In culmination of 13 years of service with Troop 10685 of Davie, Gold Award Girl Scout Ella Glassman reflects on her inspiring journey in Girl Scouting and shares her story with attendees of the 2023 Broward Emerald Awards Honoree Reception.
“It is often said that childhood is a time for exploring your interests and trying your hand at different activities. I have explored a lot of things between kindergarten and twelfth grade: ballet, basketball, baking, student government, horseback riding, yearbook, peer counseling, Marvel movies podcast, speech and debate, and even filmmaking. Some passions stuck and others fizzled out soon after they started. The one and only constant in my life for the past 13 years has been Girl Scouts. Being a Girl Scout has provided me the opportunity to develop leadership skills and an awareness of how I can have an impact on the world around me. I am honored to be able to say I have accomplished the goal of earning my Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. The Gold Award is the capstone of a girl’s Girl Scouting career, and it is an accomplishment that fewer than 5% of all Girl Scouts achieve, so I feel truly blessed to be part of such a talented group of young women.
My Bronze Award was a troop project that came with a chance to build up problem solving skills and offers the chance to work as a team. My troop decided that we wanted to help children who were sick, and hospital bound. I remember learning that kids in the hospital often received shots and IVs daily. How scary that seemed! We decided to create Band-Aid boxes filled with over a dozen different fun character bandages that nurses would bring around and let kids pick which one they wanted after an injection. We hoped this small choice would give the kids some sense of control and a smile during a scary time. I remember feeling so much pride and such a sense of achievement when we completed the Bronze Award project.
For the Silver Award I chose to work individually on an issue that was very personal to me at the time. In fifth grade, I had been diagnosed with scoliosis and had to wear a brace for 16 hours a day for over three years. It was physically painful, emotionally difficult and led to feelings of isolation and anxiety. The day I was told about my scoliosis and that I would be wearing a brace for the foreseeable future was one of the scariest moments of my life. I knew I wanted to do something with my Silver Award project that would help young girls on the day they heard this life altering news so they wouldn’t feel as alone and overwhelmed as I did. I created a website called “The Scoop on Scoliosis” with support information and perspectives from other teens who have lived through the scoliosis experience. To ensure girls had access to this information at the very beginning of their scoliosis journey, I created business cards for the website that I distributed to local orthopedic surgeons and orthotists who make back braces. I asked them to pledge to give out the cards to girls when they have their initial appointments. Working on my Silver Award allowed me to face something that I was personally insecure about – and let me discover ways to create a positive experience for someone else.
A highlight of my high school experience has been my Gold Award project. In March of 2022, my Girl Scout troop met with a private college advisor about the (sometimes overwhelming) application process. I shared that I hoped to attend film school, and she replied, “everything I just said about the application process goes out the window when applying to an arts program!” While startling to hear this, I soon discovered that students seeking a secondary education in the creative arts are required to use an additional creative application and provide portfolio requirement. I created a handbook and website called “The ART of Applying” that included an outline and advice on the application process for an arts school. Today, my handbook is available in every Broward County Public School, and I am currently working on expanding to the school districts in Palm Beach and Miami Dade counties. I knew that my Gold Award project could support other aspiring artists who can now apply to college with support – and without some of the shock and bewilderment I faced.
I know I am so incredibly lucky to have been given the gift of Girl Scouting and this incredible skill set over my 13 years as a girl member. Girl Scouts has made me who I am today. At every level, I grew as a leader and a resource for my community. I learned to take a stand, be empathetic, solve problems and developed the drive to be a part of something greater than myself.”
Please note that the above speech written by Ella Glassman was edited for context and length.