Local West Hempstead and Franklin Square Teens Earn Prestigious Girl S

Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently celebrated 55 local Girl Scouts who are members of the 2023 Girl Scout Gold Award class who made a sustainable impact, addressing causes they care about in their communities. West Hempstead and Franklin Square residents Brianna Suarez Oubina, Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Ava Zino and Sophia Cano were among 55 Girl Scouts throughout Nassau County who reached this milestone.

“Each of the Girl Scouts who earned their Gold Award this year showed fortitude, diligence and enthusiasm in creating and executing a plan to act on a societal issue. We are very proud and impressed by each of them for reaching their goals and leaving a legacy with their communities,” said Randell Bynum, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “Their dedication is evident and their hard work has touched countless lives. This year, we had Girl Scouts addressing real-life issues such as environmental justice and sustainability, mental and emotional wellness, gender equality in sports, and more. We commend each of them for their important work.”

Girls in grades 9-12 begin their Gold Award journeys by identifying a civic or social issue that holds importance to them. Next, a Girl Scout builds a team to support her project with a mission to create a positive impact in her community. Gold Award projects are coordinated so that they can continue long after girls earn their award by establishing nonprofit organizations, publishing books to be added to school library collections, implementing classroom lessons to be taught for years to come or other initiatives to create lasting change. Through the process, Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers, while educating and inspiring others. 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.

Brianna’s project, “Mental Health and Pet Therapy,” focused on mental health with younger generations post-COVID and developed a dog therapy program as a coping mechanism for daily stressors students may have. She partnered with her principal, PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) classes, and the Mind Over Matter club to offer dog therapy sessions with trained therapy dogs licensed under Therapy Dogs International. Brianna has done extensive research alongside Sewanhaka School District Psychologist Dr. Oris and expanded her program in four high schools in her district. Brianna’s project is sustained by the underclassmen who will be continuing her dog therapy program.

Through her project, “Optimizing a Coanda Device for the Reduction of Beach Erosion,” Caitlin addressed the issue of beach erosion, which is caused by the action of waves and currents on the shoreline. She taught people of all ages how to adjust their behavior at the beach to deter the effects of beach erosion. She conducted a scientific experiment in which she optimized the Coanda effect to build a Coanda device as a deterrent against beach erosion. Her research and information will continue to educate through her Instagram account, where her final research paper and presentation board are posted.

Ava’s project, “Swimming into Safety,” addressed the issue of water safety for children. Ava researched and drew from her personal experience to create a book and website that informs families how to “Be Cool at the Pool.” She developed this book and made it easy to access by using the internet so that everyone can access it. Ava read to the children at her parish and Girl Scout troops who wanted to hear her story.

For her project, “Don’t Drink from the Hose,” Sophia’s sought to educate children about the potential dangers of hose water by writing and illustrating a children’s book that she presented to the local community. To ensure the quality of the book, Sophia partnered with book editors and Spanish teachers for the Spanish translation. She also created a website for easy access to the project online, making the project sustainable and available for the community.

Girls in grades K-12 can begin their Girl Scout journey at any age. As girls grow with Girl Scouts, they learn hands-on leadership skills they’ll use to make their mark through the Gold Award and beyond. To join or volunteer, visit www.gsnc.org/join.

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We Are Girl Scouts: Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs in Nassau County, across Long Island and 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 alumni, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscouts.org.