Congratulations, Audrey, on earning your Gold Award! GSSEM is proud of you and your dedication to making a positive impact on your community and beyond.
Project: Rochester Wall of Honor
Audrey created an Honor Wall at Rochester High School (RHS), displaying the names of alumni and staff who served in various military branches, as well as their graduation year or years they worked for RHS.
“My goal was to connect RHS alumni and the school’s history to current and future students,” she said.
She and her team combed thought historical documents, beginning with old yearbooks from the early 1940s to collect names of graduates who served in World War II. Then they decided to go back even further, using newspaper articles, gradebooks, and more, find some names dating back to 1913.
RHS alumni Senator Gary Peters, a U.S. Navy Reservist and his father, Herb Peters, U.S Army veteran are on the list. Senator Peters was at the opening reception of the living wall, held appropriately on Veteran’s Day.
Hall of History
It wasn’t long before Audrey had an impressive list of veterans—nearly 500 names—from all the armed forces and needed to start thinking of the next step … how to display their names.
She collaborated with the school administration and others to design an appropriate way to honor RCS service man and women. Audrey decided on five large display panels with room for more names.
She then began the process of raising $4,000 for the panel through cookie sales, donations, can drives and other fundraisers. She raised enough money to fund future nameplates.
“I created a space where students feel inspired but also connected to Rochester high schools’ community along with a space where alumni can feel connected to their old school and see the difference they made,” she said.
History lessons
“I selected this project because I know that remembering your history is very important and that one of my schools’ mottos is ‘Tradition,’” Audrey said. “I created a project that highlights my schools deep and important history along with how alumni from my school changed the city we live in today.”
Learn more!
Audrey plans to major in biochemistry after graduation. As a result of her Gold Award project, she is also considering entering the military as a potential career direction.
Audrey chats about her Gold Award project on GSSEM’s YouTube channel.
Find out more about Girl Scout Highest Awards on our website at www.gssem.org/highestawards.
