11 Girl Scouts from across Colorado have earned the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts.

• Emma Albertoni from Arvada, Ralston Valley High School, took action after noticing that many of her peers lacked financial literacy. She wrote a curriculum that will be implemented in her school and proposed to the Jefferson County School Board to add a required Financial Literacy class.

• Megan Beaudoin from Monument, St. Mary’s High School, created a ten-minute video for middle school students to help ease the transition to high school. Topics covered included: academics, social interactions, and self-esteem.

• Megan Burnett from Colorado Springs, James Irwin Charter High School,worked with community leaders and businesses to build a softball practice field at the school. The project would have cost the school $25,000.

• Michayla Cassano from Colorado Springs, Pine Creek High School, created a memorial to recognize the sacrifices made by women who have served in the military.

• Kelsey Collins from Aurora, Grandview High School, created a curriculum to teach preschool and elementary school children about park safety and Colorado history.

• Carissa Flores from Westminster, Broomfield High School, shared her knowledge and passion for Taekwondo by creating, coordinating, and leading self-defense seminars for children, teens, and adults.

• Baily Holsinger from Larkspur, Castle View High School, not only crocheted hundreds of beanies for newborn babies at Denver Health Medical Center and Baby Haven in Fort Collins, she also held classes to teach people of all ages how to make the beanies.

• Kathleen Otto from Fort Collins, Fossil Ridge High School, worked to increase awareness for dyslexia by hosting a viewing of “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia” and leading a panel discussion afterwards.

• Daniell Plomodon from Erie, Niwot High School, organized several “Disability for a Day” presentations to educate others about living with a disability. Activities included: trying to button a shirt while wearing mittens, playing patty cake while wearing Vaseline covered glasses, and using person first language.

• Anastasia Rosen from Fort Collins, Rocky Mountain High School, created a workshop to educate others about human trafficking, tactics recruiters use, and how to prevent it.

• Debra Zerr from Arvada addressed the problem of the lack of connection between the military and general public. Through a series of events, she worked to educate the public about the importance of the military and the men and women who serve.

These young women have demonstrated exceptional commitment to taking action to make their world a better place. By earning their Gold Award now, these Girl Scouts will also be part of this spring’s celebration of Girl Scouts’ highest honor. Since 1916, Girl Scouts have been making meaningful, sustainable change in their communities and around the world.

The Girl Scout Gold Award culminates with a project led by one young woman between 9th and 12th grades who builds a purpose-based team to work with the larger community to meet a need. The focus of a Gold Award project is identifying and researching a community issue she is passionate about, developing a plan to address it in cooperation with her team and community members, establishing a global connection with others and providing sustainability for the project.