[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 Dorothy with us. Hi, Dorothy.
[00:00:16] Dorothy: Hi.
[00:00:17] Sheryl: Can you tell us about your Girl Scout gold award project?
[00:00:21] Dorothy: So my Girl Scout Gold Award project is called Bringing History Outside, and I’ve done my Silver Award and my Bronze Award.
[00:00:30] Oh, my Bronze and then my Silver Award. So, I was always wanting to do my Gold Award as a Girl Scout, and I’ve been in Girl Scouts all the way since I was a little daisy. So it’s something you sort of look up to. I’ve been a part of the Munster Junior Historical Society for a while, and that’s a group, a student group that kind of learns about the history of volunteers in the town, and I use that to kind of spark my inspiration for my project.
[00:00:57] So my project it started off as just seven signs, seven trail signs. And they’re located in Munster. We have a Munster History Museum. So around there, there’s this little trail. So I put seven signs, and each of the signs touch base on a different thing in Munster about its history. So my favorite one, personally, is about the woman in history.
[00:01:22] We highlight some of the past women and some of the current women. We have about the hospitals, the schools. So it’s a whole, like, plethora of different things. But then I always like to take on more and looking for challenges. So within that, um, I was working with the Munster Historical Society, which is like the older group, not the students, but the adults, to make sure everything was accurate and historically accurate to be on the signs.
[00:01:48] And while I was doing that, they were like, Hey, we have this packet, which I should have here. It’s a packet they have for Girl Scouts for things Girl Scouts in the area can do to learn about history and sort of patches that are already in Girl Scouts that you can make correlate into history. So they’re like, would you mind maybe updating this?
[00:02:09] And I was like, of course, I’ll update it. And so, while I was updating it, there’s a section in here that’s about Munster Girl Scout history. So it kind of goes through all the different Girl Scouts throughout Munster and things they have done. And there was this little girl, Julia Ann Raddy. And unfortunately she couldn’t, like, continue to be a Girl Scout because she passed away at the age of six because of kidney cancer.
[00:02:36] So I was like, I think we should like do something for her and her family because her her mom works at well used to work at the middle school. So, you know, she’s pretty well known around the town. So, I was, I decided to make a shadow box to honor her. I talked to her mother and I got her older sister’s vest and different photos to add in there.
[00:03:00] And it’s in, right now, it’s currently in the town hall, because they made a little shrine kind of thing for me. But it’s resting, it will be in the museum for people to see. And so then to sort of just wrap up my whole project to kind of get things going, I was like, well, maybe, like, there’s all the patches in here that correlate, you know, you could go to the History Museum and earn different patches, but how about we make a Munster History patch?
[00:03:32] So then that’s where this comes in, my Monster History patch. And this patch is specifically, you know, all about Monster History. So, you earn it by, we have like a cookbook with different monster recipes. You have to, a Girl Scout has to make a recipe from there. They have to take a tour of the Cascade. So there’s all these different requirements, which is in this packet.
[00:03:53] And so, to kind of get this out there and get it going, I had this event for Girl Scouts on August 12th. They all came out, and it kind of got them started with earning their patch, so they did a whole bunch of different activities. They did a dino dig, because Sue Hendrickson, the person who found that T Rex suit that’s in the Chicago Field Museum, she’s from Munster, so we did that.
[00:04:20] I had them go through my trail walk, they toured the Katsky House. And they made some crafts, so it was a fun time. And yeah, that’s kind of like the rundown of it.
[00:04:31] Sheryl: What was the biggest thing that surprised you while you were working on your Gold Award project?
[00:04:37] Dorothy: Just all the, like, support I’ve gotten throughout the project.
[00:04:41] Like, I was, like, starting to work on it, and then, obviously, I started during COVID, so then, like, once things started to amp up a little, I was like, Oh, no! So then I had, like, this long, like, break of, like, not doing, but then, The summer coming into my senior year, I was like, let’s do this. So, that’s when I got it done.
[00:04:59] But, like, when I was kind of like, okay, I’m gonna do this, like, everyone was like, okay, here we go. And so, the Historical Society, the Muncie Historical Society was just always, like, contacting me, making sure, like, if I need anything. And it was just so back and forth. So, they played, like, a big role in helping me.
