New Mexico Girl Scout Receives $5,000 Scholarship
Kaya Loy has been selected to receive a GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship for her work powering sustainable change for some of today’s greatest challenges.
July 31, 2024
Albuquerque, New Mexico, [June 21, 2024] – Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails is thrilled to announce Kaya Loy, an Ambassador Girl Scout from Los Alamos, as the recipient of a GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship, for her Gold Award Project “It’s Okay to Get Help”.
Kaya was struck by her personal experience with a family member who struggled with mental illness. She knew with the rising mental health crisis among youth that it was more important now than ever to provide mental health resources for other teens and children. By collaborating with Los Alamos High School, Kaya researched national, state, and local mental health resources to be featured on her high school's website to encourage her classmates to seek help if needed. Her thorough webpage also includes information on various mental challenges, as well as other risk factors. She was able to coordinate with student leadership to create flyers with QR codes to this webpage in every classroom to help make access simple and easy.
“I hope that if any student feels depressed, suicidal, or not optimal in their wellness, they will go to my web page and determine the best thing to do for their health. Although that can be a very hard thing to do, my web page is user friendly and informative, so it will be easy for anyone to use.”
Thousands of Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award each year, the highest achievement a Girl Scout in high school can earn for tackling an issue dear to her and driving lasting change in her community and beyond. Annually, GSUSA recognizes one Girl Scout from each council for completing projects that exemplify strong leadership and sustainable impact. Earning the Gold Award opens doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, and amazing career opportunities—as well as skills that set girls up for success, like strategic thinking, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and time management.
The 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout Scholarship Awardees will receive a combined $560,000 in college scholarships. According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers.
Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Girl Scouts make the world a better place every day and will continue to act as bold advocates for a brighter future. To see how you can get involved and make a difference as a member or volunteer, visit www.nmgirlscouts.org.
About Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails
With a presence in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Gallup, Farmington, Las Vegas, and Clovis, Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails is made up of more than 5,000 girls and adults across Central and Northern New Mexico. The council serves these 23 counties: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Colfax, Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Los Alamos, McKinley, Mora, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Union, and Valencia. Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails is an independent 501(c)3 organization who, in partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA and 110 other Girl Scout councils, works to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
For additional media inquiries with GSNMT, please contact:
Katrina Montoya
Marketing and Communications Director
(505) 226-1464
[email protected]
