Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles is proud to celebrate its largest class of Gold Award Girl Scouts, three of whom are nominated for a National Gold Award. Their projects involved massive time commitments, ingenuity, and the ability to overcome hurdles and inspire others.

Each of the three projects instigated a local change with ripple effects on a global scale. We featured our other nominees, Lisa L. and Elaina M., in previous blog posts. Meet GSGLA’s third nominee:

Sarah A.

Project: Plastic Hazards Awareness Team (PHAT)

Summary: Sarah’s project, which grew into a nonprofit organization, spreads awareness about plastic pollution in the ocean and works to ban single-use plastic items. Specifically, she implemented education in Burbank about the hazards of containers made from polystyrene and plastic straws. Sarah created a Debris Science Investigation Kit for schools in her community. She also made her case to city, state, and federal elected officials, and petitioned for a ban on #6 Polystyrene single-use products in the City of Burbank, on which the city council will vote in October.

“I had a big impact with the teachers at Burbank high school, my classmates, the students in the marine biology club, city council, other elected officials, and my community. Burbank’s contribution to ocean plastic pollution will be dramatically reduced,” she said.

Inspiration: When Sarah started the project, she said, she was passionate about helping the environment, but she was more interested in pursuing music. But during her Gold Award journey, she developed an appreciation for giving back and has since decided to study environmental science over music in college.

Proud Moments: Sarah was invited to speak at several environmental summits, and she received two awards from the City of Burbank for her work.

Advice for Other Girls: Sarah said the most important piece of advice she received was, “Learn to say ‘no.’” The demands of a Gold Award project, especially a very successful one, can bring on a lot of stress, and even when you don’t want to let people down, it’s important to take time for self-care, she said.

“I learned that time management is very important and not to take on so much work and ask for help when I need it to avoid stress,” she said.

Learn more about the highest honor in Girl Scouting. Family and friends will cheer on our girls at the 2019 Gold Award Ceremony on June 8.

Interested in hearing more about Gold Award Girl Scout’s projects while helping even more girls to Go Gold? Check out our exciting Gold Award Gala, also on June 8.