Arizona Cactus-Pine Council recently announced that North Central teen Mary Margaret Petersen has earned the Scout Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive.

This prestigious award requires a girl to stretch her skills and step forward as a leader to meet a local or global need, and to create sustainable change. In the process, she develops and enhances her own leadership, determination, creativity and confidence. For many of these girls, this award is the culmination of more than 10 years in the Girl Scouts, and countless hours of dedication to their community.

Since she was 12, Petersen has been an active member in her youth group at Saints Simon and Jude Cathedral. Because of the positive impact this group has had on her life, Petersen decided to renovate the storage room and repaint the bathroom in the Life House, where her youth group meets.

She organized a team of volunteers to insulate, drywall and paint the storage room and bathroom. She also had volunteers donate their time to rewire the existing light fixture and install an additional light fixture.

While working on the project, Petersen discovered the exterior walls and portions of the frame had wood rot, so she repaired those as well.

Through her project, Petersen improved her communication skills, learned construction basics and discovered the value of asking people for help. She plans on using all of these skills throughout her college studies and into a career in medicine.

Petersen was honored at the 2014 Girl Scout Gold Award Celebration on March 29. Arizona Cactus-Pine Council (GSACPC), in partnership with more than 11,000 adult volunteers, serves 25,000 girls ages 5-17 in more than 90 communities across central and northern Arizona. For more information, visit our www.girlscoutsaz.org.

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