Ep 65 Madalyn Nguyen - STEM Diversity Girl Scout Gold Award Project
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Release Date: 07/29/2021
Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts
Jola created an engaging video aimed at teaching kindergartners essential classroom behaviors, which she identified as a need due to the social challenges faced by children during the pandemic. We discussed the research she conducted on the impact of the pandemic on young children, particularly regarding social anxiety and interaction skills. Jola shared her experiences working with her family friend’s nieces, who starred in the video, and the challenges she faced during the filming and editing process. She emphasized the importance of patience and perseverance, especially when navigating...
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Shay shares insights into her impactful Gold Award project, an art exhibition held at the Overture Center for the Arts. The exhibit aimed to raise awareness about mental health among teenage girls in a positive light, showcasing the strength and creativity of young women artists from the Madison and Dane County area. Shay discusses her motivation to present mental health discussions more positively and highlights the submission process that led to the selection of 16 unique artists. The episode also touches on the themes explored in the artwork, including culture and sexual identity, and the...
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Marley shares her inspiring journey of curating and developing a children's art gallery in partnership with the Southwest Art Gallery and Science Center. At just 16 years old, Marley embarked on this project to provide art-related opportunities for kids in her community in North Dakota, where such resources were scarce. She discusses her passion for art as a self-taught artist, the need she identified in her community, and how her collaboration with the Southwest Art Gallery, which shares her mission, facilitated the creation of this new space. Marley reflects on her experience as a volunteer...
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Imagine a world where friendships are built one letter at a time. That’s exactly what Hannah Crawley created with her Girl Scout Gold Award project—a nationwide pen pal program connecting Girl Scouts across the U.S. and even Japan. At a time when social media dominated communication, Hannah brought back the magic of handwritten letters, fostering deeper connections and lifelong friendships. Now serving in the military, Hannah reflects on how this project not only strengthened her communication skills but also prepared her for a future where letters remain a vital link. She shares the...
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Full transcription available on Cee-Cee Deslaurier-Tate about her incredible Girl Scout Gold Award project, which honors the legacy of Amanda Blake, best known as Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke. Cee-Cee dedicated over 1,000 hours to creating a documentary highlighting Amanda’s conservation work, including her efforts to save endangered cheetahs and launch the first no-kill animal shelter in Arizona. Through extensive research, interviews, and a fundraising initiative, Cee-Cee has helped preserve Amanda’s impact on wildlife conservation. She shares how her passion for the Old West and...
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# Full transcription available at [heartsofgoldpodcast.com](http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/) ## Episode Summary Makayla Hoefs shares the inspiring story behind her Girl Scout Gold Award project, *"Coding for Cookies."* This innovative initiative bridges Girl Scouts and robotics, offering young girls hands-on STEM experiences through engaging events. Makayla discusses how her project evolved, collaborating with the Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes & Pines Council, and making the program sustainable for future generations. Listen to hear about the impact she's made, the challenges...
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In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Montserrat Hidalgo, a recent high school graduate and environmental justice advocate. Montserrat shares her journey from Girl Scout Gold Award recipient to an emerging leader in her community. Learn how her project tackled urban heating and environmental racism in South East Los Angeles, the collaborative research that fueled her work, and the global connections she forged. About Our Guest: Montserrat Hidalgo is a recent graduate of South Gate High School and will be attending Williams College in the fall to double major in Environmental Studies and...
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This bonus episode has Isabel popping in to share her experience from her trip to the Sangam World Center in India.
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Full transcription available at Today, we’re thrilled to have Pepper join us to share her inspiring journey as a young aviator and her impactful Girl Scout Gold Award project. From her first flight at just 10 years old to becoming a certified pilot, Pepper has navigated the skies and shattered stereotypes in a male-dominated field. She passionately discusses her mission to introduce aviation to young women in her community through a series of engaging workshops, where she taught the fundamentals of flight and even organized a thrilling "fly day" for eager participants. But that’s not all!...
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Full transcription available at Rachel shares her inspiring journey of earning the Girl Scout Gold Award through her project of constructing a trophy case for her high school's JROTC program. She discusses the motivation behind her project, which stemmed from the need to properly showcase the numerous trophies earned by cadets through various activities, including Raiders, drill, and rifle team. Rachel highlights the importance of community support, detailing how local businesses contributed materials and resources, significantly reducing project costs. She emphasizes the collaborative effort...
info_outlineFull transcription available at http://heartsofgoldpodcast.com/
Madalyn championed STEM Diversity by addressing girls’ underrepresentation and minorities in STEM.
