A local senior has completed the trifecta of wins in Girl Scouts.
Jennilee Dawn Barnett is the first Girl Scout in more than 10 years from Montgomery County to earn the highest award in Girl Scouting—the Gold Award.
The award was presented at a ceremony March 7 at Berea College.
Dawn also previously earned the Bronze Award in elementary and Silver Award in middle school.
Tara Barnett, Dawn’s mother, said her daughter joined Girl Scouts in the first grade. Now a senior at Montgomery County High School, Dawn attends the Craft Academy of Excellence in Science and Mathematics at Morehead State University.
It’s been a dream of Dawn’s since being a student at Mapleton Elementary to renovate the outdoor classroom there.
Tara described the Girl Scout Gold Award as equivalent to the Eagle Scout Award in Boy Scouts.
To earn it, Girl Scout participants must identify a community problem, research the problem and plan and execute a project to combat it.
It requires a minimum of 80 hours of work.
“Dawn researched the habits of youth today and as a result renovated the outdoor classroom at Mapleton Elementary School,” her mother told the Advocate. “She surveyed the teachers last year to see what kept them from using the outdoor classroom and planned her project to address those needs. The new outdoor classroom area seems to be a great addition to the school environment.”
Dawn repainted the back wall of the outdoor classroom and replaced the white board. She washed the concrete pad, restained all of the wood and purchased all new tables and benches. She also put together a new cabinet for storage.
What really stands out about Dawn’s project is not just the complete transformation she gave the outdoor classroom, but the fact her mother says she used her own personal savings for the project. Dawn received the Bronze Award in fifth grade as a Junior Girl Scout for creating fidget pillows with her troop for Alzheimer’s patients at Windsor Personal Care. It involved a minimum 25 hours of work.
The Silver Award was obtained in middle school as a Girl Scout Cadette by painting interactive areas along the walking path at Jeffersonville’s city park. A few members of her troop participated as well, Tara said, to encourage children to get out and exercise with their parents. That project involved a minimum 50 hours of work.
Dawn plans to attend Centre College upon graduation.
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