Holton Upper Schoolers Katie Babbit '17 and Caleigh Mason '18 recently earned the Girl Scouts' highest honor, the Gold Award. This prestigious award is earned by a select group of Girl Scouts who have demonstrated a commitment to improving their communities and advocating for lasting change. To be considered for the award, Babbit and Mason each had to submit a project proposal to the Gold Award Panel. The Panel then worked with them by supporting the development of their projects as well as acting as mentors along the way.For her project, Babbit created a childhood literacy summer program and collected books to organize a library for the residents at the Rockville Housing Enterprises community center. "I collected books to create an onsite library at a Rockville Housing Enterprises community center to make reading more accessible for its members. I also created and implemented a summer reading program and worked with the center's toddlers twice a week on various literacy activities. It was so much fun to see the kids get excited about listening to stories or learning the colors every week. I absolutely loved working with the kids and forming connections with all of the members of that community," described Babbit.
As the culminating project of her 12 years in the Girl Scouts, Babbit is going to miss the organization. "I love the sense of community within Girl Scouts and the friendships that I've made within my troop. Girl Scouting gave me the opportunity to try many different things, from community service events to camping trips to various badge activities, that I never would have experienced."
Like Babbit, Mason has been a Girl Scout for over a decade. For her Gold Award project, she created the Junior Naturalist Program for the Black Hills Regional Park that included sixteen courses on naturalist topics. "I created this program so kids ages 9-12 would regain interest in the park . . . Kids younger than nine come to the many programs offered for children ages nine and under, and kids who are older than 12 only come for [community service] hours. With this program, the park will have more kids coming and learning about the environment around them. I spent roughly 400 hours over the course of two years to build this program, and am extremely thankful for all the support the park staff and my family provided me," reflected Mason.
Lidia Soto-Harmon, Chief Executive Officer Girl Scouts Nation's Capital, described this year's Gold Award class as "remarkable young women [who] have demonstrated drive and determination to become agents for change, dedicating a minimum of 80 hours to earn Girl Scouts' highest award."Both students have exhibited such outstanding leadership, exceptional organizational skills, and a sincere commitment to improving their communities. Congratulations Katie and Caleigh!
Katie Babbit '17 at the onsite library at Rockville Housing Enterprises community center.
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Caleigh Mason '18 with some of the "Junior Naturalists" at Black Hills Regional Park.