Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Eliza Pauk from Edwardville has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Chimney Swift Tower, Eliza built a large artificial chimney that is essentially a large bird house. The Chimney Swift Tower can accommodate up to 300 Swifts. According to Eliza, Chimney Swifts are birds that keep mosquito populations at bay. But unfortunately, their nests are built in residential chimneys and in the winter can catch fire if the chimney is in use. As a result, many residents use chimney caps which takes away the Chimney Swifts home. Her artificial tower now gives area Swifts a home year round.
“My Girl Scout Gold Award project really taught me that leadership doesn’t mean doing everything,” Eliza said. “Often, being a good leader means being able to instruct a group on how to do something and then trust them to follow directions,” she said. Eliza believes that her project will be a gateway for other chimney towers to built; already she has heard of another Girl Scout who will build a chimney swift tower.
Eliza is currently a freshman at Salisbury University studying nursing. She is the daughter of Jeff and Melinda Pauk and has been a Girl Scout for 10 years.
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.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Chimney Swift Tower, Eliza built a large artificial chimney that is essentially a large bird house. The Chimney Swift Tower can accommodate up to 300 Swifts. According to Eliza, Chimney Swifts are birds that keep mosquito populations at bay. But unfortunately, their nests are built in residential chimneys and in the winter can catch fire if the chimney is in use. As a result, many residents use chimney caps which takes away the Chimney Swifts home. Her artificial tower now gives area Swifts a home year round.
“My Girl Scout Gold Award project really taught me that leadership doesn’t mean doing everything,” Eliza said. “Often, being a good leader means being able to instruct a group on how to do something and then trust them to follow directions,” she said. Eliza believes that her project will be a gateway for other chimney towers to built; already she has heard of another Girl Scout who will build a chimney swift tower.
Eliza is currently a freshman at Salisbury University studying nursing. She is the daughter of Jeff and Melinda Pauk and has been a Girl Scout for 10 years.
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.
