A writer herself, Brooke Fisher of Lenior City wanted to help teens develop creative writing skills and connect with others. She worked with her local public library to establish a creative writing program where teens could meet and share their work. She earned a prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award in 2024 for her Teen Writing Club project.

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.

Brooke noticed that there weren’t many things for teenagers to do in the summer, so before summer break, she distributed a survey at her high school to get some ideas of what the students wanted to do.

This provided a seed that led her to plan and implement a writing group. Of course, it isn’t always easy to get teens to commit to studious endeavors outside of school; especially on their coveted summer break, but Brooke found a small group who shared her passion for writing.

Over the course of the project, she learned new things about writing from other members and accomplished authors who she invited to lead workshops. The authors also provided feedback on the teenagers’ work.

Additionally, Brooke developed a teen advisory board for the public library system so teens could continue to lead and contribute to year-round programming. “It takes a lot of time and planning to accomplish a goal like the Teen Writing Club project,” Brooke said. “But creating something that I’m passionate about and enjoy made all the work worthwhile.”

She has fond memories of Girl Scout activities, including her favorite: going to camp. Her favorite camp activities were archery and making food over a fire.

Brooke is still in high school and has plans to attend college to pursue sales and marketing. In her free time, she likes to read, write, bake and spend time with her family and friends.

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