Priyanka Chodhari, a West Windsor resident and a junior at the Lawrenceville School, has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. Her project, Fitness for Seniors, was aimed at senior residents at the Hamilton Grove Health Care and Rehabilitation to improve their quality of life and to stimulate their physical and mental health through engaging in crossword puzzles, word searches, and learning how to play Wii games.
When Chodhari visited the senior center last summer, she finished one crossword puzzle with the group each day, brought different themed word searches everyday, and taught the residents how to play Wii Sports, including bowling, tennis, and baseball.
She worked on the residents’ hand-eye coordination, made them more confident and independent, and encouraged friendly competition. Chodhari brought them snacks as prizes and delivered motivational notes with stickers and colored markers. “I would come in the next day, and they would shoot me this big old smile of theirs,” says Chodhari. “It was an incredible feeling to know that I was making even the slightest difference in someone’s life.”
For most of her project, Chodhari interacted directly with the residents. She also created a personalized, easy-to-use Wii manual, put together a photo album depicting her time with her new friends, and bought two additional new Wii remotes, allowing more residents to participate at once.
Chodhari also made an enlarged crossword board on chalkboard that is now part of the recreation room. “This program was not something I intended to do for one summer and forget about; those senior residents made me realize why I was a Girl Scout and why I loved being one; those senior residents were excited to see me every day, challenging me in any way they could, and they would be upset on days when I wasn’t there,” says Chodhari, who continues to visit the center, despite her academic, social, athletic, and personal commitments.
“We were excited to have Priyanka Chodhari create a wellness program using the Wii and other mentally challenging games because it was already an interest our residents wanted an opportunity to explore,” says Patti Hillmanno, the recreation director at the center. “Her desire to do this gave us the needed instructor to be able to educate and challenge our residents in the Wii.”
“It is not always an easy task for a young individual to involve elderly who have already spent a lifetime creating who they are and what they expect for the rest of their days,” says Hillmanno. “Priyanka came in determined to make their daily lives enriched.”
Chodhari financed her project through troop funds, the 2011 Hollywood Night Dance fundraiser, and contributions from her family. Her mother, Alka Chodhari, a homemaker, and father, Rakesh Chodhari, have supported and motivated Chodhari in her Girl Scouts efforts. “We all take our parents for granted at times,” says Chodhari. “I wish there was a way for me to show how much I love and appreciate them. I can’t express how thankful I am for being given this opportunity because of them. It’s amazing how much faith and confidence my parents have in me and have never given up.”
Chodhari earned her Bronze Award in 2006 by assisting with troop activities for a new Brownie troop. She earned her Silver Award in 2008 with her project Activity Crew for Brownie Backyard Campouts, in which she partnered with Shilvi Shah and Nikita Gupta, both juniors at High School South now. They planned and led activities for backyard campouts for new leaders and new troops.
In addition to Girl Scouts, Chodhari is a tour guide at the Lawrenceville School, a sports editor for the Olla Podrida, the school yearbook, and the goalie for the Big Red varsity lacrosse team. Her brother, Sahil Chodhari, is a junior at Villanova University.
Chodhari, who joined Girl Scouts in first grade, is a member of Troop 70677, whose leader is Louisa Ho. For information about joining Girl Scouts in West Windsor or Plainsboro, there is a recruitment event on Monday, May 7, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Millstone River School, or send an E-mail to girlscoutswwp@verizon.net.
