Gold Girl Scout Spotlight: Isabel Prado

My name is Isabel Prado, I am a 17-year-old high school junior, getting ready to start applying for college. For my Gold Award, I created and taught 10 different lessons about the environment to children ages 5-12. I taught at the Turner-Gibbons Recreation Center as part of the Austin Parks and Recreation Center Summer Program. All of my lessons have been put into their database for use in the future.

When I first started the project a year ago, I thought I would never actually get it done, but with support from my family and friends, I managed it. It was a long and often challenging process. I switched what I wanted to teach at least twice. When I finally nailed down a subject, I had to create lessons plans for 10 classes. It took a lot of hard work but the end result was worth it.

Many times along the way I wanted to quit and I was told that it was okay if I did not want to do it. I am so glad I decided to finish it. My experiences teaching the children were so remarkable that when it ended I was sad because I had so much fun doing this project. It was tough and took a good deal of time, but it made me a better person. I learned so many valuable skills that I cannot imagine learning anywhere else. Doing the Gold Award was a journey that I will never forget and it is one of the best ones a Girl Scout can experience.

"Discover, Connect, and Take Action: Girls Change the World"—GSCTX at the 2014 Girl Scouts national convention

"On Wednesday, October 15^th Texas bound girls headed for Salt Lake City, Utah. Why you ask? For the 53^rd annual Girl Scout National Convention, of course! 

Twenty representatives made up of girls, volunteers, staff and board members represented Girl Scouts of Central Texas among the 6,000 participants in the week-long conference. Scouts who are members of GSUSA flew in from all over the world to participate in delegate sessions, Girl Scout leadership institute (GSLI) activities, meeting with collaborators, and listening to inspirational speakers. International guests and Girl Scouts were welcome too, introducing our girls to Girl Scouting outside of the states. Our GSLI girls represented the entire council area and were chosen to work on projects in their communities from the information they gained at the convention. 

Right now, our girls are working on such topics as addressing basic needs, education, teen violence and gender equality. Discover, Connect and Take Action was the theme of the conference and after meeting our new board, learning great ideas and sharing general practices our girls, staff and volunteers are ready to Take Action and change the world! The next conference will be held in Columbus, Ohio in 2017."

Thanks to Emily Magnotta for sharing the excitement of the national convention with us. We can't wait to see the projects our Girl Scouts will take on after this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Girl Experience Special Announcement: Outdoor Badge Voting

Girl Experience Special Announcement! When asked what the girls should do, Juliette Gordon Lowe responded, “What do the girls WANT to do?” During the national convention, GSUSA announced that starting in the fall 2015 program year, girls will be able to enjoy new outdoor badges and they want your input into what those badges will be. Girl Scout Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Seniors will vote first on an outdoor badge content area (i.e.: Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Environment, or Outdoor Survival). Once there is a majority vote on the content area, girls will vote on the actual badge topic (i.e.: Hiking, Camping, Trail Blazing, etc.). Click here for more details!

This is going to be great!