Introducing our newest GSNYPENN honor –
the Change Maker
Award! Change Makers are girls who’ve accomplished the incredible
feat of earning all of Girl Scouting’s highest awards: Bronze, Silver
& Gold!
We’re excited to honor our inaugural group
of Change Makers at this year’s Gold Award Girl Scout Celebration on
November 19, 2022.

Celebrating Our Gold Award Girl Scouts
Our annual event is a special time to recognize our Gold Award Girl
Scouts, for girls to reflect on their projects, and for families to
acknowledge the hard work and dedication it takes to earn one of Girl
Scouting’s highest and most prestigious awards for Seniors and
Amabassadors.

Class of 2021: Earned During 2020-21 Member Year

Scholarship Recipients
This year, Alexia Michitti of Vestal, N.Y., was
awarded an inaugural Girl Scouts of the USA Gold Award
Scholarship for the project Becoming Your Best Self—13PosiTV:).
The scholarship recognizes one outstanding Girl Scout per council
whose Gold Award project exemplifies the award’s core standards.
Alexia was granted $2,060 thanks to sponsorship from Arconic
Foundation and Kappa Delta Foundation. (Read about Alexia’s project in
the bios below.)
Three other Girl Scouts were selected
for GSNYPENN Council Scholarships because their projects also
demonstrated highest levels of the award’s core standards. Thanks to
generous donors, a total of $3,300 was awarded in memory of special
GSNYPENN Girl Scout sisters lost in 2019. (Read about each Girl
Scout’s project in the bios below.)
- The Marie Hepworth Scholarship (in the amount of $1,500) was presented to Alex Shaffer of Cortland, N.Y., for the project Purple Pantry. Ms. Hepworth dedicated her life to supporting girl development through her 20-plus years serving as executive director of GSNYPENN legacy council Indian Hills and various volunteer activities in her community of Johnson City.
- The Kelly Perkins Scholarship (in the amount of $1,000) was presented to Kynzee Sethi of Binghamton, N.Y., for the project The Pandemic Records. Ms. Perkins, a lifelong Girl Scout and GSNYPENN summer camp staff member, impacted the lives of campers and younger Girl Scouts in her community of Newark Valley.
- The Kerrie Black Scholarship (in the amount of $800) was presented to Katelyn Sonnen of Vestal, N.Y., for the project Blast Into Science. Ms. Black, a lifelong Girl Scout, was a GSNYPENN Regional Support Manager for Broome and Delaware counties who served her volunteers with excellence and was always willing to lend a hand to her colleagues.
Read about the 21 GSNYPENN Class of 2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts here
Hallie Bain
Alexandria Bay, N.Y. (Jefferson
County)
Take Action Project: Me
in the Mirror
Alicia Baldwin
Baldwinsville, N.Y. (Onondaga County)
Take Action Project: Veterans Food
Pantry Renovation
Miah Barnard
Vestal,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: A Healing Garden for Cancer Patients
Nicola DiLuzio
Vestal, N.Y. (Broome County)
Take Action Project:
Large Animal Rescue Horse Trailer
Rachel Duggan
Syracuse,
N.Y. (Onondaga County)
Take
Action Project: St. Joseph's Little Free Library
Zoe Gates
Harpursville,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: Golden Dancers
Mia Gaylord
Vestal,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: Girls Golf: A Game Changer
Abigail Herrington
Pompey,
N.Y. (Onondaga County)
Take
Action Project: Learning Ecosystem
Sara Kelly
Camillus, N.Y.
(Onondaga County)
Take Action
Project: Dance is for Everyone
Audra McFarland
Owego,
N.Y. (Tioga County, N.Y.)
Take
Action Project: Hometown Harvest
Alexia Michitti
Vestal,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: Becoming Your Best Self—13PosiTV:)
Madison Milheim
Mansfield,
Pa. (Tioga County, Pa.)
Take
Action Project: At-Home Olympic Village and Volunteer
Awareness
Addison Moore
Locke, N.Y.
(Cayuga County)
Take Action
Project: Moravia Farmer’s Market
Miranda Rogers
Binghamton,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: AED for Hillcrest Ogden Methodist Church
Kynzee Sethi
Binghamton,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: The Pandemic Records
Alex Shaffer
Cortland,
N.Y. (Cortland County)
Take
Action Project: Purple Pantry
Lexi Snell
Clay, N.Y.
(Onondaga County)
Take Action
Project: Colorful Wings
Katelyn Sonnen
Vestal,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: Blast Into Science
Mercedes Stiner
Conklin,
N.Y. (Broome County)
Take
Action Project: Tools for Tomorrow
Lyndsey Wright
Phelps,
N.Y. (Ontario County)
Take
Action Project: Eagles Nest
Elaina Wainwright
Rensselaer Falls, N.Y. (St. Lawrence County)
Take Action Project: The Bee’s Knees