By Viktoria Nasteva
The fact that fewer than 6 percent of Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award annually is what motivated Allison Pasheilich to strive for the top honor. She is one of two girls in in Troop 906 to earn the distinction.
A sophomore at Carmel High School, Pasheilich has been giving back to the community as a Girl Scout since kindergarten. She credits the experience for building confidence and teaching her the leadership skills she needed to complete various service projects. She is now pursuing her future goals.
On her way to becoming eligible for the Gold Award, Pasheilich spent four days at Camp Dellwood in Indianapolis learning about food sustainability and safety as well as curating and shipping care packages overseas to the Military Working Dogs Program.
“That was a great experience for me because I was able to do something much larger than me as well as play into one of my passions, which is animals,” she said.
Pasheilich fell in love with beekeeping and asked for her own bees after helping her grandfather care for his hive. Her parents agreed under the condition that she incorporate them into her Gold Award. Thus, the Un-BEE-lievable Power of Bees project was launched. Her objective is to educate primarily young children about the vital role bees play in the global food system and what can be done to increase their dwindling population.
Initially, Pasheilich wanted to hold an interactive event, but she was unable to secure a venue, so she applied her problem-solving skills to overcome the challenge. Ultimately, she created a booklet, which she handed out during the Cool Creek Concert Series.
“Bees are crucial to our society because they are solely responsible for pollinating approximately one-third of American food, while also assisting with numerous others,” Pasheilich said.
