Izabelle Dreibelbis of Dayton realized that her younger classmates wanted more hands-on learning experiences with science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics – commonly known as STEAM – activities. She worked with day camp teachers to create and implement curriculum for an outer space camp-style program and LEGO engineering program and assisted with the design and creation of a nature-based, STEAM-focused fairy garden. To help ensure her project’s sustainability, Izabelle donated her curriculum for future day camp use. Izabelle’s efforts earned her a prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award in 2026 for her RCA Summer Day Camp Programs project.

Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate exceptional leadership by tackling important community issues. As the organization’s highest achievement, earned by just 6% of Girl Scouts nationwide, the award requires planning and executing a sustainable, high-impact project. Through this intensive process, these young women work hard and empower themselves while creating lasting change for others.

“I love participating in STEAM activities,” Izabelle shares. “I love being able to hold a project that I made as well as be able to explain how and why it works. When I moved to my new school and realized we didn’t have any STEAM programming for our elementary students, I knew that had to change.”

And change she brought! Among the camps that she helped create and execute was a “mad scientist” experience. Each day, campers were immersed in specific areas of science, doing research and completing experiments. “By the end of the week, all the kids were talking about what kind of scientist they wanted to be when they grew up,” she says. “Watching kids fall in love with new ideas is by far the most magical thing in the world.”

The project – while extremely labor intensive to execute – didn’t experience any major setbacks, something Izabelle attributes to her project mentors. She certainly learned about the importance of having a great team. “One of the biggest things I learned through this process is that life is a whole lot easier when you have a team to back you up,” Isabelle says. “If I didn’t have friends and volunteers to help brainstorm ideas, prepare activities and lead during camp weeks, I would have drowned in this project long before I started.”

Izabelle cherishes her Girl Scout memories, sharing that some of the best were when she was young, watching the older girls as leaders and counting the days until she was old enough to plan events and work with younger girls. Those wishes came true as she created multiple opportunities to work with younger girls, including through her Gold Award project, sharing, “I loved to see them learn and enjoy activities I created.”

Although Izabelle was successful in pursuit of a Gold Award, she shares an important lesson that she learned in her years as a Girl Scout: Failure is necessary for progress. “Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward,” she shares. “The important thing is to learn from your mistakes to find ways to improve your process and project.”

Izabelle is currently working her way through community college and intends to pursue psychology. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, including reading books with her mom, “nerding out about music” with her brother or taking her dogs hiking. She enjoys arts and crafts, her junk journal and nature activities such as hiking, camping and picnicking in the park.

Change the world, Girl Scout! Learn more at girlscoutcsa.org.