Shrewsbury – Aishwarya Khanna of Shrewsbury, a senior at the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School and a member of Westborough Girl Scout Troop 30633, has received the Girl Scout Gold Award.
An avid dancer, Aishwarya never saw any dance programs that had children with special needs or disabilities. Working with the Westborough Recreation Department’s sports division, Aishwarya created Unified Dance. Children in the program were given an opportunity to learn formal dance instruction, and freestyle dance to express themselves. This project taught Aishwarya about how to work with others, how she presents herself to others, and how to get things done in a timely fashion. Aishwarya wrote three curriculums that volunteers can use to continue the program.
Aishwarya likes to say she started Girl Scouts as a “late bloomer,” joining as a Junior Girl Scout. Outside of Girl Scouts, Aishwarya enjoys teaching dance and Hindi language, and helping middle school girls code for android apps as part of the CS Gems. She is part of the Ten80 STEM Racing Club and the business team at her high school. She enjoys playing volleyball and tennis with her family. Aishwarya will attend Brandeis University in the fall
The Gold Award is the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA, earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. Only 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn the Gold Award. After completing the prerequisites girls use their vision for change to complete a service project that reaches beyond the Girl Scout organization and provides lasting benefit to the larger community. It requires a minimum of 80 hours of work in planning and completing the project.