[00:05:17] And, like, just, like, all my fellow Girl Scout friends, like, they all, like, came together to help me out. So, that was very nice.
[00:05:24] Sheryl: So you talked about your support. Can you dive a little bit more into who was on your team and how they helped you?
[00:05:30] Dorothy: My fellow Girl Scouts. So at the event, I kind of had these different groups to go around in different stations to do all the activities.
[00:05:38] And I was like, who better to lead these like little girls than older Girl Scouts that they can look up to as a role model. And at the end of the event, like they all were like, all about their leaders, you know, so that was really nice to have all of them, you know. Lead the way. So my friend Addison Zurovchik, Lauren Hoogveen, and Chloe Reynolds, they really helped.
[00:06:00] And Chloe actually, when I was putting up the signs, she helped install them. So that was really nice as well. And then my troop leaders, they both were there. One’s my mom. And then the other Miss Diane Hoogveen came to the event to help out. Just really nice. And then I had someone in the, who was in the Munster Junior Historical Society with me, came to help.
[00:06:21] And he helped lead the tours. And I had another friend of mine, he, Payton Reynolds, helped lead the tours as well. So that was really nice. But I think one of the main people that really, like, inspired, like, this whole thing was the leader of the Munster Junior Historical Society, Dr. Chiggy Wolf. She kind of was, like, The person who, like, inspired me to do this, because obviously if I didn’t like the Munster Junior Historical Society and the history, I wouldn’t have done my project on this.
[00:06:49] So she always finds a way to make, like, history fun and kind of, like, get us out there volunteering. I love volunteering and all this stuff. So she was, like, the main inspiration, and she’s actually on my Women in History sign, so I made sure to recognize her.
[00:07:05] Sheryl: How did you get involved with the Munster Junior Historical Society to start with?
[00:07:09] Dorothy: I think I started in 4th grade, 4th or 5th grade, and my friend, Taya, was in the group, and so I kind of saw her do it a little bit. I was like, oh, that’s really cool. But then, she went to school, like, Dr. Chicky Wolf would come to the schools and kind of, like, promote the historical society, so I was like, oh, like, maybe, like, Taya was talking about this, maybe I should, like, Join it.
[00:07:34] So then that’s kind of how I joined it. But also Dr. Tricky Wolf also made this like doc 200 award Which is you have to do 200 acts of kindness. And you like record it. There’s like different sections There’s like patriotism integrity service And so there’s these different like categories and you have to do kindness like And so I learned about that and that even inspired me more to join the group and like do the doc 200.
[00:08:04] So I was one of I was part of one of the first groups to get the award. So that was really nice. And so I guess like the group kind of matched with my like what I like, like I love volunteering. And then I also wanted to learn more about the community. So it was really nice.
[00:08:20] Sheryl: What was your biggest challenge during your project and how did you overcome it?
[00:08:24] Dorothy: I think because I started during COVID. Yeah. It sort of like, like I was like, okay, I have all this time, like I can like get it done. But then once things started to amp back up, I was like, I’m involved in so many other things. Of course I’m a part of my school newspaper, The Crier. I was on the dance team.
[00:08:46] For my school, which was really time consuming, I’m in all these different clubs, Best Buddies and all this. So, you know, things start to amp back up, obviously, and like high school, you know, it’s a lot. I like cleared out a summer and I was like, this is the summer I’m gonna get it done. It was nice because it was before like my senior year, so it was like a good start.
[00:09:08] Sheryl: We’ve talked to lots of Girl Scouts on this show, who started their projects pre COVID and had to pivot because of COVID from In person events into online events. It sounds like your project actually did the opposite where you started in COVID and likely planned this more with the signs and such individual type project then you were able to pivot into doing some presentations.
[00:09:34] Can you give some, some insight into that and how that impacted you?
[00:09:38] Dorothy: Yeah. So like the project itself, you know, like signs outside the. Caskey House bringing history outside was obviously also inspired by the fact that you can’t always go inside the Caskey House, like, especially during COVID times, it wasn’t open as much and it isn’t just always open because obviously there’s a lot of historical treasures in there and valuable items.
