margaret Heritage
Planting the Seeds of STEM I established a hands-on educational program at my former elementary school that serves to encourage enduring interests in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) among its students. I supervised the construction of garden beds on the grounds of the school. Three-Sisters (corn, beans, squash) gardens are now planted and harvested in these garden beds by students as part of their course of instruction. I also established a sustainable service-based educational program whereby an extracurricular organization helps tend to the gardens during non-school hours and then finds a successor organization at the conclusion of its participation in the program.
Riley Heydenburg
Pollinator Garden for Wings Program Life threatening domestic violence affects more people than we think, and it happens on a smaller, local scale, which is why I decided to work with WINGS, an organization that provides housing, counseling, and education for survivors of domestic violence. There was a lack of decoration surrounding the WINGS building, making it plain and unwelcoming for clients who visit for counseling. I addressed 18
this issue, and improved the ecosystem, by beautifying the area with colorful plants that attract pollinators. The native plants I implemented will come back year after year, enduring the Illinois weather so the counseling center will continue to be a pleasant sight to greet the clients and staff for years to come.
Ellie Houston
Vegetable Information Binder I created a vegetable information binder that included recipes and information in both English and Spanish about different vegetables. I made this binder for the Roberti Community House (RCH) in Waukegan because they distribute unique vegetables that are donated from surrounding grocery stores to people in need on a weekly basis. Sometimes the people receiving the vegetables are not familiar with them or how to prepare them. With this binder the volunteers at RCH can copy the relevant vegetable page and include it with the food being handed out that day. In this way when the people receive the vegetable they can learn a little about the health benefits and how to prepare it instead of having it go to waste.
Sophia Ismail
Promoting Books With Female Empowerment My Gold Award project promoted books with female empowerment and well-written girl protagonists. I donated book club materials and corresponding books that specifically focused on these topics. The donations were sent to organizations and community houses that ran after school literacy programs so that they could essentially serve as a “book club in a box.” Anyone could pick up these books 19
and materials and start a book club with a group of middle schoolers. To make sure the materials I was donating were effective I ran a book club with my local middle school where I got to see how students responded to the discussion questions and activities that I wrote, as well as some that I compiled from the Internet.
Caroline Kansa Coping Cards
I used my own knowledge of coping skills alongside the knowledge of other specialists and those in my community to create concise “Coping Cards.” I placed these cards in local businesses around my community to spread information about mental health skills and to help break the stigma of mental illness.
Molly Kasch
Scouting the Rainbow Scouting the Rainbow is a Gold Award project that provides Girl Scouts and troop leaders with a brief but robust education about the LGBTQ+ community. The project is broken down into three concise lessons, each of which highlights topics critical for gaining a basic understanding of the diverse LGBTQ+ community, including historical contexts and current issues. The project aims to show how Girl Scouts can be inclusive, effective LGBTQ+ allies.
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Jui Khankari
Open-Source Artificial Intelligence (AI) Curriculum for All My Gold Award focused on the lack of representation in women in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). I created open-source AI curriculum that is accessible to anyone in hopes to alleviate the discrepency between men and women in the field of AI.
Emily Liebelt
Mental and Physical Benefits of Volleyball for Underprivledged Children I taught underprivileged elementary and middle school boys and girls the importance of playing a sport that will not only benefits their physical but mental well-being. I provided the kids with valuable skills of volleyball and athleticism that they will hopefully continue to use their whole lives. I addressed the importance of teamwork, health, and life skills throughout the clinic. I also provided Beacon Place with 18 volleyballs donated from Wilson Sporting Goods and my family.
Grace Listopad
Pack Up Homelessness Pack Up Homelessness was a two-part project. The first part was collecting donations and sorting through them. These donations were then sorted and used. The donations not used for the second part of my project went to WINGS, Home of the Sparrow, and the food bank. The second part of my project was packing goodie bags or survival bags for people experiencing homelessness. During this packing, over 20 volunteers participated in helping with the packing and over 100 bags were successfully handed out! 21
Abigail Mackey
Accessible Garden Bed My Gold Award project created a raised garden bed for Woodview elementary school in order to make participating in their garden program easier for kids with special needs. Over the course of my project I did lots of research, made blueprints, and constructed the garden bed, which was ready to use this spring. It was amazing working with different members of my community to make this happen and I am so grateful for all of their help!
Molly Manion Better Together
Worldwide there are over 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This project aimed to help end the isolation of individuals with IDD by promoting inclusion. A video and resources for Munster High School was created with the participation of members from Best Buddies to be used for school orientation and beyond.
