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To earn her Gold Award, Wood wanted to give women in Africa the opportunity to go to school, so she traveled to Africa and interacted with a number of women at Africa University, giving them hope and confidence to keep moving forward despite any societal pressures or obstacles.
In the U.S., she held three community-wide awareness sessions and collected USB drives to send to students at AU so they can continue their work. She continued to follow up with the students for eight weeks after the program.
The women she spoke to at the university promised that they would continue to encourage younger women in their communities to pursue a higher education.
She plans to become a mechanical engineer when she attends college.
Celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year, the Gold Award requires a high school age Girl Scout to 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. Nationally, only 6 percent of Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award.
The Girl Scouts all began more than 100 years ago with one woman, Juliette Gordon Low, who believed in the power of one girl. Girl Scouts of Connecticut are now more than 52,000 members strong. They are part of a sisterhood of 2.7 million around the globe.
“Since 1916, approximately 1 million Girl Scouts have made a sustainable impact in their communities,” said Mary Barneby, CEO of Girl Scouts of Connecticut. “We are so thrilled to honor a record number of girls this year and we are excited to see how many more incredible young women will continue to change the world in the next 100 years.”
For more information about the Gold Award or how to become a Gold Award volunteer or mentor, click here.
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