Abby Cowan of Maryville saw firsthand how speech therapy made a tremendous impact on her little brother. So, she wanted to ensure that other children who needed therapy would have an inviting and lasting environment to learn speech skills. In pursuing this goal, she was named a 2021 Gold Award Girl Scout from Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians.

Gold Award Girl Scouts are high schoolers who address issues they’re passionate about by planning and implementing a project that produces lasting change in the community and beyond. It is the Girl Scouts’ highest and most prestigious honor.

Abby’s brother was born with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), which makes it hard to make accurate movements when speaking. After experiencing the impact speech therapy had for him, it became an important topic for her.

She partnered with a local elementary school and teacher for her Classroom Action project to build shelving and acquire materials to create a supportive classroom space for preschool through fifth-grade students. “I created an environment for the kids to be successful in learning speech skills,” she said. 

Before photos of the classroom Abby worked on.

Abby and her team invested a total of 80 hours planning, collecting donations, and shopping for supplies; then set to work painting, building and installing shelves, decorating, and setting up the classroom to prepare it for speech students.

Abby working on furniture for the classroom. 

Abby was able to collect cash and product donations worth $3,000 to invest in the renovation of the classroom! This also helped Abby with her goals to develop budgeting and teamwork skills through the Gold Award process. 

After photos of the classroom. Much brighter and fun!

In addition to the enhancements to the classroom, Abby also created a patch program to teach Girl Scouts about speech disorders. The classroom and patch program will help educate everyone well into the future. 

Congratulations, Abby! Visit girlscoutcsa.org to learn more about the Girl Scouts. 

The patch Abby designed to go along with the patch program she created.