MANLIUS, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — A local Girl Scout, and June 2023 graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School, has received national accolades for her Girl Scout Gold Award.
Sarah Rinzan of Manlius, was awarded a $10,000 national scholarship by the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) for her outstanding community-based project, “Musical Lending Library.”
Each fall, the GSNYPENN Council recognizes a class of local Girl Scouts who earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the organization’s highest achievement.
Rinzan’s Gold Award action project, “Musical Lending Library,” offered patrons of the Fayetteville Free Library to check out a variety of instruments donated to the collection and use the instructional website that Sarah built to pursue their musical passions.
“I joined Girl Scouts as a Daisy and never looked back. Working on the Musical Lending Library was an incredibly gratifying experience, especially considering that it was a passion project at its root,” said Rinzan.
Through her project, Rinzan was able to improve access to musical instruments and resources in her community and therefore exemplify the core components of the Gold Award by demonstrating “extraordinary leadership to drive lasting change in her community and beyond,” stated GSNYPENN.
“Music is such an integral part of my life and completing my Gold Award as a capstone on my Girl Scouting years allowed me to share that with my community and encourage music education and appreciation amongst my peers, neighbors and friends,” Rinzan added.
Rinzan is among a group of 110 Gold Award Girl Scouts from across the U.S. receiving national scholarships made possible in part by the Kappa Delta Foundation in addition to funds from GSUSA (a Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways (GSNYPENN) Council’s charter organization) and its National Board.
The GSUSA national scholarship is awarded to selected Gold Award Girl Scouts to help defray tuition costs, which will help Rinzan who is planning to study chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University this fall.
“The Girl Scout Gold Award is a major accolade and one of the highest honors one can earn through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience,” says GSNYPENN CEO Julie Dale. “Sarah’s take action project reflects the highest standards of the Gold Award and leadership skills that set her apart. We are incredibly proud of her achievements.”
This year’s Girl Scout Gold Award class raised $2.5 million in funding and invested over 300,000 hours to address real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical wellness and gender inequality in STEM.
According to GSNYPENN, less than six percent of Girl Scouts nationwide earn the prestigious Gold Award which exemplifies to Girl Scouts the difference one person can make and how dreaming big can make a positive change in the world.
GSUSA CEO Bonnie Barczykowski wrote in Rinzan’s official scholarship notification letter, “We applaud you for your extraordinary leadership, proving that Girl Scouts of courage, confidence, and character truly do make the world a better place. Your accomplishments will endure for generations to come and serve as a powerful example of Girl Scouting in action.”
To learn more about the Gold Award and the nationwide Class of 2023 Gold Award Girl Scouts, including Rinzan, click here.
