Spring 2020 Inspire Discovery

Eastern Missouri Girl Scout receives Medal Of Honor In 2019, Girl Scouts of the USA honored local G.I.R.L. , Kaitlyn O’Shea, with the organization’s Medal of Honor after saving her cousin from drowning. The Medal of Honor is a special award given to a girl member who shows presence of mind and true Girl Scout spirit saving a life or attempting to save a life without risk to the awardee's own life. On September 3, 2018, O’Shea’s three-year-old cousin was playing in a residential pool and removed her flotation device without parental approval. After taking a step down in the water, she immediately lost her footing and went under. While adult family members were in attendance, none of them had seen the toddler fall. O’Shea was nearby and immediately jumped into action when she saw her cousin’s body disappear into the water. She quickly swam to her cousin, pulled her to the side of the pool and called for help. Her cousin remained conscious during the ordeal and did not require resuscitation. “I knew I needed to get her and make sure she had oxygen, so I grabbed her,” O’Shea said. “An important lesson from this is that kids who can’t touch the bottom of the pool always need to have a floatie on.”

To learn more about the Girl Scout Medal of Honor or for questions about the application process, please contact Lucretia Penn a t lpenn@girlscoutsem.org

Girl Scout Robotics

HOW CAN MY GIRL SCOUT GET STARTED WITH ROBOTICS?

Since the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri’s robotics program began in 2009, it has grown from five teams to 92 teams in 2019. Last year, there were multiple teams at every age level (Jr. FLL, FLL, FTC, FRC), from Daisies through Ambassadors.

Watch for the robotics application in the Girl Scouts e-newsletter this spring and on the website in late April. Complete the application and submit to Lauren Kornegay Dollar at lkornegaydollar@girlscoutsem.org or Denise Sallee at dsallee@girlscoutsem .org. Faxes can be sent to 314.214.3076. You will need two unrelated adults to sign up as coaches and at least three girls to start a team. Only a limited number of teams will be accepted.

The mission of the FIRST® program is to inspire young people to be

science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor- based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills. The experience also inspires innovation and fosters well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication and leadership. Through participation in robotics programs, Girl Scouts identify ways in which science can help solve a problem in the real world. Girls also learn valuable life and employment skills by coming up with ideas, solving problems and overcoming obstacles. They gain confidence in their abilities to use technology.

24 Inspire Discovery Spring 2020