Gold Award Spotlight: Camille's Melodious Music Program

Camille, a Hampton Girl Scout, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. Camille has been a Girl Scout for 10 years and is currently a junior at Bethel Christian School.

For her project, Camille created a program to introduce children at the HER Shelter to a variety of music genres and music theory. Many children at the HER Shelter have been affected by domestic violence or abuse, and Camille wanted her program to create a safe space for the children to learn about music in a group setting to help them boost their self-esteem.

“When I took piano lessons, it inspired me to learn more about music,” Camille said. “It encouraged me and helped me become a better person. I’ve been playing for 10 years, and I wanted to share my love of music with those who might need a boost of confidence in their life.”

Camille wanted to share the success of her program with the community, so she made presentations at her school, her piano recital and a local civic league. She also presented to a group of students in the music education department at Christopher Newport University, who wanted to help. Under Camille’s guidance, college students will continue to run her program at the HER Shelter, and they have expanded the program to also run at the Natasha House in Yorktown.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in the community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than six percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Camille to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.