[00:00:00] Walter: The Hearts of Gold Podcast is brought to you by the Grow and Share Network, produced by off the Walter Media.
[00:00:11] Sheryl: Welcome to Hearts of Gold. Today we have Lakshanya with us. Hi Lakshanya.
[00:00:17] Lakshanya: Hi.
[00:00:18] Sheryl: Can you tell us about your Girl Scout Gold Award project?
[00:00:22] Lakshanya: Yeah, of course. My Girl Scout Gold Award project is on inspiring young children specifically elementary schoolers and my own high schoolers on effective ways to navigate through media.
[00:00:34] How I came across this idea was essentially looking at the news app and lots of other things. I saw how many people struggle on Snapchat and on Instagram, and. So many take negative turns and I was really inspired to protect the next generation from that happening to them. Media is often thrown at us at a rate which is faster than which leading literacy is thrown at us.
[00:01:00] So I wanted to provide children, On ways, tips, and tricks to safely navigate through the internet and social media. So what I did was basically I created a curriculum where I presented to schools in India schools in my local community, and at my high school. Where I would just provide them with information and instead of like a presentation type thing, I would mostly have like a q and a where we could just talk to them.
[00:01:31] So it would feel like they’re getting a talk from an one of their peers, essentially, not from an adult, because oftentimes I’ve seen that children don’t often listen to adults since in our nature. So it would be like a q and a I would ask them. What’s your favorite thing you would buy? How many times are you on your phone and stuff like that.
[00:01:52] And we would just walk through. And for elementary schoolers, I would give them an analogy. So when I was little, I would often get like, I would go to the store and I would see a bright packaging and I would ask my mom, can I please have this? Just because of the bright packaging. So I asked the students if they ever felt like they wanted to do that as well at the store, and they, a lot of them said yes.
[00:02:15] And so I compared that to how on YouTube, if you scroll down, there’s a full list of videos up the side and a lot of them have like bright pictures and colors, but often time the content isn’t safe. So we walk through that as well. For high schoolers. I essentially talked about the effects that social media can have on teenagers specifically with like Snapchat and Instagram and how so many catfishing attempts are out there.
[00:02:43] And I essentially talked to them about the effects. And one of the students I was actually barely surprised was when I was talking about a story I found on a news app. She was like, This actually happened, and that’s when I realized that a lot of students don’t actually know that there are negative sides to no social media, not just the bright, colorful pictures on Instagram.
[00:03:05] There are negative sides. So that’s the moment where I could truly see an impact of my project. And then when I went to India, I did the same thing. And at that moment I realized how technology connects everybody around the world because when I presented one of the principals there asked one of the students, what do you do on your phone?
[00:03:28] And he was like, oh, I played clash of clans. That reminded me of some guys at my school and was like, whoa, my guess the world is connected with media and so many people experience the same things. So I guess my media literacy will help. Everybody of all ages and all generations and all over the world.
[00:03:46] And then, so I also created a website that allows students to go on. And essentially reflect on situations that have happened, give others advice, and provide some videos on further media literacy. And I’m happy to share that with my media literacy journey. I talked to my local school administration and I’ve created a media literacy council at my school.
[00:04:12] So essentially what was gonna happen is I was going to go to the middle school and they would have representatives come in. From each of the grades at the middle school the students would probably vote on who was gonna be the representative. They would come and talk to me on tips and trips, tips and tricks, and then they would go back and reflect to their homerooms.
[00:04:33] And so, yeah. That’s a brief overview.
[00:04:37] Sheryl: So that last piece with the council, what was the process like working with the school in order to get that implemented?
[00:04:45] Lakshanya: I was really excited when they were on board with this. I talked to our local my technology administrator at the school. And I’ve never really talked to like a school setting, like a school administrator on effects of social media, but, I could tell when I was talking to her that she truly saw like the negative effects that it’s had on students.
[00:05:06] And I was like, okay, yeah, maybe this is a great point for us to grow at the school because at the middle school, we were given iPads. The teachers said, don’t go on bad websites. The school administration is gonna be watching you on there. But that’s not really an effective way to teach the students.
