Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Madeleine Renken from Troy has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called "Graphing the Graveyard," Madeleine worked with the Troy Genealogical Society to photograph and document all of the graves in the Troy City Cemetery. In addition, her photos and documentations of graves and tombstones will be online through findagrave.com. She also performed some cemetery landscaping due to overgrowth.
This Girl Scout Gold Award project was a rewarding experience for Madeleine. “Through my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I learned so much about the people who started my town and the citizens who lived in it and about Troy’s history as well,” said Madeleine. “I also discovered my ability to lead a group of people to achieve a common goal.”
Madeleine is the daughter of Shari and Bryce Renken. She is currently a senior at Triad High School. Madeleine has been a Girl Scout for 12 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 5 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.