Avery Martin
Selah Freedom Patio Space and Games Area I worked with the Selah Freedom home in Florida to raise awarness surrounding sex trafficking. I helped to organize a virtual run with runners from across the United States. In assisting with the virtual run I was able to fund new sport equipment and patio furniture for the Selah Freedom house.
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Linnea Mason Fix It Up
I addressed the issue of homelessness with my Gold Award Project. There are many people living in America who do not have stable housing. This is especially dangerous in the winter time when sleeping on the streets may become deadly. The Interim Housing Program run by COOL Ministries helps families move into permanent housing, and gives people the life skills they need to stay off the streets. Helping COOL Ministries with their mission will allow them to help more homeless families for years to come.
Zoe Mazurkiewicz Diabetes Education
I created a website that could help educate people on diabetes. I focus more on Type 1 than Type 2 because I am a Type 1 diabetic. It is meant as a resource for newly diagnosed diabetics but also anyone just wanting to know more since the disease is becoming more common to see. I want to help my friends and other people to learn more about what I and millions of other people live with on a daily basis.
Micaela McFerren
A Helping Hand for Women Across the Globe I created a website for women’s right issues that are not spoken about enough in the mainstream media. I covered topics like female genital mutilation and digital sex crimes in hopes that people would gain enough knowledge to make a difference for the women experiencing these tragedies. I also included why learning about these issues is important and specific ways people could help.
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Sheila Murphy
Helping Food Pantries Respond to Allergies Food insecure people with allergies are often unable to access donations at food pantries that safely meet their dietary restrictions. This can have life-threatening consequences, so for my Gold Award I decided to help pantries provide more options for those with allergies and dietary restrictions.
Rebecca Newhall Bluebird Build
The issue being addressed by my Gold Award was the lack of bluebird houses in a forest preserve in Lake County Illinois. This work is important because it helped to establish a healthy animal community and a more balanced blend of native species in the area. Having sturdy, well-built, and weather-proof houses will encourage bluebirds to nest and raise families.
Grace Niemiec
Greyhound Adoption Awareness Children’s Book My Gold Award project focused on raising awareness for the growing number of retired racing greyhounds in need of homes in the United States, especially after greyhound racing was effectively banned in the state of Florida in 2020. Through the creation of a children’s book, this project sought to raise awareness of the breed in the Chicago Northwest suburbs, as many families in that area have the means to support an adoptable greyhound. The book, titled “Born To Run,” was published in March of 2021 and donated to local institutions across the Chicago Northwest suburbs. This included 10 libraries, elementary schools, pre-schools, summer camps and pediatric offices. It was published with 24
the generous help of Greyhounds Only, Virtuoso Press and illustrator Sara Niemiec.
Sarah Noroozi
Blankets for Isolettes at the Rush Copley Medical Center’s NICU in Aurora I Ied four teams to create 30 hand-tied blankets for the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora, IL. The blankets aid in the development of premature babies and provide comfort to their families. I created an instructional video and editable Google Slides and sent them to Rush Copley for future blanket making projects. I also made a NICU experience video with my parents (as I was born prematurely) that was shared on my social media, and sent out a Google Forms survey to the nurses regarding the impact of the blankets.
Katherine Opila
Friendship Jamboree My Gold Award aimed to address how many children suffer from feelings of loneliness or a lack of deep friendships. This program gives children opportunities to discover what they love and build strong and lasting relationships. Also, my program taught young kids coping skills.
Priyanka Patel
Native Bee Conservation I created and implemented bee houses for native bee species at Fullersburg Woods and worked with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County to add educational information pertaining to these bees to their center. I made these houses in order to attract more bees to the location and allow a 25
habitat for them, something that is continuously being lost from the natural world. In addition, the education allowed visitors to the Preserve to learn about the conservation of these insects and the efforts that it requires. I was responsible for the design, research, and creation of the houses, along with the majority of the educational add-ons.
Victoria Paugys
Body Positivity and Fitness (Zumba) I demonstrated the importance of fitness in everyday life while connecting how being body positive is also a great health benefit that can better a person’s physical and mental stability. I taught and demonstrated a choreographed Zumba dance to a group of younger adolescent Girl Scouts. I also made a video that is posted on my YouTube channel and will be demonstrated in the Galowich YMCA Zumba program for a introduction to Zumba to the community.
Nicole Prokopis Self Defense
My Gold Award project was about teaching girls how to defend themselves if they are in danger. I talked about different ways you can be on the lookout for any strange behavior and to be aware of your surroundings. I also taught the girls a couple of moves to use if they are ever in need.