[00:05:24] So instead having a media literacy council where they’re actually in the process of helping others and helping their peers, I felt would be more effective.
[00:05:33] Sheryl: When you had your sessions with the students, what kind of questions did they ask?
[00:05:38] Lakshanya: So one of the questions that they asked I was, I was actually shocked to get, was it was a fourth grader who asked, How can Instagram and Snapchat be so bad?
[00:05:49] And that was a moment I realized that they didn’t really see the effects of social media. They just saw it as something you can be on, something you can scroll on, something that makes you cool, I guess. But they didn’t really see what a big impact and influence it actually has. So we talked about it with her and talked about it with her parents as well, cuz her parents was at, the parents were at the meeting and we talked about.
[00:06:15] Essentially just. How one word on Instagram or something like that can flip somebody’s world upside down. Now, this is with elementary schoolers, so we didn’t get into much detail, but we gave her a brief overview and she realized, oh, and then at the end she was able to give me a tip and trick on essentially, How to stay safe online and what not to do and what not to say and what to stay clear from.
[00:06:42] So I was really happy.
[00:06:43] Sheryl: What was your biggest challenge during your project, and how did you overcome it?
[00:06:47] Lakshanya: For the first few media literacy sessions at my library and my local community, getting kids to come to a session on a Saturday is not the most appealing thing because I’m sure nobody wants to sit in a lecture, but.
[00:07:02] I’d say getting students to actually come was the biggest challenge. So to, in order to overcome that, I asked the library person I was working with on how to essentially grab people’s attention with it. So we have a little elementary school room inside the library, and I would go talk to the parents.
[00:07:22] And then I would often offer them like candy and chocolate, just to get them engaged, just to loosen them up. And then once we got downstairs, it, they had a lot of fun. A lot of the students felt like, it wasn’t like a sit down lecture type thing. They, they were eager, eager to raise their hands. And then I asked them to go tell their friends, and I got a lot of networking connections with other Girl Scout troops in the area as well, just from that.
[00:07:48] So it just goes to show that essentially don’t give up because at a moment I was telling my mom, can we not do these sessions anymore? Like nobody’s showing up. But within the second session they were, it went from like three all the way up to like 20. So I was really happy about that. So it just taught me that like, If you’re, if you have your mind set on something and you want to do it, don’t give up because you can find a way to make it work and you can inspire others along the way.
[00:08:17] Sheryl: What was one thing that you learned about social media during your project that you didn’t know before you started?
[00:08:21] Lakshanya: I would just be looking at stories on news app and I really didn’t feel I didn’t really feel the pain that others were feeling, but throughout this journey I could see the process the way others think.
[00:08:34] And what influences they have and what motives they have. Because essentially at my high schooler, when somebody asked. That actually happens to students in our age. I could really see that kids these days aren’t actively thinking about their actions when they’re on social media, or they’re not actively thinking about what harmful things might be on there.
[00:08:54] So that just gave me a glimpse of how, how people actually are able to be influenced so quickly within the blink of an eye.
[00:09:03] Sheryl: What was your favorite part of your project and why?
[00:09:06] Lakshanya: Getting to talk to the elementary schoolers and getting a glimpse into their mind as well, and essentially, When they gave me a tip and trick, they were all eager to raise their hand.
[00:09:19] Like it. I would have like 10 students in a row wanting to raise their hand. They would be jumping out of their seats, which was super ha. I was super happy to see. But when they would tell me, when you’re on YouTube and you see something bad, just scroll down. When you’re on YouTube, make sure you check with your parents before when you’re on YouTube.
[00:09:36] And they would keep on giving me tips and tricks and they would oftentimes look at their parents. Just to see that they have like that strong parent child connection that the parents are understanding and that the child understands what’s actually happening. So that was pretty awesome to see and essentially creating the Media Literacy Council was, was a pretty great experience as well, because I.
