Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan honors Larissa Dougherty with the most prestigious award in the world for girls: the Girl Scout Gold Award. Larissa, of Garden City, is among 14 young women who have taken the initiative to bettering their communities through sustainable community change projects. The time and commitment they’ve dedicated towards these projects prove they’re true leaders and exceptional examples for all girls to look up to.

The Gold Award is Girl Scout’s highest honor and is presented to Girl Scouts who address a community issue or problem they are passionate about. They’re required to spend at least 80 hours investigating the problem, creating a plan and implementing it.

For her Gold Award project, Larissa took action to reduce the risk of students being injured or killed when walking or riding the bus to school during the pre-dawn mornings. After noticing the risk of her way to school, Larissa came up with a plan. She collaborated with leaders around the community to organize a school-wide distribution of blinking, safety lights to students at Garden City Middle School. To raise awareness of the dangers of the roadway, Larissa talked to community groups, designed flyers, hung posters, created a website and a video. The result was a reduced risk of students being involved in school-zone accidents and a greater understanding of road safety.

“Through focus and hard work, I accomplished her goals and made a difference in my community.”