By Jennifer Buzza
Special to The Star-Herald
PRESQUE ISLE – After years of planning, Divya Bisht and Haley Smith, both of Presque Isle, became the most recent Girl Scouts in Aroostook County to earn their Girl Scout Gold Award. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award that a Girl Scout between the ages of 14-17 may earn, and represents her personal journey of leadership, career explorations, self-improvement and service. For many, the leadership skills, organizational skills, and sense of community and commitment that come from “going for the Gold” set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship. Statistically, only 5 percent of eligible Girl Scouts will actually challenge themselves to earn the prestigious award.
PRESQUE ISLE GIRL SCOUTS Haley Smith, left, and Divya Bisht prepare to cut the cake following their Gold Award ceremony.
A ceremony was planned by honorees Divya and Haley, and was held at the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church in Presque Isle Oct. 17. Troop Leader Penny Kern served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the afternoon. During the planning process, Kern stressed to the girls that everyone attending their ceremony would walk away “knowing what their project was.”
The girls opened with a candle ceremony, taking turns lighting candles and sharing what each meant to them. The first candle represented the Girl Scout Promise. After that was the “family” candle. Divya said her family “inspired me to do this project. My family is why I wanted to do my Gold Award.” Haley said, “With their help, I was able to stay focused.” The girls paused during the lighting to present their family members each with a white carnation.
The next candle represented the mentors that assisted the girls during their project. Haley thanked Nancy Chandler of the Children’s Discovery Museum and Divya thanked Carol Bell and Kim Smith of the Presque Isle Historical Society. The girls also expressed their thanks and appreciation for their Leader, Penny Kern. Haley shared, “We couldn’t have done it without you!”
Friends and classmates closest to both award recipients were also thanked and presented with carnations. According to Divya, “Thanks to our friends, we had positive reinforcement.”
Other candles lit represented commitment, ability, leading the way for other Girl Scouts, acknowledging other Gold Award recipients, opening new opportunities, and seeing it through. The mentors were each presented with a mini replica of the Gold Award on a cord, followed by a visual display of each of the girls’ projects.
According to www.girlscouts.org, “The Gold Award project is the culmination of all the work a girl puts into ‘going for the Gold.’ It is something that a girl can be passionate about – in thought, deed, and action. The project is something that fulfills a need within a girl’s community (whether local or global), creates change, and hopefully, is something that becomes ongoing.”
Haley began by describing her project, “Fun with ABC’s at the Children’s Discovery Museum,” which promoted literacy. She selected 26 children’s books (one for each letter of the alphabet), creating and combining a craft, game, song or fun activity to accompany the book “to reinforce reading is fun.”
Promoting her project, Haley attended the Fall and Winter Expo in 2008, a Chocolate Festival fundraiser for the Children’s Discovery Museum and the Spring Expo in 2009. She also read some of her chosen books to children at ACAP, the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library, the University of Maine at Presque Isle Childcare Center and hosted a luncheon with Santa with the help of her 4-H group. During her visits, Haley also planned an activity that directly related to the story she read. Haley and her father, Frank, built wooden bins to store her books and materials and donated her entire project to the Children’s Discovery Museum.
When Haley’s mentor was asked to share some impromptu thoughts, Nancy Chandler said, “Haley is a very special young lady. Reading and children are my first loves, so when she called with her ideas, I said, ‘No problem!’ We had so much fun going to all the different places. I am so proud of her! She even helped out long after her Gold Award project was completed!”
Moments before Divya was to share video from her project, friends were able to connect to Skype so her father, Vikram, could witness the ceremony off a laptop in the front row of the church. At the time, he was in Alberta, Canada and unable to attend the ceremony. In 2009, Divya contacted Carol Bell, president of the Presque Isle Historical Society, along with Treasurer Kim Smith. Divya asked to help plan and organize the annual Historical Pavilion that takes place in The Forum during the Northern Maine Fair. After making several phone calls (she laughingly recalled) to encourage local historical societies to participate, Divya was well on her way to a successful project.
To help prepare, Divya had to help set up tables, chairs, and partition off display areas inside The Forum. In addition to local historical societies, businesses and civic organizations also set up displays depicting their history, including historic displays by area Boy and Girl Scouts. Leader Penny Kern created a living history display, making cornhusk dolls and there was also live wood carving demonstrations. To generate more interest for visitors, Divya created a scavenger hunt, asking questions directly related to each display. Those that participated and completed their form were entered into a drawing with the winner receiving a prize. The public was also asked to take some time to vote for their favorite display. Those winners also received prizes.
Divya’s mentor, Carol Bell, shared that she was “very excited when Divya called! She was very proactive, really taking charge.” Bell turned to Divya and said, “You will do well in anything you do!”
Kern called each of the girls to the front and tearfully placed their necklace with the Gold Award around their necks. Having led these girls for several years, she was clearly emotionally attached to them. A packet of certificates of appreciation were received from numerous groups and individuals, including the Secretary of Defense and the Marine Corps. Since Divya completed her requirements last year, her packet had already arrived. Haley will receive her certificates in the near future.
The girls made their own personal presentations to their mentors and to Kern, and then Program Manager Dawn Wentworth of Girl Scouts of Maine was introduced to share some thoughts. She described the meaning of the Gold Award pin and read the “Gold Award Challenge,” inviting the girls to respond in unison to the prompts. The Challenge briefly mentioned the 10 Girl Scout Laws, expanding on each of them and invited the girls to “give back to Girl Scouting, that which has been given to you.” She then presented each of them with their official Gold Award Certificate.
Following the ceremony, attendees were invited to enjoy refreshments and cake in the church’s fellowship hall. Divya is the 17-year-old daughter of Vikram and Rita Bisht and is a senior at Presque Isle High School. Haley is the 16-year-old daughter of Frank and Roxann Smith and is a junior at PIHS.
Girl Scouts of Maine provides services and support to over 16,000 girl and adult members statewide and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. For information on Girl Scouts or to volunteer, call 1-888-922-4763 or visit www.girlscoutsofmaine.org.
