My Girl Scout
Gold Award Project
What is the Girl Scout Gold Award?
The award was first introduced in 1980, and it has been the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. Each year, approximately 6% of Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award. This project addresses an issue in a community and makes a long lasting impact.
The four areas I will focus on:
1. skill development
2. leadership
3. communication
4. career exploration
Learn more about the Gold Award
The four areas I will focus on:
1. skill development
2. leadership
3. communication
4. career exploration
Learn more about the Gold Award
My Project
My Gold Award aims to address this issue:
I want to increase the number of high school girls in the Tri Valley area to have interest in studying STEM. According to data in 2016, the breakdown of STEM graduates in 2016 was 37% female and 63% male. I would like to bring the gap between females and males closer together by starting with my school and several other high schools in the Tri-Valley school district.
The root cause of my issue is:
Girls may develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics when they are young, but due to a lack of exposure to the careers from STEM professionals and career-readiness programs, they begin to lose interest in high school.
I will address the root cause by:
Plan before COVID: I will spread awareness of the GetSet program and the upcoming Oakland Zoo field trip to girls in my school by setting up a booth at our school's registration day and presenting about the field trip to girls in the program. Then, I will film a video that will inform girls about the different careers available at Oakland Zoo (by interviewing employees), and introduce them to the TWG program. My idea is to spread awareness about volunteer opportunities and to get them interested in future careers relating to the zoo.
Changed plan: As a member of GetSet, I have been able to discover different science careers; and for my project, I want to do the same for others. I hosted a virtual event on Webex and I have invited 7 women who have jobs in animal science to talk about their careers, what they do, and more information about their field. The panel was animal science focused, featuring a veterinarian, a zookeeper, ocean conservationist, zoo manager, animal supervisor, and veterinary technician. When registering, the girls were able to submit up to 2 questions that could be asked at the panel. They also have the option to ask questions live in the chat. This event allowed female high school students explore the different careers relating to animals. The date for the event was December 9th, 2020, from 4 to 5 pm.
The target audience for my Gold Award is:
Tri-Valley High School Girls
Sustainable Goal:
Ultimately, the purpose of this event is to provide exposure of science careers to female high school students. I added my learnings to share with GetSet and the public to my website. I also included all the Q&A's from the panel, and feedback from the attendees. In addition, the event was recorded to share with others. Upon completion of my project, my wish is to increase the number of female students to join GetSet. In addition, I hope my event increases their interest to become a student in STEM college majors.
Measurability:
I sent a Google Form survey after the event that includes questions such as what they have learned and how the panel has affected their choice in future careers. The survey results will be shown in percentages, so I would be able to have a visual representation of the feedback.
Please check out the next page "Gold Award Results" to see the summary and the recording link!
I want to increase the number of high school girls in the Tri Valley area to have interest in studying STEM. According to data in 2016, the breakdown of STEM graduates in 2016 was 37% female and 63% male. I would like to bring the gap between females and males closer together by starting with my school and several other high schools in the Tri-Valley school district.
The root cause of my issue is:
Girls may develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics when they are young, but due to a lack of exposure to the careers from STEM professionals and career-readiness programs, they begin to lose interest in high school.
I will address the root cause by:
Plan before COVID: I will spread awareness of the GetSet program and the upcoming Oakland Zoo field trip to girls in my school by setting up a booth at our school's registration day and presenting about the field trip to girls in the program. Then, I will film a video that will inform girls about the different careers available at Oakland Zoo (by interviewing employees), and introduce them to the TWG program. My idea is to spread awareness about volunteer opportunities and to get them interested in future careers relating to the zoo.
Changed plan: As a member of GetSet, I have been able to discover different science careers; and for my project, I want to do the same for others. I hosted a virtual event on Webex and I have invited 7 women who have jobs in animal science to talk about their careers, what they do, and more information about their field. The panel was animal science focused, featuring a veterinarian, a zookeeper, ocean conservationist, zoo manager, animal supervisor, and veterinary technician. When registering, the girls were able to submit up to 2 questions that could be asked at the panel. They also have the option to ask questions live in the chat. This event allowed female high school students explore the different careers relating to animals. The date for the event was December 9th, 2020, from 4 to 5 pm.
The target audience for my Gold Award is:
Tri-Valley High School Girls
Sustainable Goal:
Ultimately, the purpose of this event is to provide exposure of science careers to female high school students. I added my learnings to share with GetSet and the public to my website. I also included all the Q&A's from the panel, and feedback from the attendees. In addition, the event was recorded to share with others. Upon completion of my project, my wish is to increase the number of female students to join GetSet. In addition, I hope my event increases their interest to become a student in STEM college majors.
Measurability:
I sent a Google Form survey after the event that includes questions such as what they have learned and how the panel has affected their choice in future careers. The survey results will be shown in percentages, so I would be able to have a visual representation of the feedback.
Please check out the next page "Gold Award Results" to see the summary and the recording link!
Progress Timeline:
- 1/30/20: submitted my Gold Award project proposal
- 3/11/20: had the proposal interview and my project was approved!
- 8/29/20: created this website and came up with a new COVID-safe plan
- 9/10/20: Gold Award change request form approved
- 9/11/20: looking for and contacting speakers
- 11/1/20: successfully contacted 7 panelists who can speak at the event
- 12/9/20: led the virtual event
- 2/24/21: completed the exit interview and officially earned my Gold Award!
total hours: 113
- 1/30/20: submitted my Gold Award project proposal
- 3/11/20: had the proposal interview and my project was approved!
- 8/29/20: created this website and came up with a new COVID-safe plan
- 9/10/20: Gold Award change request form approved
- 9/11/20: looking for and contacting speakers
- 11/1/20: successfully contacted 7 panelists who can speak at the event
- 12/9/20: led the virtual event
- 2/24/21: completed the exit interview and officially earned my Gold Award!
total hours: 113