Local Jericho/Syosset Teens Earn Prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award

Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently celebrated 51 local Girl Scouts who are members of the 2024 Girl Scout Gold Award class who made a positive impact, addressing causes they care about in their communities. Jericho/Syosset residents Alexandra McCormick, Aimee Rhee, Angela Zhu, and Hailey Sohn were among those Girl Scouts throughout Nassau County who reached this milestone.

“Every Girl Scout who earned their Gold Award this year demonstrated remarkable resilience, dedication, and passion in developing and implementing a plan to tackle a societal challenge. We are immensely proud and impressed by each one of them for achieving their goals and making a lasting impact on their communities,” said Rande Bynum, CEO of Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “Their commitment is undeniable, and their efforts have positively affected countless lives. This year, our Girl Scouts addressed critical issues such as environmental justice and sustainability, mental and emotional health, gender equality in sports, and more. We applaud each of them for their significant contributions.”

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.

Alexandra addressed the issue of erasing the stigma surrounding mental health conditions in children. She created an art therapy book, including ways that kids can help manage their own mental health, specifically with regard to anxiety. She held workshops for both parents and children, teaching them about ways to manage mental health using the book as a resource.

Aimee’s goal for her Gold Award was to spread awareness of Celiac disease and gluten intolerance by creating a blog filled with informative resources, a presentation to peers, and activities for younger children. Aimee consulted with her allergist, her English teacher, and other knowledgeable adults to gather accurate information and seek advice on how to present her data in an impactful way.

Angela was inspired to research the issue of decreasing motivation and willpower in senior citizens and ways to overcome them. She met with specialists and conducted an interview with Dr. Basia Belza, Director of the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Washington. Angela compiled her findings and created a website for senior citizens sharing content and videos on issues like motivation, demotivation, willpower, and mental and physical health in the senior population. There is also a page for caregivers that offers advice on ways they can help improve their relatives’ positive outlook. Angela presented her website on a Zoom presentation to assisted-living centers, including interactive activities to engage and motivate seniors. She also displayed posters there with a QR code for seniors and their families to access her website (seniormotivations.weebly.com/.)

Hailey’s Gold Award project raised awareness about the global issue of cancer stigma in disadvantaged communities. Partnering with Syosset Public Library and several extracurricular clubs at her high school, she hosted workshops that helped educate her classmates about the dangers of cancer stigma and ways to eliminate the issue. She interviewed cancer patients and utilized social media to share their experiences as a way to highlight and minimize societal generalizations. Hailey’s school’s pre-medical society club will continue to educate incoming students about cancer stigma and its negative effects.

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.

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 alum, 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 www.gsnc.org.