Leah Norton earns prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award for tackling pressing issues
Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont is pleased to announce that Leah Norton, Conover, has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn.
Norton, daughter of Mark and Crystal Norton and a member of Girl Scout Troop 10441, partnered with Lyle Creek Elementary School to teach STEM lessons to students and the importance of growing food in gardens. Through lesson plans she wrote, Norton taught the students about planting times throughout the year and how to grow specific foods and helped them plant both a fall and spring garden.
Girls in high school are able to earn their Girl Scout Gold Award by creating sustainable change on a community or world issue. Gold Award Girl Scouts address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement innovative solutions to drive change and lead a team of people to success. Each girl must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to planning and carrying out her project, which must benefit the community and have long lasting impact.
As they take action to transform their world, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they are the leaders our community and world need. Gold Award Girl Scouts from Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont have created community gardens, addressed issues in foster care, combated bullying in schools and so much more.
“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement. It is the culmination of so many things- from a girl’s self-discipline and leadership abilities to time management and the creativity, initiative and mastery of skills it takes to complete these kind of projects,” said Jennifer Wilcox, CEO for Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont. “Every girl who earns this prestigious award is making a difference not only in her community, but her own life as well. The skills gained through the Gold Award process- strategic thinking, communication, collaboration, problem solving- are ones that will be used often in her future endeavors.”