18 Amherst, Mont Vernon Girl Scouts Graduate

AMHERST, NH — Girl Scout Troop 22171 and Troop 20061, including girls from Amherst and Mont Vernon, reported a record-breaking number of girls graduating from high school in 2021 — 18.

The girls also racked up a number of achievements including two as valedictorian and salutatorian of their high school classes. Due to coronavirus, a number of small "bridging" ceremonies were held to honor the girls who are now moving onto adult status.

For Troop 22171, some of the community service highlights included building a bridge over a stream on an Amherst town trail; making assembly line cookies in a jar; holding shoe, clothing, food, and book drives; assisting at the Garden Club plant sale; and becoming the Easter Bunny and Santa’s elves, to the delight of Amherst children. They also helped make props for various school plays, carried the flags during the Memorial Day parade, and participated in the flag ceremony for World Thinking Day and town-wide bridging.

They were led by troop leaders Crista Burrel, Stephanie Grund, and Rebecca Robinson.

Troop 20061 made cookie jars for Share, a troop tradition; wrote notes for the residents of Parkhurst Place and created floral arrangements to bring them comfort and joy throughout the holidays; instead of taking a year-end trip, they used their funds and cookie earnings to create a “birthday closet” for the teenage female residents of the Nashua Children’s Home and to purchase newborn clothes for babies born at Lowell General Hospital.

They were led by troop leaders Lauren Tiso and Gillian Smith.

The Troop 22171 graduates and their future plans are:

Saryn Bernard, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Emma Brown, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Bailey Burke, Holy Cross (earned Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards)

Paige Colby, Bennington College

Evelyn Dowd, Bard College (earned Girl Scout Bronze Award)

Gigi Goulet, Saint Anselm (earned Girl Scout Bronze Award)

Anna Goyette, George Washington University (earned Girl Scout Bronze Award and is the salutatorian for Souhegan High School)

Chloe Grund, Stony Brook University (earned Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards)

Rachel Mazur, Lasell University (earned Girl Scout Bronze and Gold Awards)

Abbie Robinson, University of Connecticut (earned Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards)

Claire Sullivan, Smith College (earned Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards)

Also included in the ceremonies was 11th-grader Sydney Mazur, who is well on her way to following in their footsteps.

The Troop 20061 graduates and their future plans are:

Kati Tiso, Florida Gulf Coast University – Nursing (earned Girl Scout Silver Award and Gold Award, and is valedictorian of Souhegan High School)

Georgia Craven, Hobart and William Smith - Political Science/Pre-Law

Allie McCall, University of NH - Human Development and Family Studies

Amanda Senk, St. Andrews and William and Mary – Economics

Kyla Pascucci, Gardner Webb University - Exercise Science/Pre-Med

Katie Jones, Fordham University - International Affairs

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