[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 productions.
[00:00:14] Sheryl: Welcome to hearts of gold today we have Katie with us. Hi Katie.
[00:00:19] Katie: Hi!
[00:00:19] Sheryl: Can you tell us about your girl scout gold award project?
[00:00:23] Katie: I started my gold award project around sophomore, junior year of high school. My previous projects for my bronze and silver had both been science-based. So I knew that’s kind of where I wanted to go.
[00:00:35] And I had a couple ideas that I ended up landing on composting, just cause we were talking about it in school. And that sounded super interesting to me. And so I went to my AP environmental science teacher, Dr. Pollock, actually, and I was like, I want to do something, but I have no idea where to start like.
[00:00:55] Where maybe two months into this class. Like, can we talk about it? And he was like, yeah, absolutely. Like I was, you know, I have a PhD in geology, like absolutely. And I was like, okay, so we got to talking and he was like a really big issue. Especially in our community is yeah, sure. We have recycling actually,
[00:01:12] we have garbage, but let’s, you know, hone in on composting. A lot of people aren’t able to do that in their own homes and don’t have the time to, and so we kind of divvied up a plan togehter and said, okay, how can we make this environmentally friendly? How can we recycle things and make this super easy for people?
[00:01:31] And so the entire idea was pretty much taking any type of recycled bin that you had at home. Say like an old laundry basket or an old container that she used to store blankets in anything. And we would drill some holes. And then use a couple of different layers, including soil, organic material you know, old vegetables, fruits, that kind of stuff.
[00:01:55] Just as a starter with some water and having people make those and then learning about how to use them as a compost. So we actually ended up going around to a couple summer camps. We did some with some girl scout troops in my local community. I did them with like some classes and it turned out to be a super fun activity.
[00:02:13] Just cause it was so hands-on and people were able to bring stuff from home. So it was a lot more personalized.
[00:02:18] Sheryl: Can you give us a quick synopsis of those guides, those seven steps?
[00:02:22] Katie: So we would start with like gathering our materials. So say you have your bin. Normally a lot of people would bring in those old like storage bins you buy at Walmart.
[00:02:32] So we take those, we would drill holes in them, or we would ask most of the time kids to have it like pre done with a parent, just taking a knife and putting some holes in the bottom of it. From there, the orders necessarily matter just because we would mix it all up, but we would use just some soil without any fertilizer.
[00:02:51] I don’t want to use chemicals inside of a compost. We went to take like some sticks or leaves, some like Browns that we would call them. And then we would take some greens. So your greens will be like your leftover apple core or your banana peel or any type of organic material like that. And then we would take some water and we would mix that together.
[00:03:12] And then from there we would just talk about like, what to do from here. What are the no-nos like, don’t put meat in it, don’t put like any type of dairy products, that kind of stuff. So, yeah. And I had a YouTube video where we kind of listed out like all of the seven steps in a little more detail.
[00:03:27] Sheryl: Super interesting. What kind of feedback did you get from your community?
[00:03:31] Katie: At first we definitely had a little bit of a learning curve just because, especially with the younger kids, they weren’t, I mean, it’s a very scientific process trying to, you know, explain what’s going on inside of it. So some parents have been like, Hey, maybe you want to try using, you know, the words, brown and green instead of nitrates and carbon, like that kind of stuff.
[00:03:51] So we adjusted some of our wording to that based on the different groups that we worked with and who was on your team? I had Dr. Gerald Pollack. I had an old friend who was a photographer in my community at the time. Sarah Coyne. So she would come to our events and take pictures and work you know, posting on my social media.
[00:04:10] I had Amy Barton who was helping me keep track of everything pretty much. And then I had Haley Broyles who was doing a lot of logistics and things for me. So she’s helping me contact people mixed kind of find stuff around there.
[00:04:24] Sheryl: What did you learn about yourself during the project?
[00:04:28] Katie: I had always been a camp counselor.
[00:04:30] And so I was like, oh, like, kids are easy. This is going to be simple. And it actually came up when I started to get to kids my age, because. It’s hard to make people care about something that you care about. So passionately when they’re seeing it for the first time and you know, that you’ve put in all the work and all this time and effort.
[00:04:46] And so it can get almost frustrating when you’re like, oh, like they’re not understanding it. And so taking that patience to sit down and say, what can I do differently? How can I adjust my material? Or, you know, how can I make this more engaging for this age group?
[00:05:01] Sheryl: What’s a favorite memory from your project?
[00:05:03] Katie: We went to this swim team and a neighborhood near by and this little girl came up to me with her box and she was like, I don’t want to get my hands dirty. Like, could you help me mix this? And I’m sitting there with a shovel, like mixing the box while she’s clapping. And somebody had caught a picture of it.