[00:10:02] So, this way, like, these signs. are like a thing like people could come out like whenever to learn about history. So COVID kind of helped with that. And then once the guidelines like kind of got down, I was able to even do more with the event. So it kind of like, I’m not saying like, yay COVID, but like, it kind of like inspired me, you know, I was able to.
[00:10:25] Have an idea and then like it kind of grew into something more once the restrictions got down. So that was really nice
[00:10:32] Sheryl: What did you learn about the gold award process itself that could be helpful to future gold award Girl Scouts for the gold award?
[00:10:39] Dorothy: There’s this like website that you go on and you have to record everything and so I kind of learned to kind of like be organized and like stay on top of that because you have to record like Every little thing you do is that I would keep this notebook And write down like different things that I did to make sure I remember and all that.
[00:10:57] And just like keeping track of time and everything you do is really important because you know like if you write something down you may like forget it later. And so just making sure you’re like super organized I guess is what I’ve learned.
[00:11:11] Sheryl: How did the Gold Award change you as a person?
[00:11:14] Dorothy: I think the Gold Award has helped me be more of a leader.
[00:11:18] You know I’ve had to talk with so many people so just like communicating. And, you know, kind of like stepping up and being like, Hey, you know, what’s going on with this? So, cause I was like coordinating everything, like this is my project. So, you know, I really had to like step up and talk to a whole bunch of people, you know, around the community, learn more.
[00:11:38] So it was really nice. Also, I was able to learn more about my community, which was really nice and meet new people. And so, and at my event, and I ran like all by myself, like, along with Hope with others, but you know, like, I planned it, it was like, you know, okay, I’m leading this, and that was like my favorite part of the whole project, was the event, because the little girl scouts were there, obviously, so that was really nice, but I guess just being a leader, and like, I think I’ve gotten, like, more confident, you know?
[00:12:08] With like my other things, like now I lead my, along with the editor in chief, like I’m the deadline manager, and we’re like the top two in our school newspaper. So, you know, like that confidence has helped me, you know, lead in other places.
[00:12:20] Sheryl: You’ve mentioned all the different activities you’re involved in.
[00:12:23] How do you balance all of them with working on your Gold Award project?
[00:12:29] Dorothy: It was sometimes difficult at times, I will admit, but I always just Just make sure, like my mom keeps this calendar and it’s like, always like filling out things. So I just make sure like on a weekend, you know, I have to, you know, plan out time to do the Golden Word.
[00:12:47] Cause you know, it’s not always like you have these Golden Word meetings that are set, you know, it’s kind of like a self disciplined thing. Like I’m going to do this. So, you know, I would always like write it down, like, this is the day I’m doing this. And then once I started doing it, like, making the signs, I would get, like, so into doing it that I didn’t even have to force myself anymore.
[00:13:06] I was like, I’m going to get this done because, like, making the signs and stuff was, like, really fun. Because it kind of reminded me, because I’m on the newspaper, it reminded me of, like, building a newspaper page so that I would, like, think of it like that and be like, okay, this is so fun. Once I got into, like, actually doing the project, like, I didn’t want to stop doing it.
[00:13:23] It was like, okay, here we go. So, yeah.
[00:13:26] Sheryl: What other Girl Scout experiences have you had?
[00:13:28] Dorothy: Girl Scouts has given me so many more opportunities than anything because I’ve done it, like, my whole life, like, since I was a little, little kid. Outside of just, like, experiences, like, I’ve made this whole, like, friend group of girls that, you know, we kind of, like, like, we’re not always, like, we’re not in the same, like, friend group at school, you know, but it’s, like, you see them in the hallway and it’s, like, You know, but we’ve done so much together.
[00:13:53] We’ve like done, we go to Camp Tecumseh. We do that. We we do, we’ve done overnights like at Chicago. We’re actually planning one in Carmel, Indiana this year. This year is kind of like since their senior year. We’re doing a whole bunch. We’ve been to the Kris Kindle Market. We’ve meet individually. I went to London with Girl Scouts, London, England.
