Troop leaders, relatives, and dignitaries gathered to honor Girl Scouts in West Windsor and Plainsboro for their community service projects at a recent ceremony held at Community Middle School. David Bander, Plainsboro committeeman; Daniel Benson, New Jersey state assemblyman; Shing Fu Hsueh, mayor of West Windsor; and Ginny Marino, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey, were all present.
Along with building courage, confidence, and character, all key components of Girl Scouts, many of the community service projects helped the girls to develop leadership and management skills. The awards that they earned are the highest honors for a Girl Scout — gold for seniors (ages 14 to 16) and ambassadors (ages 16 to 17), and bronze for juniors (ages 9 to 11).
“I’m always impressed with the quality of the projects that the girls do,” says Louisa Ho, co-manager of the WW-P service unit. “This year was especially notable for the number of girls that did gold award projects, and having 18 girls get their gold award in a single ceremony is awesome.”
They include Oishi Bhattacharya, Rebecca Schwartz, Juhi Kapadia, Shrishti Kedia, Dhara Mehta, Hunter Elizabeth Rendleman, Mona Agarwal, Melinda Dawn Sibilia, Maunika Atmakuri, Smriti Ganjoo, Alisha Kanitkar, Sreeja Kondeti, Shweta Mohite, Poojita Paidipalli, Eva Sachar, Ayushi Sahu, Sanjana Saksena, and Anna Brosowsky. Fifty-nine Girl Scouts earned the Bronze Award.
“Just stick to Girl Scouts, go with your goals, stick with your dreams, and don’t give up,” says Kate Henkel, the retiring co-manager for the WW-P service unit. “You can always figure something out and if you can’t, go to those that you know can help you.”
Gold Award recipients include:
Oishi Bhattacharya, Troop 70245, “Potential Einsteins.” Her project was to create an after school math program for fifth and sixth graders in Urban Promise, a charity group in Trenton. She created lesson plans and worksheets and taught the children herself. She aspires to become a college professor. Her advisor was Amira Scurato and her mentor was Wanda Rinker.
Rebecca Schwartz, Troop 70600, “Dance Workout for Fitness Fun.” She taught an exercise and dance program to preschool children at the Cherry Tree Club in West Windsor. Schwartz created a DVD and CD for the workshop to run without her direction. Her advisor was Kate Henkel and her mentor was Wendy Schutzer.
Juhi Kapadia, Troop 70672, “Gardens for Gables.” She constructed four elevated gardening beds at the Gables Senior Living Center, allowing senior citizens to continue gardening without bending over to tend to the plants. Her advisor was Cheryl Rowe-Rendleman and her mentor was Dottie Sylvester.
Mona Agarwal, Troop 70676, “Camping for Home Front.” She ran two camping-themed camps for the kids at Home Front. Her first camp, for ages 7 to 9, centered on bonding activities such as making crafts and singing songs. Her second camp, for ages 12 to 14, focused more on practical and resourceful activities, such as knot tying and pitching tents. She created a booklet with instructions so that the camps could be done again. Her advisor was Lynn Mahmood and her mentor was Rex R. Mangrum.
Melinda Dawn Sibilia, Troop 71490, “Kids Korner at RISE.” Her project helped kids at RISE, a support service for families in need, based in Hightstown. She created a fun play space for the kids to play in while their parents were getting support from other adults. She provided books and toys for the kids, as well as bought and fixed up the furniture for the space. Her advisor was Becky Grant and her mentor was Cristiana Cianbanu.
Maunika Atmakuri, Troop 71607, “El Centro’s Computer Lab.” She renovated the computer lab at the El Centro organization in Trenton. She updated old equipment and replaced missing parts, using both donations and money gathered from fundraising. With all the new technology ready to go, she led workshops after school and during the summer to teach the users how to use the new materials. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Maria Duarte.
Anna Brosowsky, Troop 71612, “Super Science Adventures.” She created after school and summer science programs for HomeFront and Westminster Community Life Center’s GetSet’s kids. A variety of problem-solving skills and strategies were taught, and the kids started to show an interest in the sciences. Her blog, “Experimenting with Science,” is a way to share her project, and she shares experiments and other resources through Pinterest. Her advisor was Rebecca Farmer Huselid and her mentor was Karen Shannon.
Shrishti Kedia, “Spreading Robotics Fever in Trenton.” Her project was to bring the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) areas to underprivileged communities in Trenton. Working with Isles, she held a robotics day camp where the children explored FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics. She is now working to begin a FIRST team there. Her advisor was Cheryl Rowe-Rendleman and her mentor was Bonnie Bromberg.
Dhara Mehta, “The Black Gold.” Her project, focused on soil composting, led her to work with groups such as schools and associations. Composting still goes on in her neighborhood and she founded her own 4-H club to keep the efforts going. Her advisor was Deepali Thakur and her mentor was Heidi Fichtenbaum.
Hunter Elizabeth Rendleman, “Breaking the Cycle.” Her project focused on increasing awareness about body image, especially in the media. Her project involved a survey of body image, a screening and discussion of “Miss Representation,” a film by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and a publication of her findings. Her advisor was Shweta Kedia and her mentor was Diane Ciccone.
