2026 Reflections Program

ALLISON DARNELL Allison identified a clear gap in her community: many residents in Kirksville were unaware of local walking trails due to a lack of signage, names, and accessible information. After researching the city’s history, she developed meaningful names for seven walking trails, connecting each location to Kirksville’s heritage. Working alongside the Parks and Recreation Department, Allison’s efforts aligned with the city’s future plans, ensuring her project would be both relevant and sustainable. Her work not only brought visibility to these outdoor spaces but also created a deeper sense of community pride and connection. To address the root cause and earn the Gold Award, Allison designed and installed trail signage featuring QR codes that link to historical information and photos for each location. She expanded her impact at North Park by creating exercise stations with QR codes offering both basic and advanced workout options, encouraging greater community engagement and wellness. To further promote awareness, Allison developed a central trail map display, wrote an article for the city newsletter distributed with monthly water bills, and helped organize a public dedication event with local media coverage. Her project provides lasting infrastructure, tracks trail usage through QR code engagement, and ensures residents can easily explore and appreciate Kirksville’s walking trails for years to come. Recognizing the persistent gender gap in STEM fields, Mia set out to address one of its root causes: limited early exposure to engineering and a lack of visible female role models. Mia’s Gold Award project directly tackled this challenge by creating an environment where girls could explore STEM in a way that felt accessible, engaging, and empowering. Through a partnership with Cor Jesu Academy’s summer camp and RISE (Readiness, Intellect, Spirituality, Empowerment) program, Mia launched a hands-on robotics camp for girls in grades 6 through 9. The program brought together 25 middle school participants and 10 high school mentors, all members of Cor Jesu Academy’s FIRST Robotics Team who are actively pursuing their interests in STEM. Participants gained real-world experience in robotics, coding, and marketing, critical components of both future STEM careers and high school robotics opportunities. Mia’s impact extends beyond a single summer. Following the success of the camp, she expanded its reach by supporting a STEM session at a back-to school backpack event, introducing even more girls to hands-on learning. The robotics camp will now continue as a standard part of Cor Jesu Academy’s summer programming, creating sustained opportunities for future participants. MIA EICKHOFF

District 15, Troop 9171 Kirksville High School 13 years in Girl Scouts Milestones Bronze Award Girl Scout Silver Award Girl Scout 13-Year Girl Scout 2025 Graduate Girl Scout

District 6, Troop 4127 Cor Jesu Academy 10 years in Girl Scouts Milestones Bronze Award Girl Scout Silver Award Girl Scout 10-Year Girl Scout