Three Guthrie Girl Scouts receive highest award

Oklahoma City – Breena Lijewski, a freshman at University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma, Kirstin Perrin, a sophomore at Guthrie High School, and Tracie Roettger, a freshman at the University of Oklahoma, completed the highest and most prestigious award that can be earned as a Girl Scout – the Gold Award.

Each girl was awarded her Gold Award for her hard work and dedication to her project on Saturday, May 4. The goal of the Gold Award is to set a foundation for active citizenship throughout a woman’s life by creating a self-sustaining solution for a societal grand change and is the culmination of her Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

Girls have an opportunity to receive three awards throughout their Girl Scout career: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. To earn the Gold Award, each girl must identify an issue, investigate it thoroughly, build a team, create and present a plan, and act, educate and inspire others while making the project sustainable. The Gold Award dates back to 1916 when Girl Scouts began a long tradition of recognizing the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary girls.

Lijewski (pictured above) partnered with Guthrie Upper Elementary School and Aberdeen Land Services to develop STEM Kits for fifth graders. She wanted a way to help teachers increase state test scores, as well as spark more interest for the students. Studies have shown students retain more information during hands-on activities.

Each kit has multiple activities and experiments for students to gain more interest and success around environmental science, matter and water. Lijewski is studying natural science education at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

Perrin partnered with Guthrie Public Schools and the West Guthrie Methodist Church to start the Teen Mom Community Closet, so no child ever has to go without necessities.

She noticed some teen moms struggled to get everything a baby needs because they don’t always have a great support system. To help keep the Closet stocked, Perrin hosted a Community Baby Shower – this will be an annual event to make sure the closet always has the necessary items.

After high school, Perrin plans to attend Oklahoma State University to become a neonatal nurse.

Roettger partnered with the Guthrie Upper Elementary School to create “Math Kits for Kids.” After seeing how low state test scores were, she realized there needed to be something more to engage the students.

Each kit is filled with math games to help students gain more interest in the subject. The games build on what the students are already learning in school in a more fun, hands-on way.

Roettger is studying business and visual communications at the University of Oklahoma. She hopes to pursue a career in marketing and graphic design to help businesses with branding and advertising.

At this year’s Girl Awards Ceremony, more than 200 girls were recognized in a ceremony at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City for their efforts in earning the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.

Samantha Corriero, software engineer at Boeing, shared how Girl Scouts made an impact in her life and how she gives back now during her keynote address. Corriero was selected to represent Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma because of her personal experience as a Girl Scout and immense presence in Oklahoma City.

Each year a committee of dedicated leaders among the Girl Scout community opens a scholarship application process for girls completing their Gold Awards. During the ceremony, Roettger was one of five Gold Award Girl Scouts awarded a $1,000 college scholarship.