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Three Colorado Springs Girl Scouts have earned their Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts:

Tristina Altman, Pikes Peak Christian School, started a recycling program at her school. Because of her program, the school saved money and students and teachers learned first-hand the impact recycling can have.

Stephanie Huisingh, Discovery Canyon Campus High School, wrote a detailed guide that laid out the specific steps for how to throw a high school party and include students with special needs.

Meagan Prewitt, Coronado High School, made sure children with special needs, along with their families, had the tools/resources they needed when attending local churches.

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 centennial celebration of Girl Scouts’ highest honor.

“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement, and these young women exemplify leadership in all its forms,” said Stephanie Foote, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Colorado. “They saw a need and took ownership of helping to develop a solution and took action to make it happen. Their extraordinary dedication, perseverance and leadership is making the world a better place.”

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.