Whatever Became of…
That Girl Who Earned the Girl Scout Gold Award?

By Sara Bridget Au

	Karissa Easley
	Megan MacPherson
	Jan Hopkins
	Lisa Chiang
	Turia Brown

More than just the most prestigious award Girl Scouting offers, the Girl Scout Gold Award is a key that can unlock a myriad of future doors for the girls who earn it.

"Going for the Gold" is a time-honored tradition for girls at the zenith of their Girl Scout careers. It is a special and elite award, earned by only 3 percent of Senior Girl Scouts across the country each year. Girl Scout Gold Award projects, which take one to two years to plan and execute, must promote community service, personal and spiritual growth, positive values and leadership, as well as have an ongoing effect on the community.

Approximately 3,500 Senior Girl Scouts choose this path each year, reaping numerous rewards, in both their personal and professional lives.

"The set of requirements for the Gold Award takes you on a wonderful journey, through self-exploration, career exploration, leadership, and community service," said Megan MacPherson, a public relations director at an advertising agency and a 32-year-old mom of two who earned her Girl Scout Gold Award in 1988 by developing resources for latchkey kids.

A Solid Foundation

The Girl Scout Gold Award is both an extension and a compilation of all that a girl has learned through Girl Scouting.

Jan Hopkins, anchor of the daily CNN Financial News show "Street Sweep" from the New York Stock Exchange, says Girl Scouting empowered her in many ways. "It built my sense of self-confidence, sense of my self, and sense of my future."

The veteran newswoman credits her Girl Scout background (she earned the Curved Bar, a Girl Scout Gold Award predecessor) with providing the solid foundation upon which she built her current success. "Working toward a goal and accomplishing it is very, very important," Jan testifies. "You learn to be disciplined, which is invaluable both in college and in the work world."

Lisa Chiang also understands the value of being goal-oriented. This 27-year-old senior manager at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington, says the vision, discipline, commitment, and follow-through required during her Girl Scout Gold Award project, earned in 1992 for organizing a contemporary issues workshop for young women, led to future achievements. "Applying these components as a young adult set me up to be successful throughout the later parts of my life: professionally, spiritually, philanthropically, and socially."

Tangible Benefits

Those who earn the Girl Scout Gold Award become eligible for a variety of benefits. For example, all branches of the United States military offer recipients the opportunity to enter service at a higher rank than otherwise. Every Girl Scout Gold Awardee can look forward to greater access to college scholarships, internships, and community awards.

"The Girl Scout Gold Award showcases a girl's outstanding accomplishments to colleges and employers, lending considerable cachet to her résumé," said Harriet Mosatche, Ph.D., Senior Director of Research and Program for Girl Scouts of the USA.

Beyond the accolades, earning the Girl Scout Gold Award gives girls the opportunity to acquire specific skills they'll use later in life.

For Turia Brown, 22, a sales engineer with ABB, Inc., a company that makes power and automated technology products geared to the environment, learning skills meant being comfortable speaking to a crowd. A few months ago, she was asked to give a speech to 500 people, including the president of her division. Because her 1997 Girl Scout Gold Award project on HIV/AIDS awareness included lots of public speaking, Turia was relaxed about it. "I was even able to throw in a couple of jokes!"

Go For It!

All these accomplished women heartily recommend that girls stay with Girl Scouting and work toward earning the Girl Scout Gold Award.

After 26-year-old Karissa Easley, director of community relations for a large homebuilder in the Southeast, spoke at last year's Girl Scout Gold Award ceremony at the Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia, in Atlanta, she volunteered to be a Gold Award mentor.

"I tell the girls, 'Once you get this far, to not earn your Gold Award is just a tragedy…the value stays with you forever.'" Karissa earned a Gold Award in 1995 for a project on bone marrow donation done in conjunction with the American Red Cross.

Megan MacPherson sums it up well: "It might be hard to realize now what a profound impact earning this award will have, but it will be well worth your time and effort. And it's a lot of fun along the way."

Adapted from LEADER, Fall 2003. © Girl Scouts of the United States of America.