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July 25, 2023
Acton Girl Scout Earns National Scholarship for Gold Award Project
Claudia Castro received a $10,000 scholarship for her work on endometriosis
Media Contact:
Stacy Wilbur
(Waltham, MA) - Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA) proudly recognizes the 54 members of the 2023 Girl Scout Gold Award class who earned the highest award in Girl Scouts: the Gold Award. Gold Award Girl Scouts make positive impacts on our local communities by addressing some of our most pressing issues, including environmental sustainability, mental health and racial justice. And, this year, Claudia Castro from Acton was a recipient of a $10,000 scholarship for her project, Empowering Young Women's Health: Endometriosis Awareness and Education.
This year, Girl Scouts of the USA awarded 110 Gold Award Girl Scouts from across the Movement a $10,000 scholarship, made possible in part by the Kappa Delta Foundation in addition to funds from GSUSA and its National Board.
In the 11th grade, Claudia was diagnosed with endometriosis after a lifetime of assuming that debilitating menstrual pain was normal. She noticed a gap in her school's health education curriculum, and developed a lecture-based lesson plan that focused specifically on endometriosis and all-things-periods. Claudia focused her time on educating current ninth graders at her school, as well as health educators who could carry on with this curriculum in the future. Claudia created a sustainable, educational program that will be taught as a pilot program within her school system for the next several years.
"Since my diagnosis, I have met and learned about many women who lived in pain for years because they didn't know how to advocate for themselves." said Claudia Castro.
Nationally, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is recognizing nearly 3,200 members of the 2023 Gold Award Girl Scout class who identified issues in their communities, took action, and found or created solutions to earn their Gold Awards. This year's class of world-changers raised $2.5 million in funding and invested over 300,000 hours to address real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical wellness, and gender inequality in STEM.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they're the leaders our world needs.
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn't end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
To view the list of the nearly 3,200 outstanding 2023 Gold Award projects, visit girlscouts.org/goldaward class.
For more information on Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, please visit www.gsema.org, or follow their social media channels, lnstagram, Facebook, and Linkedln, for the latest updates on the organization.
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About Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA) is 30,000 strong, with 20,000 girls and 10,000 volunteers in 178 communities in eastern Massachusetts, building girl scouts of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. GSEMA is the largest girl serving organization in Massachusetts and the 10th largest Girl Scout council in the United States. Girl Scouts is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, join, or learn more, visit gsema.org.
More Stories about Gold Award Girl Scout Claudia
Local Girl Scout Awarded Scholarship For Endometriosis Education Program (WBZ News Radio)
Empowering Young Women's Health: Endometriosis Awareness and Education
