Four Bellbrook High School students accomplished a feat most haven’t in a long time.
Diana Duckro, Molly Janus and Makayla Skinner earned their Gold Awards through the Bellbrook Girl Scout troop 353 and Alyssa Browning earned her Gold Award as a member of Beavercreek Girl Scouts recently.
For those who might not know, the Gold Award is akin to Scouting’s Eagle Award. Both are earned through their service to the community. Only 4.5% of Girl Scouts ever obtain the Gold Award.
Skinner created the first Storybook Trail for the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Parks District and raised more than $5,000 for sustainable materials, serving as project manager.
“I picked the project because I really liked the idea and I love helping children,” Skinner said. “I knew Storybook Trails were becoming more popular and I wanted Bellbrook to be a part of it. I also worked with the Park District in the past, so I was excited to work with them again.”
Skinner said she stayed in scouts as long as she did because: “I have learned so many skills related to business, public speaking, research, and more. I want people to know that Girl Scouts doesn't have to be boring and doesn't follow the stigma that all we do is sell cookies and learn how to sew and babysit. My troop has done so many things that even my brother has done in Boy Scouts. We have gone to escape rooms, ziplining, white-water rafting, caving, axe-throwing, and learned so much.”
Duckro earned her Gold Award by working with community officials and connecting a solar energy consultant with local home builders as she educated the community about the benefits of solar panel installation.
“I picked my project because my silver award involved solar energy and I wanted to take it further by promoting solar panel installation in my community,” she said. “Girl Scouts has developed my character by teaching me skills like leadership, communication, and problem solving. Reaching higher levels in scouting means completing more service and hard work, but it’s worth it to see the result. Achieving such a high award shows my positive impact on the community.”
Janus started a food compost program at her church to turn food waste into soil and encouraged people to reduce food waste in her “American Spoils” project.
“I picked my project because wasting food happens in almost every household and I wanted to teach people how to help solve this problem,” Janus said. “Staying with Girl Scouts has taught me to help others whenever I can.”
Browning ran a campaign against teen dating violence. She spent more than 30 hours researching the topic and interviewing experts before creating a trigger-free PowerPoint about the topic. She then worked with the Hope Squad at the high school to create a campaign of posters and Instagram posts educating students on healthy and unhealthy relationships.
“I picked this project because it was something I could visually see in my peers,” Browning said. “It felt like something that wasn’t talked about and no one understood what it meant to not have an abusive relationship or an unhealthy one. I wanted to change that.”
Browning said she stayed in Girl Scouts for as long as she did specifically for the Gold Award. Browning is known as a Juliette Scout – a scout without a troop.
“I’ve learned so much from the Girl Scouts from survival skills to leadership skills,” Browning said. “One thing I would say to younger scouts is to stick with it because as you get older in scouts, more fun opportunities present themselves; I went to the Dominican Republic with the Girl Scouts. I think too many Girl Scouts quit before high school and that is when being a scout means the most.”
The quartet will be honored at the Sugar Maple Festival in late April. This is the first time in 10 years any Bellbrook High School student has earned the Gold Award according to Dana Duckro.
Because of their service to the community, the four award earners will wear green stoles over their robes at graduation.