Area Girl Scouts receive highest honor

Several area Girl Scouts received the gold star recently.



Emily Becker

Emily Becker, Blue Springs, is a senior attending St. Teresa’s Academy. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 13 years and is a member of Troop 1644, Service Unit 646.

Hungry for a Day was Emily’s Gold Award Project, where she helped other Girl Scouts understand what it feels like if you were not able to afford food. Partnering with fellow Gold Award Recipient, Stephanie Morrow, the girls created activities for the younger girls including planning meals for one week using the small amount of money a person receives through government aid and completing service projects at local community organizations like Harvesters Food Bank and Ronald McDonald House.

“Our goal was to give younger Girl Scouts an experience where they truly felt what it was like for someone to be hungry, and by the end of the project we could see through the girls’ reactions that they really understood and wanted to do something more to help others,” said Emily.

When working with the younger girls, Emily relied on her organization, communication and leadership skills to complete her Gold Award.



Melissa Fuerst

Melissa Fuerst, Blue Springs, is a junior attending Blue Springs High School. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 12 years and is a member of Troop 512, Service Unit 646.

Melissa paired her love of children and faith to help Lake Lotawana Community United Methodist Church host a vacation bible school. Melissa served as the director for the week of faith activities to complete her Gold Award. Until Melissa volunteered to lead the project, the church thought they would not be able to host vacation bible school. Through her project, Melissa organized the week’s curriculum, selected and purchased the needed supplies, recruited volunteers and increased community awareness.

“One of my proudest moments from the week’s activities was that children left excited, had a strengthened relationship with God and learned more about the church’s important mission work,” said Melissa.

Melissa had to use an energetic approach, polished speaking skills and an organized plan to complete her Gold Award project.



Stephanie Morrow

Stephanie Morrow, Blue Springs, is a freshman attending University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 10 years and is a member of Troop 1644, Service Unit 646.

For her Gold Award, Stephanie worked with fellow recipient, Emily Becker to help younger Girl Scouts learn about the effects of hunger. Hungry for a Day included educational activities, community service and the opportunity to plan a week of meals using the small amount of money the government provides per individual in poverty. For the community service portion of the project, Stephanie led the younger Girl Scouts in action at Harvesters, a community food bank and by preparing a meal at the Ronald McDonald House.

“I really wanted others to know what someone who is hungry has to go through every day, and the younger Girl Scouts were a perfect audience as they will make their own changes to the community in the future,” said Stephanie.

Stephanie truly put her leadership, organization and creative skills to the test in successfully completing her Gold Award.



Marilyn Villanueva

Marilyn Villanueva, Independence, is a junior at Blue Springs High School. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 10 years and is a member of Troop 106, Service Unit 606.

Providing comfort to sick children and working with her cousin inspired Marilyn to complete her Gold Award. Marilyn and fellow recipient, Elsie Lee made fleece, tie blankets for the children who were battling cancer at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Marilyn first contacted Children’s Mercy to find out more about the sick children, organized a donation drive to purchase the right kinds of fabric and spent nearly two months creating the soft blankets.

“I first selected this project because my grandmother fought cancer and after the project was completed I felt so good about doing this for the children who would receive comfort from the blankets,” said Marilyn.

Through her project, Marilyn learned responsibility, organization and teamwork to complete the time-consuming project.

Caroline Wright

Caroline Wright, Blue Springs, is a senior at Blue Springs High School. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 11 years and is a member of Troop 512, Service Unit 646.

For her Gold Award, Caroline created a safe care center for parents of deployed military personnel to bring their children. Caroline outlined the project, worked with other volunteers, like churches and reserve military bases, and provided several hours of care during many Saturdays to the military children. The vision of this project was to provide parents an opportunity to relax, have social time or complete household chores.

“It is so hard for a spouse of an individual in the military, as often they are the only parent for months on end,” said Caroline. “I wanted to do something to honor the spouses’ spirit, their resolve and just to say thank you for all they do to support our country.”

Through her project, Caroline had to use strong communication skills, be very organized and work in the positive spirit of helping others.



Melissa Semegran

Melissa Semegran, Independence, is a junior at Blue Springs High School. She has participated in Girl Scouts for 11 years and is a member of Troop 1081, Service Unit 645.

For her Gold Award, Melissa organized a holiday toy drive in three community locations. After the drive concluded, Melissa gave all of the new toys to the Marines Toys for Tots Drive. She was very proactive in her approach calling on three diverse locations; a corporation, restaurant and animal hospital as well as her Girl Scout Troop. Melissa completed fliers and coordinated other awareness activities to get individuals to bring toys.

“I was so honored to work with the Marines, as they are the hardest workers I have had the opportunity to be with,” said Melissa. “I am so proud of all the children who received holiday gifts because of my drive.”

Through her project, Melissa used her leadership, communication and organization skills.