Brookfield Girl Scouts Earn Gold Award

Tess Hegarty and Jacquelyn Letizia of Brookfield have earned their Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

In order to earn the Gold Award, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts between the grades of 9-12 spend at least 80 hours researching issues, assessing community needs and resources, building a team, and making a sustainable impact in the community. A Gold Award recipient’s accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart as a community leader.

Tess created a series of workshops aimed at encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. A group of 15 high school freshmen girls attended the workshops, listening to female role models and participating in hands-on activities. Tess created a website that will serve as a future resource for girls interested in STEM. Tess is attending MIT and studying environmental engineering.

Jacquelyn held assemblies for seventh grade girls at Whisconier Middle School to help them adjust to middle school life and build their self-confidence, while avoiding the formation of cliques and negative behavior. She also created a website for girls and parents to ease them through middle school transition. High school students will continue these assemblies in the future. Jacquelyn is attending Susquehanna University and studying art history.

For more information about the Gold Award or how to become a Gold Award volunteer or mentor, visit http://www.gsofct.org/pages/GoldAward.php.