[00:14:15] I. Like, you have to, like, fill out this thing, and then, like, you get chosen. And through that, I made these two friends, Paige and Catherine, which I still talk to today. So, you know, throughout these whole things, like, there’s all these things you could do, but, like, I think the main thing is that you, like, make a whole bunch of friends, and it’s really fun.
[00:14:34] Sheryl: Can you tell us a little bit more about that London experience?
[00:14:37] Dorothy: I went to London, I think it was, like, four years ago, about four years ago. And so, basically, it was, like, a group of, like, 10, 13 girls. And we like planned that whole trip. So like we would do it was over zoom calls because it was still during that time.
[00:14:55] So we would like go on zoom and be like, okay, today we’re talking about like, we’d have to look up hotels. So then we would like find different hotels and we ended up staying at It was like the Girl Guides.
[00:15:07] Sheryl: Pax Lodge.
[00:15:09] Dorothy: Yeah, Pax Lodge, that’s right. So we ended up staying there, which is really nice.
[00:15:13] Like, we planned, like, everything we wanted to do. I know one of the main things was the Harry Potter, the Universal place. So we went there. We wanted to see like, Big Ben. I think, actually, we saw Big Ben, but it was under construction at the time, which is really sad. But we did see it. We went on the the big, like, Ferris wheel.
[00:15:34] So we kind of planned like everything we wanted to do, which was fun. Like we learned like, like planning everything and we had that freedom and it was really nice.
[00:15:44] Sheryl: How did that build your confidence and travel?
[00:15:46] Dorothy: Well, that was my first time out of the country. And it was also like my first time, like not traveling with like an adult, you know, like that I like personally knew.
[00:15:56] So it was like a big like step, you know. But I was with, like, throughout the trip, like, we had two or three chaperones, parents, and like, I got to like, like, I still, one of them, Paige’s mom, you know, I got like really close with her. So it was kind of like, it was like, she was like my mom on the trip, basically.
[00:16:14] It was really a nice experience. And each day, we had like, leadership, like each day, we were different leaders. So then like, I would lead a day and be like, Hey, we’re gotta stay on schedule, you know what I mean? So we had different leadership opportunities in that way. But it was really like independence and all that, you know, cause it was my first time out of the country, let alone without someone I knew there.
[00:16:39] So it was nice. What are you planning for your future? Well, I want to go to college for sports journalism because I love writing and, you know, newspaper. But I also want to make sure I stay involved with Girl Scouts. When I go down to college. I want to maybe like find a troop or like find like ways, you know, to work with younger girls and just volunteering in general, you know, it’s like a big thing.
[00:17:06] So finding ways to volunteer and all that, but I do want to go for sports journalism and I want to make sure I find ways to like stay involved with things. I’m still passionate about like dance. I’m still dance. So I want to like join like a dance group down there. So, you know, making sure I stay involved with the things I love the most.
[00:17:25] Sheryl: What else would you like to share with the audience?
[00:17:28] Dorothy: You know, for younger girls out there, Girl Scouts has made like a big impact on my life. And I was able to do so many things, meet so many great people. And so, you know, kind of as you get older, sometimes like, especially in that middle school phase, it’s like, Oh, I’m too cool for Girl Scouts.
[00:17:44] But like, that is never like the case, because you get to learn so, so many new things. And it’s really nice opportunity. So just to like, stay with it. And you’ll really, like, appreciate it in the long run.
[00:17:59] Sheryl: How do you make your s’mores?
[00:18:01] Dorothy: I personally am not a big person that, like, camps, like, in a tent. So, I, like, like to just, like, when I’m at home and I’m really craving a s’more, I’ll just go out.
[00:18:13] Like the graham crackers, the Hershey, and the marshmallow. Sometimes I’ll put it over the stove. Sometimes I’ll put in the microwave, but you know, the best s’mores are obviously outside at the campfire, so I need to get out there more and, you know, do that, but I think we plan to go to Camp Tecumseh this year, so I hope to have a genuinely over the fire s’more this year.
[00:18:35] Sheryl: Thanks for joining us today.
[00:18:37] Dorothy: Thank you.
[00:18:39] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe. So you always know when new episodes are released, power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:18:49] 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.
[00:18:59] 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. Thanks again for listening, and we’ll see you next time.