Girl Scouts feted for leadership and service

Many families were beaming with pride on June 19, at the Rockville Centre Association of Girl Scouts' Annual Awards Ceremony, where girls are recognized for their efforts to better the village and community.

This year 21 Junior Girl Scouts earned Bronze Awards along with six Cadettes who earned Silver. Two Ambassador Girl Scouts, Caitlin Morahan and Danielle Aliotta, were the driving force behind unique community service projects that earned them the highest recognition — the Gold Award.

Caitlin, from Troop 810, chose a Gold Award Project which was the culmination of her interest in working with younger Girl Scouts and the community. She created an event called “International Day — Where East Meets West” and invited the Lion Troupe performers of the Chinese Center in Long Island to present a special Chinese New Year dance.

Caitlin met with other Girl Scouts who had volunteered to represent other countries and cultures. At International Day, there were 15 countries exhibiting crafts, serving traditional food, playing games and involving spectators with innovative displays. Over 130 Girl Scouts were able to take a trip “around the world” during the event. Participants were also encouraged to donate canned food for those less fortunate, and Caitlin collected over six cases of food. Because it was so successful, International Day may be adopted by the Girl Scouts and offered every year.

Caitlin is an involved athlete at Holy Trinity High School. She is captain of the varsity tennis team and also competed on the varsity swim team. She is a member of the National Honor and the Math Honor societies. As a parishioner at St. Agnes, Caitlin has been both a Lecturn and an Altar Server for over six years.

In the Rockville Centre community, Caitlin has been an officer in the Teen Advisory Group for three years, during which she was involved in working on and planning events for teens at the Public Library. She will be graduating from Holy Trinity High School and plans to attend college at the University of Maryland in College Park next fall.