More about Madalyn:
Madalyn Nguyen, a rising senior at Poway High School (PHS) Engineering Academy, is a STEM enthusiast, FIRST Robotics fanatic, and aspiring engineer or computer scientist. Getting a Mindstorm Robot in 5th grade ignited her love for robotics and desire to join every FIRST Robotics program possible: FIRST Lego League (6th grade), FIRST Tech Challenge & SWENext (7th grade) and FIRST Robotics Competition-Team Spyder (experienced/motivated 8th grader).
Seeing that girls were minorities on her robotics team, she founded the Society of Women Engineers and National Center for Women and Information Technology Clubs to create a community that encourages girls, especially minority girls, to join robotics. The purpose of the clubs is to support, promote, give opportunities for advancement, and empower girls in STEM to pursue careers in engineering.
Madalyn champions for STEM Diversity, especially for the underrepresented and disadvantaged, by volunteering over 200 hours of outreach per year since 2016 and is a 4 time recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award. During the fall FLL season you can find her mentoring about 10 FIRST Robotics teams locally and globally. Her greatest accomplishment is starting a FIRST Robotics program at Wilson Middle School in the low socioeconomic community City Heights in San Diego, California where 100% of the student body receives free or reduced lunch. Wilson Robotics increased participation by 300% and now has female representation of 30 % from zero participation. With her continued mentorship and support in procuring funding, Wilson Robotics is thriving going into their next season.
In 2019, she traveled to Paraguay to advance STEM/Robotics Education and women in engineering and Sacramento for political advocacy with Senator Brian Jones and Assemblymember Brian Maienschein.
She pays it forward by being a passionate FIRST Youth mentor & volunteer for FLL, FRC, FTC, FGC and a robot judge for FLL. She was last year’s Chief Project Officer, where she oversaw the building and programming of 120 lbs robots and managed 15 subteam leads. She is currently Team Spyder Co-President, PHS Titan Ambassador (selected exclusively by teachers to represent her high school), and Poway Unified School District Career Technical Education Ambassador.
Madalyn is a changemaker and trailblazer by making a difference in thousands of youths locally and globally. For her commitment to STEM Diversity, she is the recipient of the FIRST Dean’s List Award 2020, the highest honor bestowed to an individual in FIRST Robotics for leadership and advancement of FIRST’s mission. She was one of 10 winners selected from 3400 nominees worldwide for this prestigious award. Even after receiving her Gold Award in April 2020, she continues to advance STEM Diversity. During the pandemic, she organized a virtual 7 weekly STEM Career Series which impacted over 700 attendees worldwide and organized and moderated a two-day Women in STEM forum with over 300 attendees. She also helped create PPE and sneeze guards for local health providers. In addition, she created and organized a virtual Global Engineering Challenge where 65 teams participated worldwide. Overall, she is an amazing & inspiring role model. She often speaks at events and was the keynote speaker for the SWE Conference in San Diego in Feb 2020. Even though Madalyn is just a rising senior in high school, you will not find a more hard-working & dedicated champion for STEM diversity. She is truly a rockstar for STEM!
Links to learn more about Madalyn and her work.
Instagram of Robotics Team & SWENext / NCWIT clubs
@spyder1622
@phs_swenext
@phs_spyder_ncwit
@goldawardgirlscoutengineer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/madalyntnguyen/
Girls in STEM Inspiration Day 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhBCFCE4AGg
https://www.kusi.com/san-diego-teen-madalyn-nguyen-to-speak-at-stem-education-festival/
http://92128magazine.com/2017/11/01/madalyn-nguyen-engineering-her-own-future/
https://alltogether.swe.org/2020/07/swenexters-experience-attending-designlab/
https://alltogether.swe.org/2020/06/teen-robotics-engineer-madalyn/
https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/02/february-swenext-meet-greet-madalyn/
https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/05/winners-poway-high-school/
https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/02/swenext-club-spotlight-poway-high-school/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZbrZUfACnw
https://www.facebook.com/PowayUnified/posts/3012672152173683
https://www.aspirations.org/users/madalyn-127407
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Support future Hearts of Gold episodes at https://www.patreon.com/heartsofgold Editing by https://www.offthewalter.com/ Walter’s YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt0wFZRVaOpUd_nXc_8-4yQ