[00:09:57] I implemented what I was passionate about and what I wanted to learn about and what I want others to learn about into my school and into my community. When I went to India as well, just teaching them about media literacy was pretty cool in itself because I’m sure a lot of their, a lot of their curriculum doesn’t have any media literacy in it.
[00:10:17] So just getting to infiltrate and allowing them to learn new things was pretty exciting as well.
[00:10:23] Sheryl: Let’s dive into that international component a bit in case people didn’t pick up on what you just said. You also did a session in India. How did that come about and how was that session different than the US sessions?
[00:10:36] Lakshanya: I worked with my grandpa and my aunt who owned a school in India. And I, I worked with them to create a little session. During the school day. So my grandpa also owns the store there, so we were able to get donations and for candy, and I made my own custom pens that said, be mindful of media literacy.
[00:10:58] And I translated it into their, their language. So at the school When I went, I also gave the principal and some teachers, so a poster with all the steps on how to effectively navigate through media, such as identify, analyze, evaluate, create, act, all those, and I also translated them into their language so that the students could also read and so that they can essentially use it in their everyday lives.
[00:11:27] What I did, instead of having like a full presentation, I modified it so that. Again, I took a packet of chips and over there the chips often have like toys in them just to get, like kids to buy them. So I talked about how oftentimes when they open the actual packet, the chips aren’t that great and how they only buy it just because of the toy, and oftentimes the toys isn’t that great either.
[00:11:53] And I talked to them about how this is exactly what it’s like on YouTube. Because oftentimes when they do schoolwork, I’m sure as any kid, they wanna go on YouTube, on the internet, and it’s hard to stay away from stuff like that. And I was talking about how they could go through down a rabbit hole by clicking and clicking and clicking.
[00:12:14] And so over there it was mostly just a q and a session. And at the end, I asked all the students what they would give me as a tip and trick and what they learned today. So they’re able to reflect. And what I was really happy is that the principal said she would keep reiterating the ideas. They would keep on talking about the ideas every day so that the students will get it into their minds and so that they’re safer.
[00:12:39] And this just went to show that there is a possibility that the rate at which media is thrown at them can be equal to the rate at which media literacy is also thrown at them. So I was happy about that.
[00:12:52] Sheryl: You spoke about your grandpa and your aunt. Who else was on your team and supported you during your project?
[00:12:59] Lakshanya: I’d say one of my biggest supporters were my parents. They supported me along the way and they gave me the motivation to keep on trying, especially after the first media literacy session. They were like, you got this. You can keep doing it. Just think of a different ways to attract people and stuff like that.
[00:13:15] So I would say they were one of my biggest supporters. My media teacher at my high school was also a great supporter. He helped me a lot with making the actual posters, getting connections with the administrators. I would, my principal also helped a lot, and then my ninth grade English teacher also helped because she’s the one who first introduced me to this idea.
[00:13:36] We had a little lesson on media literacy and we were playing a game called Spot the troll on Twitter where we, we would identify who was a reliable person and who wasn’t, and what influences they would have on media. And so she essentially gave me one of the biggest ideas to start on this. And I would also like to thank, like my, the person I worked at the library with, because she gave a lot of connections.
[00:14:00] She helped advertise and in India I’d like to like thank my cousins who also helped me make the pens and pencils to help give out. And so there were a lot of people on my team who essentially helped a lot. And one of my friends she helped as well at one of the media literacy sessions and that, I guess that was another bonding point for us as well.
[00:14:21] Sheryl: What did you learn about the Gold Award process itself that might be helpful for other Future Gold Award Girl Scouts?
[00:14:28] Lakshanya: At the beginning, I’ve just heard about the Girl, A Girl Scout Gold Award. I just heard the Girl Scout Gold Award from like a bunch of different magazines, articles and my dad was often talking about it, so I really didn’t understand what it was.
[00:14:42] I had a, I had an idea because I finished the Silver Award, but that’s with a group of girls rather than just one. So throughout the process I really had to learn how to split up my time, balancing my schoolwork and this as well, and finding out what essentially will get, will hit the points hard instead of just doing random sessions.
