Walter: [00:00:00] The hearts of gold podcast is brought to you by the grow and shared network produced by off the Walter media productions.
[00:00:13] Sheryl: [00:00:13] Welcome to hearts of gold. Today, we have Katryna with us. Hi Katryna.
[00:00:20]Katryna: [00:00:20] Hello.
[00:00:20] Sheryl: [00:00:20] Can you tell us about your girl scout gold award project?
[00:00:24] Katryna: [00:00:24] Yes. So, hi, I’m Katryna Dionisio. For my gold award project, I built a music wall for kids with special needs. It addresses the global issue of inclusion for people with special needs, especially when it comes to physical activities and social interaction.
[00:00:40]And so my project allows them to have the same recreational act opportunities to have during the recesses and lunch times.
[00:00:49] Sheryl: [00:00:49] What inspired your project?
[00:00:50] Katryna: [00:00:50] So I have always been involved in service in one way or another. So my passions for service, working with children and learning more about kids with special needs and the lack of inclusion, tying them all together was really what sparked this interest.
[00:01:05] And allowed me to take action. So my knowledge of programs and classes were limited. And I went to a private Catholic school all my life, and I never was exposed to separate classes within my school and my school never had separate classes for kids with special needs. And so one day I was volunteering at a public elementary school.
[00:01:26]And I was introduced to these classes and it really made me think about other programs and classes that existed for these groups of people. And then when I started thinking about my gold award project, I thought about what group of people within my community needed the most attention. And when I was introduced to my advisor, miss Alarcon, I asked her what she thought her class needed most.
[00:01:47] And that’s when I, we came up with the idea of a music wall so that her kids with special needs could have the same opportunities through musical expression as the other kids add to Wildrose elementary.
[00:01:59] Sheryl: [00:01:59] So for someone who isn’t familiar with the music wall can you describe what your music wall looks like?
[00:02:05] Katryna: [00:02:05] There’s six plaques it’s pretty tall, but not too tall that the kids can’t find it with it. Of course. It has old pots and pans. It has sand buckets. It has some xylophones. And I also gave them some drumsticks to play with. And I also put musical instrument notes of songs that they’re used to. So like Mary had a little lamb twinkle, twinkle, little star, so stuff like that, too.
[00:02:30]We, I really wanted to reuse items that people have and are willing to donate in their homes to make it easy for everyone to get involved in their own way.
[00:02:41] Sheryl: [00:02:41] You made a couple of videos to go along with your project. Can you tell us about the making of the videos?
[00:02:47] Katryna: [00:02:47] I wanted to remember all of this and make a video of it.
[00:02:51] My process and it was very long because of COVID and everything. So the videos are just me and my team working. And then of course, some pictures of the pictures of the final project, and then also for my advisor and the school itself to know how to. Keep up the project and make sure that it’s continues to stay safe for the kids.
[00:03:15] Sheryl: [00:03:15] What was your biggest challenge during your project and how did you overcome it?
[00:03:19] Katryna: [00:03:19] I know this doesn’t come as a surprise, but it is the COVID restrictions. It was really hard setting up meeting times with my team due to COVID restrictions which pushed back my timeline a lot. And I actually had to file for extensions.
[00:03:35]And I made sure I planned each team working days accordingly so that we were able to do everything safely limiting the contact between my team members. So pers for me personally, the COVID restrictions were my biggest challenge.
[00:03:48] Sheryl: [00:03:48] What’s your favorite memory from your project?
[00:03:50] Katryna: [00:03:50] Picking out how the project is really going to look, what is my favorite part?
[00:03:55] And then painting with my team. I was able, my team consisted of like family members, my cousins some friends. So seeing them during COVID to do something so great for these kids was my favorite part.
[00:04:07] Sheryl: [00:04:07] What did you learn about yourself during your project?
[00:04:10] Katryna: [00:04:10] I’m capable of anything that I set my mind to, as long as I have a passion for it.
[00:04:17] And I learned that. Even COVID can’t stop me from doing anything that I really set my mind to.
[00:04:24] Sheryl: [00:04:24] Do you have advice for younger girls that are considering their gold award?
[00:04:28] Katryna: [00:04:28] So it is a long process. So just know that, but it’s definitely worth it. The planning and getting everything started and finishing on time I advise.
[00:04:37] Any other girl Scouts, thinking of pursuing their gold award project to make an organized, well thought out plan and do something you enjoy. And you’re actually excited about making a music wall for a community that I felt so strongly to advocate for. Made my project enjoyable and gave it a purpose.
[00:04:54] The outcome made all the proposals, the final reports and interviews all worth it.
[00:04:59] Sheryl: [00:04:59] What other girl scout experiences do you have?