Kavya Puranam Fresh Food-Prints
I created a website that gave consumers a wide range of local farmer’s markets in the northern suburbs of Illinois where people can sustain their diets with locally sourced foods. This brings awareness about the fresh food grown locally and 26
the farmers who grow the food. People can learn about the processes of growing food when they visit farmer’s markets and meet the farmers themselves, which encourages them to eat locally.
Courtney Richmond
Youth Flag Retirement and Education I combined a flag retirement ceremony with a youth educational event. I taught young adults and kids about the history of our flag and importance of respecting and retiring flags. The youth involved in this ceremony were also taught the proper way to fold a flag.
Cate Robinson
Equestrian Jumps for DuPage County Forest Preserve I worked alongside the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County to build and install new jumps in the Equestrian Center. By building jumps for them, I both enhanced their already existing equipment and resources available and taught others more about horseback-riding and what goes along with it.
Abigail Roussin
Pollination Awareness My Gold Award created a native plant garden in my local community to give animal pollinators a safe place to rest and pollinate the local plant life while beautifying the town. My goal was not only to help animals, but also to educate the community on the importance of pollination and the benefits of native plants. I encouraged them to make a difference by creating a series of step-by-step videos and a Facebook page on how to create their own garden from scratch. 27
Faith San Martin
Project Bears that Care For my Gold Award my mission was to distribute stuffed animals to children who are experiencing the deportation of their parents or guardians. With these bears, children will feel comfort while they are going through these trying times. I hope to spread the awareness of the immigration and deportation process and the toll it has on those affected, especially children.
Julia Schwert
Picnic Tables for St. Francis Xavier Parish The church I attend, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, sits on a large plot of land. We hold many events (including festivals, cookouts, bible summer camps, and even Sunday masses) outside, but it requires a lot of time and labor to haul up folding chairs and tables from the church basement. I worked with the church to create picnic tables that will be stationary and not require time and labor to set up.
Allyssa Smith
Conquering Teen Anxiety in the Midst of Chaos When the world was hit with multiple crises at the same time, it cast teenagers into a world of unknown, stripping them from their normal coping mechanisms and the inability to gather together. My Gold Award aimed to supply teenagers with new coping mechanisms to not only survive but to thrive and push forward with rebuilt foundations.
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Caroline Stanczak
Rehoming Victims of Domestic Abuse Along with the help of a woman and children’s shelter I was able to create a program to donate home furnishings to women transitioning out of shelters. My project also focused on creating a donation event to fully furnish an entire apartment for a transitioning mother and her children, with the excess going back into the program for other women. After that was completed I created an implementation and process packet for other large nonprofits to adapt.
Grace Stone
Page Turners: Giving Old Books a New Use Books are unarguably an essential aspect of education. However, they are often costly or difficult to obtain. Academic books can be incredibly expensive, and gently used books in large quantities can be difficult to come by. In light of COVID-19, further budget cuts and decreases to school libraries are being made. Now more than ever, book donations are essential to maintaining the quality of education in schools. I worked with schools to host book donations to decrease book waste and increase the ability to help less privledged schools.
Molly Stood Busy Bags
I created 120 Busy Bags and donated them to a local hospital to help kids have a distraction while they are in the hospital. With the help of my generous community and those around me, I was able to create 30 bags for four different age levels to best fit the needs of the recipents.
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Thea Surya
Seniors Getting Virtually Connected As the rates of online scams against the elderly are especially high, technology literacy amongst the group is pertinent. As part of my Gold Award project, I created materials to educate the elderly on subjects such as video conferencing and password management. Through these efforts I was able to make my audience more aware of these online threats and arm them with the knowledge to realize and/or prevent them from happening.
Suzy Switzer
Kindness Connection Rocks Kindness Connection Rocks, involved putting painted rocks with inspirational messages in multiple Chicago Park District parks. These rocks were meant to give park visitors something to look for while visiting and serve as a reminder of their community and the fact that people are thinking of them. On the back of each rock was the link a website that I created. The website has introductory resources about mental health and how to get help. My project helps address the decrease in access to mental health resources during the pandemic and foster community and positivity in a time where people are feeling disconnected.
Lauren Thompson High School Confident
My goal was to create a website with a variety of resources (videos and text aids) with advice for incoming high school freshmen. The middle school to high school transition can be scary and I was determined to ease some student’s minds with my advice. My website contains advice and information 30
about my high school specifically and high school in general. For example, how to schedule classes, how to manage time, how to be involved, etc.