[00:15:05] I wanted to focus on sessions that would help students rather than being all over the place. So I felt like. If you have a goal in mind, just keep at it and, and you will get to where you want. At the beginning, I wanted to make a website. I wanted to go international. I wanted to have inspiring stories for others to hear as well on media literacy.
[00:15:30] And at the end, I was able to complete all of it, which just goes to show if you have the resources and if you have the drive, you can complete. Anything in, in this world, essentially, and complete the gold award. And one of the most important things is not to be afraid to ask for help, essentially, because along the way I had a tremendous amount of help and I’m so grateful for it and all, all the people who helped me.
[00:15:57] We’re really passionate, we’re really helpful along the way, and I’d say just don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you have an idea, you should carry it out, fulfill your dreams so that you’re at the end, you’re, you’re happy, you’re satisfied, and you’ve made a great impact in this world.
[00:16:14] Sheryl: What other Girl Scout activities have you been involved in?
[00:16:18] Lakshanya: I’ve been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. My favorite activities would all always be the cookie selling. I would love to eat the samos and thin mints, and, and I also like to sell them too, not just eat them. We went and this is where I met some of my best friends when I moved to Pittsburgh.
[00:16:36] I essentially girl Scout was like the starting point with all my friends. So this is where I first met my new friends. And in my old school, this is where I met my friends over there as well. We would go camping, we would have we, I think we went ziplining once. And when I went here, we would do all different types of science experiments.
[00:16:56] We’d go to the science center and it was just a great bonding point and just great to see just how much a woman can do because in each session we would have, we would essentially talk about. The amazing things that a woman can do, what different fields there are, such as science, architecture, coding, and so much more, which, and essentially, girl Scouts just really opened my eyes to every, anything a girl can do.
[00:17:22] Sheryl: What are you looking towards in your future?
[00:17:24] Lakshanya: Just like adventure. Overall adventure is what I’m looking forward to in my future because throughout my Girl Scout journey, every single step was, was an adventure. I didn’t know what was gonna happen at the beginning, what was gonna happen at the end. I just enjoyed the process while I was here.
[00:17:40] I had so much fun working on the Girl Scout Gold Award and in the future I hope, I hope to become a doctor, and that in itself is an adventure and I wanna continue helping others. And as a woman in a science field, I want to empower others and I want to help others thrive, not just continue with on the adventure.
[00:18:01] I wanna help others, inspire others along the way as well.
[00:18:04] Sheryl: What else would you like to share with the audience?
[00:18:07] Lakshanya: I think one of my favorite quotes of all time is your braver than you believe. You’re stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. So always at the beginning it might seem really hard, which is I felt this year as its junior year, and I was working on this as well, at the beginning, I felt like, oh, this is so hard.
[00:18:29] How am I ever gonna be able to do this? But if you put a little bit of faith, a little bit of belief in yourself, you can sit, do anything you set your mind to, and you just have to believe in yourself. You have to be the voice that tells yourself even when others put you down, that you can do it, and that nothing else is going to stop you.
[00:18:49] That you are you, you are a girl scout.
[00:18:52] Sheryl: How do you make your s’mores?
[00:18:54] Lakshanya: I love to put like three giant marshmallows. And sandwiched them between like two two pieces of chocolate. And then I know you can make s’mores at home, but there’s this, this, there’s a certain, a nostalgia with s’mores because with my friends, we would often go camping and there would be this certain place and like this camping ground, we would, we would always make our s’mores.
[00:19:18] So that’s, I love eating s’mores in that area. And when, whenever we go back it just, it just brings back so many memories.
[00:19:25] Sheryl: Thanks for joining us today.
[00:19:26] Lakshanya: Thank you for having me.
[00:19:28] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe so you always know when new episodes are released. Power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:19:39] Walter: Thank you for listening. If you’d like to be on the show to share your story of how you earned your gold award, reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com. Be sure to catch up on our previous shows on any of your favorite podcasting platforms, as well as view the full video versions at youtube.com/SherylMrobinson.
[00:20:01] Thanks again for listening and we’ll see you next time.