New Mexico teen receives national acclaim for Girl Scout Gold Award project
BOSQUE FARMS, N.M. — A New Mexico teen is receiving national acclaim for a project that earned her the highest award that can be bestowed upon a Girl Scout.
The Girl Scout Gold Award recognizes people like Jenna de la Rosa-Galey who develop solutions to issues in their neighborhoods. She is a teen from Bosque Farms, just south of Albuquerque.
“I started by being a daisy. And at first, I liked the badges, you earn for Girl Scouts,” De la Rosa-Galey said.
De la Rosa-Galey worked her way up to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award.
“I kind of was like I can’t believe I did it,” she said.
Throughout high school, De la Rosa-Galey said she’d work 50 hours to get that award. She completed it with a project.
“My cousin made the video and I kind of did this, making my bracelets. And then she did it step by step. And so people can you know watch me make them,” De la Rosa-Galey said.
These rubber band bracelets are a valuable and therapeutic tool for people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic condition. De la Rosa-Galey is among around 350,000 people worldwide who are affected by PWS. PWS can lead to hunger and induce anxiety that can cause people to pick at their own skin.
“The video, I did that for people who have my syndrome and it helps people with [PWS]. It’s a fidget and it gives people hand strength and gives them peace and comfort and it kind of helps them to focus,” De la Rosa-Galey said.
De la Rosa-Galey said making a tutorial on how to make the bracelets became a therapeutic coping mechanism that keeps her hands busy. She hopes it will help others who also have PWS.
Earlier this month, New Mexico U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury entered De la Rosa-Galey’s name into the U.S. Congressional Record with an acknowledgement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
January 29, 2025
