Girl Scouts of Alaska Honors Local Members of the 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout Class
Contributed by Maya Narang
Girl Scouts of Alaska proudly recognized the four members of the 2024 Girl Scout Gold Award class who earned the highest award in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award. Gold Award Girl Scouts make positive impacts on local communities by addressing some of our most pressing issues.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs. Nationally the 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout class identified issues in their communities, took action, and found or created solutions to earn their Gold Awards, addressing real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical well-being, and gender inequality in STEM.
The 2024 Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate the breadth of issues American teens feel are most prevalent in society today. In Alaska, the four Gold Award Girl Scouts addressed such issues as elementary art education, early literacy for blind/visually impaired students, veteran memorial sites, and mental health. We celebrate all four Gold Award projects,” said Jenni Pollard, CEO, Girl Scouts of Alaska. “These remarkable Girl Scouts each identified a need and designed projects that would change something in their community for the better. In the process they are becoming community leaders for today and tomorrow.”
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
This year, Girl Scouts of the USA awarded a scholarship to one Gold Award Girl Scout from each council across the Movement. Ashley Conlon in Anchorage received the scholarship for the Girl Scouts of Alaska council for her “Story Boxes to Support Early Literacy” project. Children with visual impairments require more than pictures and text to engage in a book. Ashley created a set of story boxes, a collection of items in a box that correspond to items mentioned in a story, working with the Anchorage School District (ASD). “The objects can bring the text alive for students with visual impairments just as illustrations do for children with vision,” Ashley explained. “To address this challenge, I first talked to professionals in the field about what ASD needed and what I could do to help change the lack of accessible materials.” “We congratulate Ashley on her achievement,” said Pollard. “She is bringing stories to life for our visually impaired elementary students while also providing a tool for their teachers to use in the classroom. We are excited to see how her project grows.” Ashley’s story boxes are available to check out today at the Special Education Service Agency Library and through ASD.
Next year Ashley will attend American University in Washington D.C. to pursue a career in Russian Language. “With the skills I have learned through Girl Scouts and my Gold Award, I plan to continue to be a leader and a changemaker in my future endeavors.”
We Are Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and 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. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscouts.org.
Girl Scouts of Alaska is the premier girl leadership organization in Alaska, serving close to 3000 members from Wasilla to Ketchikan to Bethel. Our mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. To learn more, visit girlscoutsalaska.org.