By Annelise Krafft
Sara Curry dreamed of being a Girl Scout for as long as she can remember.
“I’ve always wanted to be a Girl Scout: when I was younger, I couldn’t wait to finally be old enough to join Daisies (grades K-1)!” says Curry. “When we couldn’t find any troops nearby to join, my mom formed Troop 19 and became our Troop Leader.”
When Curry joined the Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council (GSACPC), she quickly set her sights on a new dream: to earn the prestigious Gold Award.
Now, 13 years later, that dream has become a reality.
“The Gold Award is the most prestigious award in the world for girls,” says Curry. “The goal is to create a sustainable solution to a problem girls have identified in their communities, and requires a project minimum of 80 hours.”
Curry’s Gold Award project took a staggering eight months to complete and was inspired by her first experience working with the costumes in her high school’s theater program.
“I’ve been involved in theater for a few years and last fall I was head of costumes for Paradise Valley High School Theatre Company’s show ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’,” recalls Curry. “It was my first time working with the costume department and it was hard because the costume closet was so unorganized and impossible to search through.”
Curry decided to make a change and dedicated her project to improve the theater program’s costume closet, subsequently spending the next eight months organizing the closet and creating an online database for locating items – with photos of each garb included. Overall, Curry organized and photographed 1,000 costumes.
“My project took a big hit when I lost my phone halfway through – including the 500 photos I had on there,” says Curry. “I basically had to start over and, with the help of my friends, finished my project this past August – after graduating in May.”
Curry’s outstanding commitment to Girl Scouting also shows in her successful Girl Scout Cookie season this past year.
“In the past few years I was able to sell 1,000 Girl Scouts Cookies and won an 11-day trip to Europe last July!” says Curry. “It was an amazing opportunity for my first time abroad, and I was even able to visit two of the World Girl Scouts Centers in London and Adelboden, Switzerland.”
But her Girl Scouts experience has given her more than just a trip abroad.
“There’s so much more to Girl Scouts than most people realize – it’s not just cookies and summer camp!” says Curry. “It taught me money management and sales, helped me develop leadership skills and gave me an appreciation for nature – which inspired me to go to Arizona State University to study environmental engineering.”
For Curry, this is not the end of her Girl Scouts journey.
“I’m thrilled to have become a lifetime member so I can continue to be involved with the organization that means so much to me,” says Curry. “One day, I hope to continue the legacy and be a Troop Leader to my own children.”
