Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada (GSSN) honored 132 girls at the All That Glitters Awards Ceremony, an annual recognition honoring Girl Scouts who earned the highest awards (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) in Girl Scouting, on May 6 at the Atlantis Casino Resort.
Only awarded to Girl Scouts who solve a community issue by implementing a long-term solution, the Gold Award is an achievement for high school girls in ninth to 12th grade. Skills developed through the Girl Scout program like critical thinking, problem solving, and conflict resolution are all necessary components for a successful Gold Award project. GSSN recognized five Gold awardees, one of whom is a local Carson City resident.
Holly Strasser, a senior at Carson High School and a senior Girl Scout, has a passion for bees and educating others about the importance of bees. After seeing research beekeepers across the United States lost 44 percent of their honey bee colonies from April 2015 to April 2016, Strasser knew she wanted to bring awareness to the issue through her Gold Award project, but more importantly inspire people to become their own beekeepers.
With a PowerPoint, pamphlets, and a detailed presentation, Strasser shared her knowledge to elementary schools, after-school clubs, and at local stores about the impact of bees on agriculture. Working with the Beekeepers Club of Carson City and harnessing local growers, Strasser created live exhibits to show bees in action during her presentations.
“Through this project, I can now not only provide plant and animal production knowledge to the people I’m assisting, but also share with them the role honeybees play in making their life-dependent venture successful,” said Strasser.
Holly also partnered with the local beekeeping store in Carson City to provide her community with resources to build their own bee hives so they could aid in bee survival. Thanks to her dedication, Strasser has helped revive bee growth in Nevada by creating bee enthusiasts of all ages.
Strasser will attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall, majoring in Animal Science with an emphasis in Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology. Her long-term goal is to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an overseas liaison for agriculturally deficient countries.
Girls who earn their Gold Award continue to have success after the completion of their project. Benefits include: earning college scholarships, creating a community legacy, establishing a lifetime network, and many more winning opportunities. Since 1916, girls have successfully answered the call to “Go Gold,” an act that indelibly marks them as accomplished members of their communities and the world.
“Our Gold Awardees are pursuing their passions and using their inspiring leadership skills. Girl Scouts continues to develop our next generation of leaders and change-makers,” said Pam Czyz, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada.
To learn more about Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada or All That Glitters event, go to GSSN.org or call 775-322-0642.