The Girl Scouts—Arizona Cactus-Pine Council recently presented its Girl Scout Gold Award to 22 well-deserving young women, including North Central teen Sophia Diaz.
Diaz, a senior at Thunderbird High School who will attend Arizona State University in the fall, discovered that Arizona has one of the lowest reading test scores in the nation, so she created a Reading Buddy Program, pairing kindergarteners with high school students for one-on-one reading and activity time. The program’s purpose is to build a more positive attitude towards reading.
The award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive. In order to earn the award, a Girl Scout must create a project that continues to give back to the community long after she moves on, and often take as long as 18 to 24 months to complete.