For her project, Art for the Heart, Marissa raised awareness of the value of art in society by organizing professionally taught art classes for SAFB youth and creating a gallery area in the Youth Center for them to share their artwork with family and friends. In addition, she coordinated an art show during SAFB’s annual Youth Fair, which hundreds of families attended.
“The arts are often overlooked in our society,” said Marissa. “I made an impact by demonstrating to children how entertaining art is in hopes that they will spread its joy throughout their lifetime.”
While the children at SAFB learned more about art, Marissa developed crucial leadership skills for her future, including decision making, time management, effective communication and organizational skills. “The amount of knowledge I obtained through the course of this project is astounding,” she said. “It gave me confidence that I can achieve what I set my mind to if I have enough passion to pursue it.”
Marissa has been a Girl Scout for 13 years and received the Girl Scout Trifecta Award for earning her Girl Scout Bronze Award, Girl Scout Silver Award and Girl Scout Gold Award. Marissa is currently a senior as Mascoutah High School and plans to attend college to major in Biology next year. She is the daughter Kim and Wayne Schatz.
The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change, and is sustainable. The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work. Only about 6 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.
