Libsyn Directory

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

Ep 160 From Passion to Action: How Annie Advocated for Pet Safety in South Florida

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

Annie discusses her impactful Girl Scout Gold Award project, "South Florida Pet Safety." She highlights the alarming statistic that up to 30% of animal deaths are preventable and shares her mission to educate pet owners in her transient community about unique local dangers. Annie details her creation of a pet safety book tailored specifically for South Florida, covering crucial topics such as heat dangers, wildlife hazards, poisonous plants, and preparedness for natural disasters like hurricanes. She also shares insights on how she funded the project through community sponsorships, emphasizing...

Ep 159 Embracing Cultural Diversity: Aanya Kasera's Journey to the Girl Scout Gold Award

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

Aanya discusses her project, "Sharing the Joys of Cultural Diversity," which focused on fostering understanding and appreciation of cultural differences among children in her community. Aanya highlights two key components of her project: facilitating discussions about cultural identity in local schools and creating a children's book that details her own experiences as an immigrant from India. She reflects on her personal struggles with cultural acceptance and the importance of embracing one’s identity. Join us as Aanya shares her insights and the impact of her work in promoting cultural...

Ep 158 Empowering Kindergartners: Jola Strayhorn's Journey to the Girl Scout Gold Award

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...

Ep 157 Shay Roy-Lewis Her Art Exhibit: Art, Advocacy, and Achievement

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

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...

Ep 156 Marly Barnett: Transforming Spaces: The Making of a Children's Art Gallery

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

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...

Ep 155 Building Connections Through Letters: Hannah Crawley’s Girl Scout Gold Award Journey

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

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...

Ep 154 Honoring Amanda Blake’s Legacy Through the Gold Award

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

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...

Ep 153 Makayla Hoefs' "Coding for Cookies" Project

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

# 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...

Ep 152 Montserrat Hidalgo - Environmental Justice Through the Gold Award

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

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...

136B Isabel Santiago Reyes - Follow up from Sangam India World Center visit

Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

This bonus episode has Isabel popping in to share her experience from her trip to the Sangam World Center in India.

More Episodes

Full 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

http://teamspyder.org/

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/news/story/2020-10-23/girl-scout-shares-her-love-of-stem-while-earning-gold-award

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/news/story/2021-02-25/poway-high-student-is-on-track-to-make-her-mark-in-engineering

https://www.powayusd.com/PUSD/media/PHS/PHS-ROBOTICS-1622-FIRST-World-Championship-Virtual-Showcase-Winner-2020-press-release.pdf