In 2017, one Becker high schooler — Morgan Meyer — was awarded the Girl Scouts Gold Award for her service project and in 2018, another student — Jalissa Johnson — earned her Gold Award for her venture.

The Gold Award is awarded to fewer than 6% of Girl Scouts annually. Each Gold Award Girl Scout spends one-to–two years on her project. Approximately one million Girl Scouts have earned the Gold Award or its equivalent since 1916.

Meyer’s service project was entitled, “Step-by-Step, Recognizing Cystic Fibrosis”. She completed the project in June of last year and through her efforts, she vastly increased the awareness of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in the Becker community. 

Meyer has been involved with Girl Scouts since she was six years old and says that the organization has helped her develop tremendous leadership, ambition, and drive as well as increased public speaking and networking skills. Morgan plans to attend University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in the fall to study organizational communication and sociology, and she credits most of her success as a Girl Scout to her mom Sherry and her Service Unit leader, Gene Schmidt.

Johnson earned her Gold Award by creating a system to increase farming education for the youth in her community through her project, “Growing Farm Knowledge.”

She completed her project last fall and set out to address the increasing problem among the youth in her area of a lack of knowledge on how farms operate and where exactly their food comes from. 

Johnson installed a quiz board and a short informational movie on the basics of farming which is currently on display at the Sherburne History Center, with plans to move the display next door into the Farm Friends Barn once the building is completed. Jalissa also helped lead multiple educational day camps and field trips, so the youth in her community could have a first-hand educational experience. 

Jalissa has been a part of Girl Scouts since she was in kindergarten, and she credits the Girl Scouts organization with helping her come into her own as a leader, allowing her to come out of her shell, as well as increasing her time management and organizational skills. In the fall, Johnson plans to attend The University of Minnesota – Morris to study Biology on a Pre-Veterinary track. 

Through growing up on a dairy farm, farming had always been important to Jalissa, and she’s glad that her project allowed her to “see younger girls learn about something that is so important to me.”

Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts is open to all girls in kindergarten through Grade 12. To join, volunteer, or donate to Girl Scouts, call 320 252-2952 or 800 955-6032 or visit girlscoutslp.org.