Award-winning Girl Scout tackles crime, wins Congressional Gold Medal

Completing a Girl Scout project to replace the Condon Community Sports Court in 2022 earned Isabella Cruz her first Gold Award from Girl Scouts. The Gold Award is the highest honor and only 5.4% of Girl Scouts complete it. She completed a second Gold Award in October 2022 and will be recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal this spring.

"While finishing the Condon Community Sports Court, her best friends had some very scary experiences," said Patricia Cruz, Isabella's mother. "Isabella decided to complete a second Gold Award project to educate high school girls about the very real dangers they face in high school and as they go to college."

Awareness of the dangers of date-rape drugs came to Isabella through the experiences of two of her friends. One was at a restaurant with her mother, where her beverage was spiked. She passed out at the restaurant table. Three weeks later another friend's sister felt ill after a group of young men had come to talk with her and her roommate at their restaurant table. Soon after the young men left, she began feeling nauseous and dizzy and wanted to go home. As they walked out of the restaurant, she passed out, falling down the stairs and breaking her jaw in three places.

"A few days after this incident, I called my sisters, who were in college, to advise and warn them about the issue of date-rape drugs that had just been introduced into my life," said Isabella. "To my unfortunate surprise, they shared several stories of their own and their friends' negative experiences in college regarding drink-spiking and personal safety issues. I was shocked at how common the problem of drugging seemed."

Hearing about these events inspired Isabella to create her second Girl Scout Gold Award project, 'The Other College Prep Program'- a free online educational curriculum that discusses campus safety, Uber safety, drink spiking, safe alcohol consumption, date-rape drugs, and general safety. It is available by visiting wwwTheOtherCollegePrepProgram.com

"Having developed the curriculum, I have discovered a passion for educating young girls on the potential risks they might encounter in their transition to adulthood," said Isabella. "When I attend college, I intend to pursue this passion by establishing a safety-oriented club specifically for females, aimed at educating and safeguarding members of my future campus."

Cruz, a summer resident of Condon, started her Girl Scout journey as a Daisy at age five and will finish this year. Her mother Patricia Cruz has been her troop leader throughout. She attends Carrollton Sacred Heart High School in Miami, Florida.

The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, recognizing girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through remarkable Take Action projects that have sustainable impact in their communities-and beyond, said Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida. A Girl Scout Gold Award candidate must identify an issue, investigate it thoroughly, build a team, create a plan to address the root cause of the issue, present their plan at an interview, gather feedback, take action and complete a project which educates and inspires others. According to Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida records, Isabella is the first to complete two Gold Awards.In addition to Cruz's projects with Girl Scouts, she has recently earned the Congressional Award Gold Medal, which will be awarded to winners at a ceremony in Washington D.C. in May.

To earn the Congressional Award's top Gold Medal award, Isabella completed over 440 hours of volunteer service, 283 hours of personal development, 700 hours of physical fitness and completed an in-depth exploration.

To complete the volunteer hours, Cruz served the homeless, children in foster care, people in need of organ transplants and participated in environmental health projects.

For her personal development, Isabella set an academic goal of scoring in the top 1% nationally of ACT college admission test takers, which she accomplished. Improving her photography skills was another personal development goal. Using digital cameras and traditional film cameras Isabella entered her work in the International Dark Sky Photography Contest and the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair.

Isabella used "Seeley-Swan Day Hikes" and hiked over 150 miles throughout the Swan Valley to account for her physical fitness goals. Not an avid hiker in her earlier years, Isabella used the Congressional award process to motivate her to increase stamina and fitness through gradual workouts. 

"Once I got into better shape, I began to enjoy hiking so much more," said Isabella. "Now I love it because I am not uncomfortable, or winded, and I can really enjoy the beauty of the hikes."

For the exploration portion Cruz focused on the country of Spain and studied Spanish history, architecture, literature, art, and more. 

The Congressional Award program was instituted in 1979 to recognize initiative, service and achievement in young people. Youth are honored for setting personally challenging goals and meeting the needs of their community. The program is non-partisan, voluntary, and non-competitive. Young people may register when they turn 13 1/2 years old and must complete their activities by their 24th birthday.

"Completing these projects not only allowed me to get to know myself better, but also allowed me to learn how to protect myself better, and I think that is a lesson that is invaluable," said Isabella. "I learned how to be more persistent, perseverant, safe, and organized. I am also much more comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people since I have had to present the workshop several times."