2025 Gold Award Girl Scout: Malana Mentier

Project: Guide to Adulthood

For many young adults in foster care, turning 18 can be a scary experience as they age out of the system and are expected to live independently.

Malana wanted her Gold Award project to help foster care teenagers enjoy a smoother transition out of foster care by providing tips and directions on basic adulting.

Adulting can be hard

She created a series of eight videos focusing on certain life skills including personal hygiene, healthy relationships, cleaning up around the house, fueling vs. filling meals, planning for the grocery store, preparing food, and laundry 101. She worked closely with Children’s Center of Wayne County when deciding on video topics.

“I developed this series to give adolescents the opportunity to gain experience critical life skills required for success,” she said. For example, in her cooking video, Malana went grocery shopping with a $50 budget and a recipe for a healthy meal.

“The center had a project like this on their wish list for a while, and they plan to use the videos and recommend them to other agencies,” she said. “I hope the information will help foster kids excel in their transition to adulthood and independence.”

Gold lessons

Due to health issues and getting ready to go away to college, Malana was a bit behind on her Gold Award timeline. She used time management skills and blocked out a schedule that allowed her to finish all presentations and videos before she moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan.