Bosque Farms teen is one of few to earn prestigious Girl Scout award
BOSQUE FARMS — Throughout the entire state, three girls were awarded the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award this year, and Bosque Farms resident Jenna de la Rosa-Galey was thrilled to be among them.
“It surprised me,” said Jenna, who recently graduated from Pathways Academy in Albuquerque. “I think I almost cried, but I was so happy. I was like, ‘Finally!’”
Jenna de la Rosa-Galey won the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project that taught other children with PWS how to make rubber band bracelets. She also filmed an instructional video and shared her project with organizations dedicated to PWS awareness.
According to a press release from Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, the Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve in high school, which “recognizes individuals for their outstanding leadership, organizational skills and dedication to creating lasting change in their communities. Earning the Gold Award requires a minimum of 80 hours dedicated to a service project with sustainable and measurable impact.”
Rosa-Galey is a member of Girl Scout Troop 91 based in Bosque Farms, and has been in Girl Scouts since kindergarten. Living with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), Rosa-Galey decided to focus her service project on bringing awareness to the rare genetic disorder and sharing a creative and therapeutic coping mechanism she discovered.
“She taught other children with PWS how to make rubber band bracelets, filmed an instructional video and shared her project with organizations dedicated to PWS awareness. Her innovative approach has provided a valuable tool for promoting well-being,” the release read.
Rosa-Galey explained that PWS presents many challenges, and a common symptom of the condition is the urge to pick at one’s skin. Making the rubber band bracelets has been a big help in redirecting her attention away from that, so she figured it could help others as well.
With the help of her cousin, she created and narrated step-by-step videos demonstrating how to make a variety of rubber band bracelet designs. The videos were then shared with UNM Children’s Hospital as well as a children’s hospital in Colorado.
She also plans on sharing her videos with Prader-Willi Syndrome USA, the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research and the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organization to feature her project on their websites.
“It teaches other people who have my syndrome so they can learn, or for any kid because it helps with stress or anxiety,” said Rosa-Galey.
Jenna demonstrates how to make a rubber band bracelet. The process serves as a creative and therapeutic coping mechanism for her, so she wanted to share it with others.
Another reason why she loves making the rubber band bracelets is to give them away to others as she enjoys the happiness it brings people.
“She always says, ‘I want to be able to help others’ and the people that she has touched is something else. I don’t think she knows sometimes how much she has helped,” said her dad, Ryan Galey.
“For the Gold Award, the main thing is the girls find something that is personal to them, to figure out how they can create a project that will implement change, not just in their community, but beyond, and that’s definitely something that Jenna has done,” said Katrina Montoya, Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails director of marketing and communications.
Now 18 years old, Rosa-Galey’s time as a scout has come to an end, but she still looks forward to assisting the troop as an adult. She said being in Girl Scouts has helped her overcome challenges in her life, and her favorite part has been all the good friends she made along the way.
“I can say at Girl Scouts, we’re very proud of (Jenna) and her accomplishments,” said Montoya. “That’s one of our biggest things with Girl Scouts, is that we really talk about the community and the building of friendships.”
Jenna now attends a post-high school transition school through Los Lunas Schools. Looking to the future, she aspires to work with animals at the Valencia County Animal Shelter as she is a big animal lover and has volunteered there in the past.
January 23, 2025
