On Sunday, March 5, our 2023 Gold Award Girl Scouts glittered as we celebrated and honored their achievements with a formal ceremony at the Ponitz Center in Dayton.

This year, we recognized 37 girls who took the lead and made a sustainable impact on an issue in their community on their way to earning the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting—the Gold Award.

Each Gold Award Girl Scout has left a lasting impression on a cause they cared about, devoting a minimum of 80 hours of individual effort to lead a team in reaching their goals. From our 2023 class of Gold Award Girl Scouts, that’s more than 2,060 combined hours spent making the world a better place!

Each girl and her Gold Award project represents the pinnacle of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). Learn about all 37 of these amazing young women on our website, or keep reading to learn about three of the diverse projects from across our council.

Elsa Concannon | Bowling Green, OH
Tutoring at St. Marks

Elsa implemented a tutoring program for a local elementary school to better prepare children for the introduction of standardized testing and general comprehension of reading and mathematics. Elsa spearheaded the ideas, curriculum, and outreach to recruit tutors and adult chaperones for this program. They started each after school session with a snack and a quick game, then they would break off into age groups in grades 3-5. Elsa coordinated with the church of St. Marks, students from her school, and local Bowling Green State University students to ensure the longevity and success of her program. The elementary school she partnered with has the lowest socio-economic status for students in the district. Elsa’s hope is that this program offers those students access to extra instruction and instills a passion for learning.

Sydney Ramsey | Vandalia, OH
Project Scam Protectors

The aim of Sydney’s project was to educate the senior population and minorities on internet and telephone scams. She was inspired by both of her grandmothers to create her Gold Award project. To give her an understanding of the issue, Sydney met with community experts in law enforcement, banking and the elderly. She created presentations to give at neighborhood and senior centers, focusing on how to identify and report scams. Sydney also created educational materials in both English and Spanish for distribution at community events. She shared her materials with local police departments and the Greene County Prosecutor. Sydney’s project was featured on various official social media accounts. Her project was featured on WHIO Channel 7 and went national when it was featured on Yahoo! News.

Hana Winchester | Cincinnati, OH
Writing, Illustrating, and Publishing a Children’s Math Book

For her project, Hana wrote, illustrated, and published a children’s math book titled “Math with Elon Mollusk and Fabulous Five” to explain challenging concepts engagingly. Working with teachers and students to determine the biggest struggles for third and fourth grade math students, Hana’s book explains concepts like fractions and multiplication and real-world applications such as counting money, unit conversions, time telling, and more. The book was shared with children in her community, classes at St. Ignatius of Loyola School, and will be featured by the school library in their annual Reading Week programming. 

Gold Award Girl Scouts are the changemakers the world needs. We are honored to be one of the first of many to recognize their achievements in earning the mark of the truly remarkable.