[00:05:02] Katryna: [00:05:02] Girl Scouts since second grade. So, since I was a brownie. And I remember always, I, my favorite things to do were I’m not sure what they’re called, but it’s collecting food in front of like the grocery stores with my troop for the food pantry and also like making sandwiches and then something that I also really loved for our bronze award.
[00:05:27] We were able to do that as a troop and we went to a place called the women’s club. Where a community where homeless women can come together to relax and get any groceries that they needed. And so spending the day with them was really nice. And I remember this one lady, she made me a matching bracelet.
[00:05:47] I’ll never forget it. I may not have it with me because of the years. I don’t remember. It was a long, long time ago, but I will always remember that. And then also my silver award, I actually also worked with kids. We made arts and crafts, so it’s kind of similar to what I’m doing now. It’s just on my own and for a different cause.
[00:06:05] So yeah, I have a lot of great memories for ed during my girl scout years.
[00:06:10] Sheryl: [00:06:10] Thinking back on your bronze and silver projects, what did you learn during those projects that you were able to use during your gold award project?
[00:06:17] Katryna: [00:06:17] So it’s a little different from my gold award project, because like I said before, my blonde and silver, I was able to work with a team.
[00:06:25]And for my gold award, it was on my own, but I had to form my team on by myself. And so my silver and bronze award really prepared me to work with other people. And. You can have some problems and hiccups during the process, but you know, the whole outcome of everything makes it all worth it. It’s not going to be easy and learning how to communicate with other people.
[00:06:50] If even if you have different ideas or anything like that, it’s all worth it. And it really teaches you how to being on your own, but also working with other people.
[00:07:02] Sheryl: [00:07:02] What are your future plans?
[00:07:03] Katryna: [00:07:03] I just recently graduated from LaSalle high school. And I will be attending university, the university of San Francisco in the fall.
[00:07:12]And I am going to pursue the major of kinesiology to hopefully potentially become an occupational therapist for kids with special needs. During my high school senior year, I took a sports med class. And I wasn’t really sure about what I wanted to do. Did I want to be a physical therapist or anything?
[00:07:33] And there was one class where we learned about the different careers I can go into with a kinesiology major. And I love working with kids. I love working with people in general. And so kids in special needs is something that I’m really passionate about. And so hopefully that could be my future.
[00:07:52] And if not, I’m also going into design adding a minor at university of San Francisco for graphic design. And so hopefully I can still work with people if I go into that career choice.
[00:08:04] Sheryl: [00:08:04] Is there anything else you’d like to share with our audience?
[00:08:07] Katryna: [00:08:07] I wanted to, I also think everyone that helped me, although there were some challenges with COVID-19.
[00:08:13] I also had a lot of help. So the wild rose community they were really good at communicating with me and were always appreciative of what I was doing for them and believed in my project, which was really helpful. So miss Alarcon, my advisor, she was really helpful. Ms. Ramos, the principal. My aunt Christina Dinetia.
[00:08:32] She actually connected me with my advisor. Thomas, the office administration and administrator. He helped me get everything approved by the city. My uncle, his name is Michael Lopez. He helped me sort out the logistics to make sure that my project was as safe as possible for the kids. My sister, Angela Philip, Ethan and everyone else.
[00:08:55] That helps me achieve this award, whether it was physically through donations or any kind, or even simply spreading the word, it was a really big help having the support system that I did. So I wouldn’t be able to do without them.
[00:09:08] Sheryl: [00:09:08] Our families and our teams are so important to our projects.
[00:09:11] Katryna: [00:09:11] Yes.
[00:09:12] Sheryl: [00:09:12] How do you make your smores?
[00:09:14] Katryna: [00:09:14] Okay, so I recently just got into smores. I’m not gonna lie. I’m not, I wasn’t the biggest fan. So whenever we had camping trips, I would always make them for my cousins or my family. But I mean, I like to, I just recently got into them. But I just do it the normal way. I like it. Bonds not to burn, but also I’m not a big fan of marshmallows.
[00:09:38] So toasting it really well. What is a key for my smores yeah.
[00:09:43] Sheryl: [00:09:43] Thanks for joining us today.
[00:09:44] Katryna: [00:09:44] Thank you so much for having me.
[00:09:46] Sheryl: [00:09:46] Make sure the click follow or subscribe. So you always know when new episodes are released. And don’t forget to power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:09:59] Walter: [00:09:59] The hearts of gold podcast is brought to you by the grow and shared network produced by off the Walter media productions.
[00:10:05] Thank you for listening and spreading the word on what we do. If you want to share your story of how you earned your gold award, reach out and send an email to grow and share. At outlook.com. Be sure to listen to the newest episodes on your favorite podcast app, as well as view the full video episodes on youtube.com/SherylMrobinson. That’s youtube.com/Sheryl, the letter M, Robinson. Take care, and we’ll see you next time.
