The
National Young Women of Distinction honor is given by Girl Scouts of the USA to
the top ten Girl Scout Gold Award recipients whose Take Action projects
demonstrated outstanding leadership, had a measurable and sustainable impact,
and addressed a local challenge related to a national and/or global issue. The
girls and their projects will be showcased on the blog in advance of being
honored at the 2014 Girl Scout Convention in Salt Lake City this October.
Age: 19
Hometown: Manorville, New York
Years of Girl Scouting: 14
Inspiration:
No matter the number of times a test
proctor of the English Language Arts regent exams reads a passage aloud, Anna could
not hear them. Anna is deaf, and, like all other students in the state, for her
the listening portion of the exam was mandatory. The only additional accommodations
afforded to students like Anna were extended time and a third or fourth reading
of the passage.
For Anna and other deaf students, these accommodations
were not so accommodating after all. Unable to hear, they were unable to
listen. As Anna says, it turned what was simply one part of her identity into a
disability. Lip reading and sign language couldn’t fill the gap. There was a
much larger problem in need of fixing. So Anna decided to be the one to take on
the task.
How Anna Is Changing the World:
The challenge was how to make the
information equally accessible to all students. And the solution, Anna found,
was simple: Allow all deaf students to read the passage themselves.
With hundreds of emails, website
submissions, and letters written, Anna got the attention of the state board of education,
the governor’s office, and the senator’s office. It took three years of
lobbying before a letter came from New York State Commissioner of Education
John B. King Jr. affirming that the Test Access Accommodations Guidelines for
students With Disabilities had been altered to provide written transcripts
during the listening portion of the exam.
The joy Anna experienced completing her
project came from knowing that she had prevented others from feeling that
deafness is a barrier to success, a diploma, or realizing their dreams.
Next Steps:
Anna will continue studying biotechnology and molecular
bioscience at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Someday, she hopes to be a
scientific researcher. Until then, she is a proud advocate! Girl Scouts will honor Anna and her fellow National Young Women of Distinction on Sunday, October 19 at our 2014 Girl Scout Convention. In the meantime, learn more about Anna’s Gold Award project and her excitement for our 53rd convention, including how to sign “Let’s Convention”!