Spotlight on National Young Woman of Distinction Mandy Justiz

Mandy Justiz, 16, is currently a sophomore at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, where she is active in musical productions, a member of Chapel Advisory Board, Select Choir and on the dance team at Shirley McPhail School of Dance.

Mandy is honored to be recognized as a 2013 Girl Scout National Young Woman of Distinction. The opportunities and experiences this award has given her are life-changing. In February, she was one of the NYWOD chosen to attend a Girl Scouts USA breakfast in Washington D.C., where they released the Girl Scout Centennial Coin and welcomed legislators into Troop Capitol Hill. The following month, she traveled to Phoenix to attend the National Girl Scout CEO Convention, where she received her NYWOD award.

The focus of Mandy’s Gold Award project is marine science and conservation. Passionate about the health of the ocean and how youth education impacts global problems, Mandy designed an aquarium and three-day curriculum to expose 5th grade students to ocean health and environmental threats to the ecosystem. Mandy is currently expanding the curriculum based on teacher request and continues to host lectures at the school. She hopes to soon bring the program to other schools and communities and after high school, will pursue her studies in the field of Bio-medicine and Environmental Science.