Girl Scouts honored for positive impact on communities

Franklin Square and West Hempstead Girl Scouts Brianna Suarez Oubina, Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Ava Zino and Sophia Cano were honored as members of the 2023 Girl Scout Gold class.

Fifty-five Girl Scouts throughout Nassau who made an impact and addressed important causes in their communities were celebrated by the Girl Scouts of Nassau County this June.

Projects girls in grades 9-12 can work on for their Gold Award can span a range of civic and social issues. The projects are meant to make a lasting impact on the community. For the project, girls can publish books, establish nonprofit organizations, implement classroom lessons or decide to create a different project to become a Gold Award Girl Scout.

Saurez Oubina’s project developed a dog therapy program to help younger generations cope with daily stressors in the post-Covid-19 world. For the project, titled “Mental Health and Pet Therapy,” she partnered with Pediatric Advanced Life Support classes, the Mind Over Matter Club, and her principal to offer therapy sessions.

The therapy dogs used in the project were licensed under Therapy Dogs International. With the help of Sewanhaka School District Psychologist Caryl Oris, Suarez Oubina expanded the program to the four high schools in the Sewanhaka Central High School District. The program will continue under the guise of underclassmen, who will continue the work.

Beach erosion was tackled through Fitzpatrick’s project, titled “Optimizing a Coanda Device for the Reduction of Beach Erosion.” The H. Frank Carey High School student’s project focused on changing people’s habits to deter erosion at the beach. An experiment was conducted to see how a Coanda device can deter beach erosion.

Zino focused on children’s water safety with her project “Swimming into Safety.” She created a book and website on how to “Be Cool at the Pool” for families. Zino read her book at her parish and to Girl Scout troops.

Children were educated by Cano’s project, which focused on the potential dangers of drinking from a water hose. She wrote and illustrated a book titled “Don’t Drink from the Hose” which she presented to the community. Book editors and Spanish teachers helped Cano along the way to ensure its quality and translation. It has been posted online for community accessibility.

“We are very proud and impressed by each of them for reaching their goals and leaving a legacy with their communities,” said Randell Bynum, chief executive of Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “Their dedication is evident and their hard work has touched countless lives.”