South End Girl Scout earns Gold

Girl Scout Jean Azar-Tanguay of Boston’s South End has earned the highest award in Girl Scouts – the Gold Award – for her project educating Boston Latin School on how to support students with LGBTQ+ parents.

Now a pre-med freshman at University of Richmond, Jean will be honored by Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts in June with a ceremony at the MA State House. The prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award requires high school girls to address a problem in their community with a project that makes significant and lasting change. www.gsema.org/en/about-girl-scouts/our-program/highest-awards/gold-award.html

“As a person with LGBTQ+ parents, I have seen first-hand how isolating schools can feel at times due to simple things teachers say or do that seem harmless to them, such as asking for a mom’s signature,” said Jean. Seeing other students face the same issue, and hearing some teachers express interest in education on the topic, she was inspired to take action!

Jean’s Girl Scout Gold Award project centered on creating a curriculum for teachers and educators to create a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ students and students with LGBTQ+ parents. Her curriculum was based on a school survey she conducted and input from Boston Latin’s Gay Straight Alliance. It includes tips to avoid scenarios that might make a child of LGBTQ+ parents feel discomfort, with specific scenarios addressing common micro-aggressions that other students and Jean herself have faced. “Those micro-aggressions come as a result of subtle heteronormativity in our society that is so easy to avoid!”

To sustain this project, Jean provided her curriculum to COLAGE, an international organization by and for people with LGBTQ+ parents, along with a video recording of her final presentation for staff to reference.

“Girl Scouting means being in a space with other strong women while learning life skills in leadership, STEM, and even business (hello, cookie sales) that will take me far in life. It gave me role models and sisters that I will have for life!” www.gsema.org