Girl Scouts of the USA is proud to announce
that Ashley Martin from Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama and Nishita Sinha from Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey are the 2017 recipients of the Chuck
McLane Scholarship, made possible by Arconic Foundation. This scholarship
recognizes exceptional Girl Scouts who complete a Girl Scout Gold Award project
related to science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and who plan to
pursue a STEM-related college degree and career. We’re thrilled to see Ashley
and Nishita recognized as the forward-thinking leaders of tomorrow—which is
what Girl Scouts is all about!
Through her Gold Award project, GMO Unit Study, Ashley created an unbiased
curriculum to educate high school students about genetic engineering and
genetically modified foods. Including scientific, economic, social, and
environmental factors, the curriculum is designed to encourage students to
develop their own opinions. Ashley will attend the University of Georgia in the fall and ultimately plans to pursue a PhD
in genetics.
After visiting where her ancestors
lived in northern India, Nishita was inspired to develop an effective and
inexpensive sanitary improvement to composting toilets for her Gold Award
project. Her enhancements, such as upgrading filtration capabilities and increasing
filter lifespan, will improve the health
of people in the developing world who rely on composting toilets. Nishita will attend
Harvard University in the fall to study physics and computer science.
Look for guest blog posts from Ashley
and Nishita later this month. They’ll share more details about their projects,
their experiences at Girl Scouts, and their lives as leaders in STEM.
From 2013 through
2017, Arconic Foundation’s Chuck McLane Scholarship Program has awarded two girls
per year a $10,000 scholarship. Learn more about these amazing
young women and the other Chuck McLane Scholarship recipients.