[00:05:23] It was probably one of my favorite things. Cause she was so excited, but she like, I don’t wanna put my hands in it.
[00:05:28] Sheryl: What was your biggest challenge during your project and how did you overcome?
[00:05:32] Katie: I was finishing up the project during college application season. And so the time management between trying to get all of those in and trying to submit all of my final paperwork and make the adjustments was definitely one of the hardest parts.
[00:05:46] Sheryl: While you were finishing up your gold award, you also were working on another big life event. Can you tell us about that other big life?
[00:05:54] Katie: I was working towards my bat mitzvah at the time and the timelines line were almost exactly the same where I had started the previous winter. And so I was going through every week.
[00:06:08] I would have like a meeting with my team, from my gold award. And then an hour later I was meeting with my Hebrew tutor to work on that. And then as the date got closer and it came time to like send invitations and start like making sure all of our things were arranged. I was sending in gold award papers, sending in a college application and then trying to find a venue to have dinner.
[00:06:29] And so it was definitely a very hectic time, but it was super exciting and a lot of things are coming together at the same time.
[00:06:35] Sheryl: What other girl scout experiences have you had?
[00:06:37] Katie: Obviously with my troop, we have been together. We went all the way from kindergarten through 12th grade. And miss Jennifer was my troop leader.
[00:06:44] I absolutely give her credit to the woman I am today. I love her so much. And also I went to girl scout camp. I went to, you know, Jimburie’s like, or Camporee, sorry. You know, we did the whole daddy daughter camping. I went to pine acres for a year just before it closed. And then I also did camp four winds
[00:07:03] so, which is a local day camp. And so I did camp four winds probably from first grade all the way through 12th grade, where I was interning for the last two years for them.
[00:07:13] What’s your camp name and why?
[00:07:15] Koala. The only reason it’s koala is because my best friend, Jacqueline, her camp name was Coco. And for the longest time she was Coco and I was Coco with a K until somebody decided that was way too confusing. And then I needed to pick a new one. So that’s how koala came about. Cause it also started with a k.
[00:07:37] Sheryl: You’re in college now. Can you tell us about what you’re doing in college and what your future plans are?
[00:07:42] Katie: I’m currently at the university of Georgia studying environmental engineering with a minor in geology. I’m a freshman this year and I’ll be a sophomore next year. I’m hoping to go into like mining engineering. Obviously I’m still new to the degree. So I’m kind of like working out where I want to be. But I can definitely see myself in a consulting position in the future.
[00:08:04] So fingers crossed that all works out. But yeah, I’m definitely just learning a lot right now, trying to get my bearings and really excited for the next semester.
[00:08:12] Sheryl: Any tips for girls on navigating that conversion from high school into college scholarship tips, just community tips? Anything, choosing a college, any insight?
[00:08:23] Katie: I had so many people tell me that I could go out of state.
[00:08:27] I could go to these other colleges, big colleges. And I really just found being at the university of Georgia. I’m an hour and a half away from home. So I go home, you know, maybe once a month. See my parents, I’m still able to have connections with people, but I am on my own. And I am at a big university where I wanted to be.
[00:08:45] And I’m able to save a lot of money that I can put towards a master’s degree. And then hopefully, you know, go traveling and do all these other really cool experiences because I decided to stay closer to home. The other thing is, especially the scholarships use your gold f or any, and every scholarship you can think of, there is not just, you know, the girl scout, gold award scholarships.
[00:09:07] I must have applied to 10 scholarships just with my gold award project. It opened so many doors for you and it allows you to do so much more because you put all that time and effort in, like, why not use it to further your education?
[00:09:24] Sheryl: Is there anything you haven’t shared with the audience that you’d like to share?
[00:09:27] Katie: Just don’t give up.
[00:09:29] I had a very Rocky gold award experience. It was a super hectic time with COVID and I would have absolutely regretted if I hadn’t done it. I think it is an amazing project. It will teach you so much about yourself and about communication and networking skills. So. You’re going to feel bogged down by it.
[00:09:51] But if you take it step by step and you follow the rubric and you get through it, it’s going to be better on the other side.
[00:09:58] Sheryl: How do you make your smores?
[00:09:59] Katie: I traditionally make my smores by handing my marshmallow to my best friend, Courtney letting her burn it to a crisp and then putting it on my graham cracker with my chocolate.
[00:10:12] Sheryl: Well, thanks for joining us.
[00:10:14] Katie: Thank you so much.
[00:10:15] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow a subscribe. So you always know when new episodes are released. And don’t forget to power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:10:28] Walter: The hearts of gold podcast is brought to you by the grow and share network produced by off the Walter media productions.
[00:10:35] Thank you for listening and spreading the word on what we do. If you want to share your story of how you earned your. Reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com.
[00:10:46] 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.