Community Corner
Oak Creek resident earns highest Girl Scout honor with cultural understanding project
Milwaukee - Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE) has awarded Oak Creek resident and Girl Scout Elizabeth Kraidich the highest award in Girl Scouting–the Girl Scout Gold Award. Girl Scouts who receive this award are challenged to complete a variety of requirements and carry out a project that meets an expressed need in the community and beyond.
By earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, Kraidich has become a community leader. Her accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart.
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In response to her observation that many younger children develop lifelong cultural stereotypes, Kraidich created a blog to help stop false, negative thoughts and replace them with facts. Having spent her senior year in high school in Germany, she was able to write about the German culture from a personal perspective. The blog, entitled Cultural Understanding Beyond the Classroom, was incorporated into a Milwaukee Public Schools class, giving students the opportunity to learn more about the German culture than what is covered in the standard curriculum. As a result, they became more accepting of the German culture and stereotypes were broken.
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“My leadership skills will grow in the future because of this project since I learned that I can do anything I set my mind to even if it is a big issue and I have to do it alone with only minor support,” said Kraidich. “I learned through this project that even doing something small or anything that raises awareness does make a difference.”
A Girl Scout who has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award immediately rises one rank in any of the U.S. military branches.
This year, GSWISE recognized nine girl members for earning their Girl Scout Gold Award.
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Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Ranked #4 out of 112 councils nationally in girl market share, Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE) impacts the lives of more than 29,300 girls in grades K-12 and 7,400 adults in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine, Waukesha, and Washington counties; southern Ozaukee County; and East Troy in Walworth County. Girl Scouting is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. For more information, visit www.gswise.org, or call 1-800-565-4475.
