Randi Kroner of Knoxville used her experience with celiac disease to write, illustrate, publish, and distribute a children’s book to inform the public about the autoimmune disease and how it affects people. Her efforts resulted in her being named a 2022 Gold Award Girl Scout.    

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.

Randi experienced severe stomach issues and visited multiple doctors over several years. After much testing, Randi found out she was gluten intolerant and that it could turn into celiac disease. “I learned that many people do not understand celiac disease, which makes it difficult to explain why I can’t eat certain foods and often feel sick,” she shares. “I wanted to find a way to tell kids and their families about my journey.”

Any project – especially one that requires a minimum of 80 hours of work – will encounter roadblocks, which often provide learning opportunities that can be stacked for future reference. 

Randi with her book and No-Name the stuffed horse. 

Randi usually worked on the artwork for her book in her room with her cat nearby.

The first page of Randi’s book.

Randi was a recipient of GSCSA’s Joyce Maienschein Leadership Grant and used the funds, along with Girl Scout Cookie proceeds and other donations, to complete her project. Originally planning to publish her book in the summer of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted Randi’s school schedule, which pushed back her writing timeline, and it also impacted the timeline at the publishing company. She said, “I learned that writing and publishing a book takes far more work than I previously expected.” Her book, titled No-Name Gets Sick, was eventually published in early 2021. 

Randi’s book was distributed to people across the United States and other countries, including the Philippines and Australia. She shares, “My favorite part came months after I completed the Gold Award when I sent copies of my book and it was chosen by several schools in the Philippines for their national reading month!” The books helped students practice reading in English while also educating them about the disease. She was especially excited to receive a video of a student reading her book. “I never imagined the additional impact my book could have.”

Randi signs a copy of her book at a book signing.

At her book signing, each child was given six samples of gluten free food from local bakers dedicated to gluten free baking. They also received a flyer with information on Randi’s Gold Award project and information on each baker.

Randi describes herself as creative and shy, but she worked through the shyness to discover that other people with celiac disease had experiences that did not necessarily mirror her own. For example, some people are born with the disease, and some develop it later – even into advanced adulthood.

Randi loves spending time with her family and cat, Stanley, and also enjoys traveling to and exploring new places. She fondly recalls her time in Girl Scouts and especially enjoyed participating in community service activities with her troop.

She currently is taking culinary classes and hopes to some day run her own business that offers only gluten-free food. She’s also writing more children’s books. 

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

Kendal Patty, a 2020 Gold Award Girl Scout, is pictured with Randi at the book signing. Randi says, “Kendal was kind enough to stop by and support my Gold Award project. She has also worked on children’s books so this meant so much to me.”