Lafayette High Senior Earns Highest Award in Girl Scouting

Lafayette High senior Shreeya Basappa has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award - the highest achievement in girl scouting - for her impactful project addressing social disconnection and loneliness among today’s youth, according to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri (GSEM).

The Gold Award is earned by a high-school-aged girl scout who has dedicated a significant amount of time - on average more than 80 hours - to address an issue they are passionate about in a way that produces meaningful and permanent change. Whether it is on a local, national or global level, Gold Award Girl Scouts provide innovative solutions to pressing and relevant challenges.

Basappa's project centered on addressing loneliness as a public health concern. She identified excessive technology use and mental health challenges as two of the most prevalent root causes contributing to social isolation and observed that, with society’s growing reliance on social media and digital communication, many young people lack meaningful in-person social interactions, which can lead to prolonged feelings of loneliness and declining mental health.

To address this issue, Basappa created and delivered an educational presentation focused on isolation and loneliness, specifically designed for elementary-aged students. Her goal was to help young people better understand what loneliness is, how excessive technology use can contribute to it and how to develop healthy habits that support mental and emotional well-being.

She presented her program to more than 60 fifth-grade students at Fairway Elementary, equipping them with practical skills, habits and strategies to prioritize mental health and combat loneliness. To measure the effectiveness of her project, she developed pre- and post-presentation surveys and interactive scenarios, allowing her to analyze student understanding before and after the presentation. Results showed a significant increase in awareness, with many students reporting they felt better prepared to recognize and manage feelings of loneliness.

In addition to her presentation, Basappa designed a sustainable educational component to extend the project’s impact beyond her direct audience. She created a STEM Night brain-themed educational stand, which will be used at future Lafayette STEM Nights. The stand features engaging activities such as a brain assembly exercise, a “Pin the Amygdala on the Brain” game and accessible information about how the brain and mental health are connected. This interactive display will continue to educate elementary and middle school students for years to come, even after she graduates.

“I learned that I enjoy researching public health topics, in particular loneliness and isolation, because it allows me to expand my knowledge and gain an idea what is going on around me,” Basappa said in an GSEM press release. “This experience taught me that I want to have a career in which I can impact others' lives positively, and I really want to explore more health issues that exist in today's time. Also, I realized that I really enjoyed teaching the community and interacting with kids!”

Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs.