Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Amelia Schmitz from Belleville has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Signal Hill School: Strong Minds. Strong Bodies. Strong Character, Amelia wanted to give back to the school that had an incredible impact on her Girl Scout experience. She shared that she earned her Girl Scout Bronze Award and Girl Scout Silver Award through projects completed at Signal Hill School. “I was familiar with the school’s character education curriculum and felt there were ways to improve upon it through students’ participation in monthly character building activities,” Amelia said.
Through her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Amelia expanded the SHS character education curriculum. She did this through character trait assemblies, morning announcements, monthly character reflection cards, and character trait bulletin boards. “I believe all of these activities made a positive difference for the students and the SHS character education curriculum,” Amelia added.
This Girl Scout Gold Award helped Amelia improve many of her organizational and leadership skills. “I learned that a project can have many different detours along the way and that success is dependent upon how these detours are addressed. I also learned to not sweat the small stuff and to keep focused on the goal,” she said.
Amelia is the daughter of Mark and Kit Schmitz. She is currently a Senior at Belleville West High School. Amelia has been a Girl Scout for 13 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.
