Abington Heights senior set to earn Gold Star Award in Girl Scouts

Abington Heights senior Sierra Lavelle is poised to reach the pinnacle of Girl Scouts — the Gold Star Award.

Lavelle, who is bound for East Stroudsburg University after graduating high school, joined the Scouts when she was in the second or third grade.

“My mom used to be a Girl Scout, and I thought it sounded interesting,” Lavelle said. “I started the hunt for a Girl Scout troop for me to join. There were a few in the area, but there was one meeting about five minutes away from me so that was the one I ended up joining. There were a bunch of girls my age that did it and I heard some really good things from them. I had also been going to Camp Archibald which I had to be enrolled in Girl Scouts in order to attend.

That early determination to find a troop to join stayed with her for years. In order for a Girl Scout to qualify for the organization’s highest honor, they must be in ninth, tenth, eleventh or twelve grade and be a registered Girl Scout senior or ambassador and complete two Senior or Ambassador journeys, in addition to have previously earned the Girl Scout Silver Award.

Lavelle said she wanted to build on the Girl Scout ideal of being a global citizen and wanted to do a project that could help a group of people in need. She said her parents saw an article about the ENGin Program, a non-profit agency that matches English-speaking volunteers with Ukrainian students. She spoke to Erin Hogan, a volunteer director at the organization, and developed unique ideas for the project. She then wrote proposal for the Gold Award that was reviewed by the troop leader, project advisor and Girl Scouts in the Hearts of PA. program manager.

“For my Gold Award project, I wanted to give back to the community that’s supported me for so long,” Lavelle said. “That’s why I am thrilled to be partnering with the ENGin Program to promote English proficiency among high school and college students impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. Fluency in English opens doors to a wider range of educational, professional and social opportunities,” she said.

Lavelle said she has two primary goals for her project:

• To work with students in the Ukraine to practice conversational English over the last six months. She said has had over 30 hours of sessions with four different students.

• To create a social media campaign to create an awareness of the services offered by the ENGin and recruiting others to get involved in the project.

“They meet weekly online using Google Meet,” Patrick Lavelle, Sierra Lavelle’s dad said. “They meet either Saturday or Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. Occasionally, if there’s no power or internet in Ukraine, they meet during the week at 6 a.m. Ukraine is 8 hours ahead of us,” which causes his daughter to have to adapt to being online at unique times, Patrick Lavelle said.

The speaking sessions are done at home using a laptop and phone. Sierra said she needs a stable internet connection for the meeting software to hold the sessions anytime and anywhere she wants.

“For my social media and recruitment campaign, I have posted over 100 program brochures at over 35 locations in and around Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Sierra said. I developed a project website which has had 400 views from the United States, Europe and Asia. I’ve done presentations to various community groups at Abington Heights High School and handed out flyers at the Clarks Summit Ice Festival and other community events.”

“Sierra has definitely grown in her years in scouting,” Jody Armstrong, troop leader of Troop 50999, said. “I fondly remember her joining our troop on her first camping trip with us and I felt like she was a fish out of water. It is amazing how much she has changed. She has grown in many ways in her work on the Gold Award project. Her confidence, leadership skills and public speaking have all blossomed as she has taken the steps for completing her Gold Star Project.

Armstrong also praised Sierra’s organizational skills “to conduct her project and complete the paperwork,” and said they will “play a key role in Sierra’s future endeavors as she prepares for college and career aspirations.”

“I love the aspect of being able to interface with people who come from different walks of life and different parts of the word,” Sierra Lavelle said. “I found myself learning more and more about culture and how things are like living through a war more than any class I could have ever taken. I’ve always been one to speak out about issues that I care about and as soon as I realized this could be a good project, I took it up because if of the fact that I care so strongly about human rights.”

When she is not at scouts, Sierra draws in her free time, sings and makes bracelets. She watches shows that she likes ands whenever she can, she tries to spend time with her friends. She also enjoys archery and acting.

“Sierra is a very free-skilled, caring, genuine and sensitive girl,” Patrick and Robin, Sierra’s mom, said. “She likes being part of the scouting community and participated in cookie sales and various projects and activities. She started going to camp when she was about eight and has loved going to camp since. She loves how little kids look up to her and loves helping and teaching all the kids. Going to camp every summer has helped her start to explore new interests and become more self-reliant and independent.”

Sierra said the work she does is serving a community that needs all of the help it can get.

“The people of Ukraine have had a tough couple of years, Between the war and COVID, it’s disrupted the lives of millions of students,” she said. “Many are struggling with their social skills, reading and every day communication. As the people try to rebuild their lives, being comfortable with speaking English can really open doors. You can see the students feel more confident speaking English by trying new words and asking for help. It is a unique way to learn about each other’s schools and cultures.”