Ella Vander Velde
Green Sense Sustainable Food Packaging My Gold Award project aimed to spread awareness about the sustainability of different types of packaging and how consumers can make the most environmentally friendly shopping habits when shopping in the grocery store. It is extremely important for consumers to recognize and understand the environmental impacts of the food packaging they purchase. Raising awareness about this unknown is the first step to spreading environmentally friendly shopping habits.
Erika von Kirchbach When Women STEM
My Gold Award project is dedicated to getting girls interested in STEM at an early age and focused on closing the gender gap in this field. This involved interviewing women role models in STEM fields as well collaborating with them to create videos. Additionally, I also led inspiring science activities with large groups of girls that were very successful. Finally, I built a website that acts as a resource to inspire girls and help them follow their dreams.
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Kendall Winston Play Hard
The issue my Gold Award project addresses is the proper nutritional and hydration elements needed to assist athletes of ages 11-18. Sports nutrition is a foundational element for players to perform at their best. Educating players and establishing good fueling and hydration habits will help players to arrive prepared, perform, and recover from a practice, training, or competition. Athletes often realize the importance of training and continued dedication to practicing their athletics skills in order to develop their game. However, the emphasis and impact of fueling and hydrating can be overlooked causing injury. It is important for athletes to understand proper nutrition strategies can help maintain their basketball athletes performance. Nutrition is important factor among many behaviors that can be used to successfully drive individual performance.
Ava Yates
Mental Health My Gold Award aimed to address the mental health crisis in our youth and across all ages. Many people, not just people with mental illnesses, face tough challenges and emotions, and a lot of people don’t know how to cope. I taught children the signs of depression and anxiety and how to cope with these feelings.
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Gold Award Commitee Thank you to our committee members who support Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors through the process of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. Jane Clark – Committee Chair Jessica Roberson – Binder Coordinator Charlene Getz Julie Gilmartin Mary Claire Kastenholz Juliann Krupa MacKenzie Lukas Tamela Martin
Kaycee Mendoza Tricia O’Donnell Pam Oster Fatima Patel Julie Russell Devyn Schomer Alexandra Seay Ladwonda Solomon Vanessa Valdez
Kelli Mason
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Board of Directors Officers
Ex-Officio Member
Sidney Dillard President Partner & Head of Corporate Investment Banking Loop Capital Markets
Nancy L. Wright Ex-Officio Member/CEO Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana
Sherina Maye Edwards 1st Vice President CEO Intren
Members
Sarah Cigrang 2nd Vice President Vice President,Human Resources Griffith Foods Carol Murphy Treasurer Managing Director AON Risk Solutions Sheryl L. Yasger Secretary VP, Diners Club International Ad, Brand & Marketing Discover Financial Services / Discover Global Network
Duke Alden VP, Technology & Operations Alight Solutions Danielle Austen Managing Partner & CEO fluent360 Jackie Barlow Managing Director CRE CIBC Theresa Boland Partner KPMG Christine Concari Director, Order Fulfillment and Customer Service ArcelorMittal Jennifer R. Evans Adrienne Fasano CEO & President Scoperta Traci Fiatte
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CEO, Professional and Commercial Staffing Randstad US Paul Gariepy Partner Principle Ernst & Young Kathy DePauw Graham Senior VP, Senior Portfolio Manager U.S. Bank Janet Hulet President, Navigating Brilliance, Inc. Maureen Jamrock Christina Konieczka Director of Talent Acquisition CNO Financial Group Annette Martinez Director of External Communications and Outreach Strategy Argonne National Laboratory Ann McAloon Senior Vice President Bank of America Merrill Lynch
External Affairs NiSource Veronica Villalon Pinela Sr. Brand Manager, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Amazon Kimberly R. Reome Central Region Lead Partner The Kenrich Group, LLC Scott C. Saunders President Saunders Leadership Institute Kathy Scherer Managing Partner, Business Tax Services Deloitte Tax LLP Hille Sheppard Partner Sidley Austin LLP Manika Turnbull Divisional Senior VP,Workforce,Talent & Business Engagement Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
Carla Michelotti President Carla Michelotti LLC
Monica M. Weed
Jennifer M. Mikulina Partner McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Girl Representatives to the Board
Roycealee Wood
Maya, Dorothy, Emily, Violet, and Kiley
Jennifer Montague VP, Communications and 35
20 S. Clark Street, Suite 200 • Chicago, IL 60603 girlscoutsgcnwi.org • 855-ILOVEGS(456-8347)