2025 Reflections Program

KAITLYN EMERSON To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Kaitlyn wanted to address the barriers Americans face when making sustainable food choices for their families. To help move the needle on this important issue, Kaitlyn hosted community outdoor meetups where she presented on the importance of sustainable food sources and how they can incorporate them into weekly grocery shopping. She used those conversations as the jumping off point for her video series and pamphlet that help families ease into sustainable cooking. She showcased simple, everyday recipes to make the task of cooking sustainably seem less daunting. Through the videos she provided tips on how families can use what they have on hand to streamline the cooking process or choose appliances that are more energy efficient. “The most successful part of my project was the discussions I had with the people in my community about buying sustainably. I was able to learn more about people’s attitudes to sustainable living and how they are willing to try and incorporate it into their lives.” EMILY ETTER Inspired by her interests in camping and STEM, Emily designed, built and installed a giant chess board at Camp Cedarledge, a GSEM camp property located in Pevely, MO. The giant chess board provided her fellow Girl Scouts with an opportunity to learn the challenging and strategic game of chess in a peaceful outdoor setting. Emily also partnered with the St. Louis Chess Club to organize a grand opening event to showcase the new space and teach the game to younger Girl Scouts. To complete her project, she created a website with her design plans to help others build similar chess boards. “Through the Gold Award process, I learned that I am confident when asking for support. It was inspiring to see that I could actually make things happen and get so many others to actively support my project.”

District 8, Juliette Visitation Academy 11 years in Girl Scouts Milestones Girl Scout Bronze Award 2024 Graduate Girl Scout

District 1, Troop 204 Lutheran South High School 13 years in Girl Scouts

Milestones Girl Scout Bronze Award Girl Scout Silver Award 13-Year Girl Scout Graduating Girl Scout