GLEN CARBON – Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois congratulates KayLee Melton from Wood River, Illinois for becoming a Gold Award Girl Scout—a designation she earned by creating a music program for special education students at her school.
KayLee has always had a passion for helping others, especially those with special needs. As a sophomore, she met with the Special Education director at her school and volunteered with her classes. After that, she was certain these were the students she wanted to work with for her Gold Award project. When brainstorming with her Gold Award mentor, KayLee decided to combine two of her passions - helping others and music - for her project.
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KayLee created the program by collecting donations that consisted of a rolling cart, several musical instruments, sensory items and much more. She also created a series of lesson plans and had the opportunity to present some of those plans to the students herself. These lessons were made into a book that was shared with several area schools.
KayLee’s project reaffirmed her decision of pursuing a career in education. “Being a teacher is hard but so rewarding,” said KayLee. “When the students would stop me in the hallways and ask when I would be back, it gave me the reassurance that I had made an impact,” added KayLee.
Gold Award Girl Scouts change the world for the better, and they change it for good. The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9–12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national and global challenges. Since the highest award was established in 1916, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change. The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable.
KayLee is the daughter of Jennifer and Terry Melton and a member of the class of 2021 at East Alton – Wood River Community High School. She is attending Illinois State University this fall where she will major in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Special Education with a minor in Spanish.
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois serves over 7,800 girls and engages 3,357 adult volunteers in 40 counties in Southern Illinois. Join Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois today! Adult volunteers and girls in K-12 are welcome. Call 800-345-6858 or email customercare@gsofsi.org. Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is a not-for-profit organization supported by various United Ways, businesses and individual donors throughout the region.
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