Smriti Ganjoo, “Read 2 Succeed.” She built a library for the kids affiliated with Habitat for Humanity. They had lost their library due to budget cuts, so she built bookshelves, collected books, and then cataloged all the books so the kids could borrow them. She also ran a workshop including reading to the children and then doing an arts and crafts project related to that story. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Kiya Green.
Alisha Kanitkar, “Combating Prescription Drug Abuse.” Her project centered on the main cause of prescription drug abuse in India — lack of knowledge. Kanitkar traveled to a hospital in India where she installed signs around the hospital, distributed informative handouts, and held workshops. She also created a resource center with books and DVDs for current and future generations to use. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Dr. Shridhar.
Sreeja Kondeti, “Helping Anchor House.” She created a library for teens in Anchor House, a program in Trenton that provides temporary housing for kids 12 and older who cannot live with their parents. She also implemented another program that gives each child a pillowcase that they can keep when they leave, which doubles as a way to carry their possessions. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Jay Neiderman.
Shweta Mohite, “English Resource Center.” She created an English resource center with books, games, virtual activities, and a computer in a school in India. Teachers were taught how to use the materials so they could help students. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Principal Gosavi.
Poojita Paidipalli, “Book Buddies.” Her project addressed illiteracy in Hightstown through creating a program where young children read aloud to teenage volunteers. The focus is to foster a love for reading while teaching the students skills that will help them to succeed. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Elizabeth Hughes.
Eva Sachar, “Modernizing Seniors.” She taught seniors living at the Merwick Care and Rehabilitation Center how to use a computer, including playing games, reading the news, using E-mail, and operating the keyboard and mouse. She created a blog and binder, both with websites, articles, and information on how to teach the elderly about computer use. Her advisor was Lucinda Cochrane and her mentor was Susan Grollman.
Ayushi Sahu, “Geography and Spelling Bee Workshops.” She ran workshops in geography and spelling for the kids in Trenton’s Habitat for Humanity program. Her focus was to show the participants that learning can be fun and enjoyable. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Kiya Green.
Sanjana Saksena, “Computer Literacy and Supplementary English Learning Program.” She created a computer learning center for a school in India. After her renovation, the center had a new computer system, classroom materials, and books, all to improve the quality of learning. She began by instructing the students herself focusing on basic English and computer skills. Her advisor was Louisa Ho and her mentor was Renu Gupta.
#b#Bronze Award Recipients#/b#
“Educating and Helping the Less Fortunate at TASK,” Troop 70039 with leaders Maria Lockwood and Keeley Loreski. Girl Scouts include Sruti Bapatla, Caroline Corriveau, Mila Cvetanovic, Sophia D’Ovidio, Grace Kolker, Jillian Lockwood, Sophia Loreski, Ankitha Mallekav, Caitlyn McClanahan, Michaela Meyer, Saee Purohit, Tesha Sharma, Olivia Solis, and Isabelle Stults.
“EASEL Animal Rescue League,” Troop 70690, with leaders Elaine Poller, Raquel Rivera, Lisa Onorati, and Kerry Bruno. Girl Scouts include Lauren Bruno, Janae Eutsey, Lauren Goldberg, Nikita Jain, Jy-Sana Jones, Emilia Lorenzet, Rebecca Poller, Olivia Richardson, Victoria Rivera, Trisha Saldanha, Wardah Samad, and Rachel Trokenheim
“Birthday Cakes for TASK,” Troop 71330, with leaders Beth Marks and Susan Ezzo. Girl Scouts include Sydney Caldwell, Emma Dreger, Penelope Luchs, Kaaviyashri Palanichamy, Gianna Schiera, and Shriya Srinivasan.
“Knitting for the Seniors,” Troop 71582, with leaders Alice Fernandes and May Rowland. Girl Scouts include Michelle Agarwal, Ria Bajaj, Lindsay Bizenov, Cherie Fernandes, Varsha Gollarhalli, Hope Jaworowski, Aarthi Katakam, Sanjana Korpal, Lauren Kuczmarski,Danielle Lluberes, Sophie Pirrera, Pearl Rowland, Kaila Shah, Vaishali Shah, and Madison Wiston.
“Support for the WWP Service Unit,” Troop 71602, with leaders Phyllis Church and Lydia Grebe. Girl Scouts include Thea Albin, Ahana Banerjee, Niyati Bantval, Spandana Bondalapati, Sreekruthi Dubagunta, Srinidhi Ekkurthi, Rishita Garlapati, Shreya Hegde, Asritha Katakam, Diya Rai, Cathy Xiang, and Sophia Xu
“Affection Effect For Helpless Paws,” Troop 72802, benefitted SAVE animal shelter in Princeton while earning Bronze awards for Sharu Tatachar, Christina Diaz, Shreya Joshi, Aria Patel, and Anjali Smith. The project presented leadership opportunities to head individual projects such as food drives, cookie baking, and blanket making for pets, but also a team effort since they all joined hands to give a voice to the animals.
“Girl Scouts is a program that gets better the longer that you stay in it,” says Ho. “So my advice for young girls that join Girl Scouts is stay with it because it gets better and better each year.” If you are interested in joining Girl Scouts (as a girl or adult volunteer) in West Windsor and Plainsboro, E-mail girlscoutswwp@verizon.net or call Ho at 609-371-2119.
