Going For Gold!
Girls Who Soar
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Women in Aviation Gold Award Project
The Gold Award is the highest achievement to be earned within the Girl Scouts of the USA; earned by Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassador.
To earn to Gold Award, the Girl Scout must identify a root cause of a pressing issue in their community, create a sustainable solution, and take action to make the world a better place. This project requires a minimum of 80 hours of work in planning and completing the project.
Pepper, a Juliette Girl Scout in GSGCF tackled women in aviation for her Gold Award and was awarded the Gold in 2023.
Follow Pepper’s journey to Gold by following her on Instagram @girlswhosoar and visit her website GirlsWhoSoar.com.
According to Pepper, her Gold Award Project is meant to “encourage, educate, and inspire girls in my community to pursue aviation. Less than 9 percent of the pilot population are women. I decided to become a pilot when I was 10 years old. I had my first discovery flight with Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 66 and immediately knew flight would be my future.”
Women in Aviation
Girls Who Soar focuses on the lack of women in the aviation/aerospace community and was designed to introduce young women to the field of aviation through local workshops which introduced topics such as the forces of flight, flight planning, and wing-rib making.
Free Discovery Flights
A fly day was held locally in partnership with EAA and the 99s which provided girls a free discovery flight and an opportunity to learn about careers in engineering and aviation. She hosted three local workshops.
Website Created
Pepper also created a website with online video lessons, steps on becoming a private pilot and scholarship resources. There is also an optional patch program available.
Petition Started
Pepper started an online petition urging GSUSA to lift their safety restrictions and allow discovery flights as a Girl Scout activity.
Pepper’s petition has over 1,800 signatures and counting!
“This petition is meant to advocate for the National Board of the Girl Scouts of the USA to change the safety checkpoints and allow girls to fly in a small aircraft (like the Boy Scouts of America) and create an aviation-themed badge series for Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors incorporating key components of the now-retired Girl Scout Wing Scouts program.” from Change.org
Gold Award Girl Scout Receives $10,000 Scholarship from Girl Scouts USA
Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida awarded Pepper the 2023 National Gold Award Scholarship and will receive a $10,000 scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to one recipient per council nationwide.
Her plan is to attend Rice University in Houston to pursue a dual major in mechanical engineering and astrophysics. She’s already a licensed pilot and aspires to become an astronaut.
Working on your Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award? Share your project with Troop Leader Central.
