Gold Award Project: Civic Engagement

only way for them to make the changes needed is to hear from their constituents…which includes students.”

Jordan built a voter registration system for all the high school students in her county. If their school has opted in, when a high school student graduates, they receive a voter registration form and a card that explains the importance of getting registered and ultimately voting. Specifically, she feels that voting and being educated about government proves “how much you matter as a citizen.”

Gold Award Girl Scout Jordan S. always knew she wanted her Gold Award project to include government and politics. She had a very engaging civics teacher in high school who encouraged her to learn about the responsibilities of being an American citizen and the benefits of getting more young people to vote.

“It’s mind-blowing to me that most high school students graduate without taking a civics course,” she said, “especially since we all become voters and eventually access and use government services as adults.”

One of the major points she wanted to communicate to her fellow high school students was “how much you can influence your government and that it is so beneficial to you as an individual to engage with your government.”

Jordan started planning her Gold Award project as a 12th grader. She decided to do a voter registration drive because she felt that there wasn’t enough information for students about how to vote for the first time.

How did she get started? She went online and filled out a contact form for her local Congresswoman’s office; the staff were very helpful to her. Jordan explained that “it can be intimidating to reach out to a government official, but they want you to be engaged. Teenagers may feel like you need to be educated or you’re too young, but government officials told me that the

She added that “earning the Gold Award is extremely important—it changed me as a person…not the award itself, but the process. It helped me realize more about myself: who I am and who I want to be and what I want to give back to the world. Even if I don’t go into politics, I still want to serve people and the public… and it opened my eyes about the myriad of opportunities there are to do that.”