Twenty-one Area Girl Scouts Earn Prestigious Gold Award for Impacting Lasting Change in Their Communities

The Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways (GSNYPENN) Council recently announced its Class of 2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts: 21 world-changers who invested countless hours creating lasting impact on issues important to them. Girl Scouts were recognized for earning their Gold Awards during the 2020-2021 member year at a special luncheon on Nov. 20 at Drumlins in Syracuse, N.Y. Attendees included award recipients and their families, council staff and board members. 

“I am inspired by the dedication, commitment and perseverance of our Class of 2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts,” said Julie Dale, GSNYPENN CEO, adding, “I’m especially proud of those Girl Scouts who had to overcome additional challenges created by the pandemic to earn this prestigious honor. Each embodies our Mission, Promise, and Law, and has completed a project with true lasting impact.” 

Since 1916, the Gold Award has stood for excellence and leadership for girls everywhere. It is the highest and most prestigious award that Senior and Ambassador-level Girl Scouts can earn.  

Earning the Gold Award is an incredible accomplishment, and even more so now. Many Class of 2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts began their projects in 2019 and early 2020 and had to readjust plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges further exemplify Girl Scouts’ leadership, resourcefulness and resilience.

This year, Alexia Michitti of Vestal, N.Y., was awarded an inaugural Girl Scouts of the USA Gold Award Scholarship for the project Becoming Your Best Self—13PosiTV:). The scholarship recognizes one outstanding Girl Scout per council whose Gold Award project exemplifies the award’s core standards. Alexia was granted $2,060 thanks to sponsorship from Arconic Foundation and Kappa Delta Foundation.

Three other Girl Scouts were selected for GSNYPENN Council Scholarships because their projects also demonstrated highest levels of the award’s core standards. Thanks to generous donors, a total of $3,300 was awarded in memory of special GSNYPENN Girl Scout sisters lost in 2019.

The Marie Hepworth Scholarship (in the amount of $1,500) was presented to Alex Shaffer of Cortland, N.Y., for the project Purple Pantry. Hepworth dedicated her life to supporting girl development through her 20-plus years serving as executive director of GSNYPENN legacy council Indian Hills and various volunteer activities in her community of Johnson City.

The Kelly Perkins Scholarship (in the amount of $1,000) was presented to Kynzee Sethi of Binghamton, N.Y., for the project The Pandemic Records. Perkins, a lifelong Girl Scout and GSNYPENN summer camp staff member, impacted the lives of campers and younger Girl Scouts in her community of Newark Valley.

The Kerrie Black Scholarship (in the amount of $800) was presented to Katelyn Sonnen of Vestal, N.Y., for the project Blast Into Science. Black, a lifelong Girl Scout, was a GSNYPENN Regional Support Manager for Broome and Delaware counties who served her volunteers with excellence and was always willing to lend a hand to her colleagues.

Locally, the following scouts were awarded. 

Miah Barnard of Vestal, N.Y. was awarded for her Take Action Project: A Healing Garden for Cancer Patients. Miah addressed the need for a healing outdoor space for oncology patients at Wilson Hospital in Johnson City, N.Y. The former space outside of the oncology wing was almost bare, with a bush or two and an old picnic table. The new space includes a colorful butterfly sculpture donated by a local artist, sanded and stained picnic tables, landscaping and a new bench.

Miah also created an interactive meditation brochure that patients and visitors can use while visiting the space. It has QR codes that link to meditations they can do before or after treatments and appointments and simple balancing questions to calm the mind. She hopes that patients and visitors will visit the space to relax and become more centered and peaceful. 

A graduate of Vestal High School, Miah attends Maine College of the Arts. 
Nicola DiLuzio of Vestal, N.Y. was awarded for her Take Action Project: Large Animal Rescue Horse Trailer.

Nicola loves horses and wanted to address the need of Broome County Humane Society, which was unable to transport large animals immediately out of abusive situations. Her original plan to work with the local BOCES engaged the community and her peers, however, the COVID-19 shutdown caused many problems, delays and frustrations. It was not easy, but Nicola persevered and was still able to donate a newly renovated trailer which she hopes will save many animals from cases of cruelty. 

Nicola is a graduate of Chenango Valley High School and attends SUNY Broome Community College. 

Mia Gaylord of Vestal, N.Y. was awarded for her Take Action Project: Girls Golf: A Game Changer.

Mia addressed the lack of inclusion of women in the local golf community by starting the first-ever Girls Varsity Golf team at her high school. She also held lessons for up-and-coming golfers. One of her favorite Girl Scout memories is attending Rainbow World Jamboree at Camp Amahami. 

Mia is a graduate of Vestal High School and attends Rochester Institute of Technology where she is studying engineering technology. 

Audra McFarland of Owego was awarded for her Take Action Project: Hometown Harvest.

Audra addressed food insecurity in her community by building a harvest share table and teaching children to plant and maintain raised garden beds to provide produce. Her project also included the addition of a compost bin and apple trees. One of her favorite Girl Scout memories is traveling to Europe to visit Pax Lodge and Our Chalet during the summer of 2019. 

Audra is a senior at Owego Free Academy and plans to attend college after graduation to study science and art.

Alexia Michitti of Vestal, N.Y. was awarded for her Take Action Project: Becoming Your Best Self—13PosiTV:).

Alexia’s project addressed the importance of character education and its use in our everyday lives. She created 13PosiTV:), an organization that spreads positive messages through social media. She gathered a diverse team of people to create videos that address character education traits and connected them to real-life examples of hard work, determination, acceptance, skill, etc. One of her favorite Girl Scout memories is camping in the Philadelphia Zoo with her troop and touring the city. 

Alexia is a graduate of Vestal High School and attends Ithaca College where she is studying sports media and is a member of the Women’s Soccer team. 

Katelyn Sonnen of Vestal, N.Y. was awarded for her Take Action Project: Blast Into Science.

Katelyn addressed the ever-growing need for STEM education by implementing educational signs at Kopernik Science Park in Vestal, N.Y. The signs link guests to activities and fun science to take part in while visiting. Her favorite Girl Scout memory is attending GSUSA’s Reach for the Stars leadership conference at NASA Goddard. 

Katelyn is a graduate of Vestal High School and attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where she is studying astronomy and astrophysics. 

Girl Scouts serves girls in K-12. Annual membership is $25; financial assistance is available. To learn more, visit gsnypenn.org/join. To become a volunteer, visit gsnypenn.org/volunteer. To help make Girl Scouting possible for girls in your community, visit gsnypenn.org/donate.