Seeing a need for Sunday school and Wednesday night church devotionals that were tailored to youth, Taylor Trammell of Johnson City developed a yearlong curriculum based on the biblical book of Acts. Her project, “Acts 29: We are the Next Chapter,” earned her a prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award in 2024.

Gold Award Girl Scouts are rock stars, role models and real-life heroes who address issues they’re passionate about by using everything they’ve learned as a Girl Scout to solve an issue. They plan and implement projects that produce lasting change in the community and beyond. It is the Girl Scouts’ highest honor.

“Acts only has 28 chapters,” Taylor shared. “The name Acts 29 came from the fact that we – the youth – are the next chapter.”

When she realized the need for a youth-centric teaching curriculum in her local church, Taylor took it upon herself to create just such a resource. Drawing on national research and personal experience, she developed, implemented and evaluated a full year’s worth of Sunday school and Wednesday night programming for children and youth.

Along the way, she perfected her teaching plans and resources, collecting them in a binder for future teachers to use, and then put the entire collection online for use by anyone, anywhere and available at Isaiah1162.wordpress.com.

Not only did she create the curriculum, she also taught it every week for a year – planning, studying, preparing a craft and delivering the lessons. “Kids don’t always understand Sunday school, so I made this for the youth head space,” Taylor noted. “I worked with my youth leaders at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church.”

Her favorite thing? “Teaching kids! I love kids and have a passion for teaching – many people teach, but not all have the passion,” she shared. But this experience did shift her perception a bit. “Before I started, I envisioned what teaching would be like and it was very different in real life than in my head. I thought kids would listen, and they didn’t listen very well, so I had to find ways to get and keep their attention.”

Through 127 hours of investment in this project, she learned how to practice patience and gained a better, empathetic understanding of children and how they learn. Taylor wants this experience to be a springboard for her future. “I want to be a teacher,” she said.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her mother and younger brother. She has two cats and a service dog named Alexander Hamilton. She likes to read “everything under the sun,” bake with her family, stay at home and dance in the rain.

In addition to the Gold Award, Taylor also earned a Medal of Honor from the Girl Scouts for saving the life of her mom, Natacha, by acting quickly when she had an urgent medical emergency. Natacha shared, with emotion: “Taylor cares and is full of compassion and grace, knowing when others are hurting. She has such an amazing heart for God, and I’m so blessed to be her mom.”

Congratulations, Taylor! Visit girlscoutcsa.org to learn more.