I.J. NEWS SERVICE

SAN DIEGO, CA – Indian-American student Sasha Patel recently earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. The Gold Award symbolizes outstanding accomplishments and a significant time invested in the areas of leadership, career planning, personal development and community service.

Sasha teamed up with Maureen Hall and Kyrsten Rosenthal from the city of San Diego’s Water Department and local science teachers to address the dire need to increase awareness of water conservation in her community via 21 classroom presentations at three elementary schools. She chose to target younger children because they are the ones who would most likely take the message home to their families, who in turn would feel obligated to set good examples.

Sasha is the daughter of Mehul and Sunita Patel of Carmel Valley and is a sophomore at Torrey Pines High School. She has been in Girl Scouts since kindergarten. In addition to Girl Scouting, Sasha enjoys dancing and playing the piano.

The Girl Scout Gold Award has evolved from a long line of Girl Scout leadership awards going back as far as 1919. Currently 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award annually.