Plainsboro Girl Scouts go for the gold

   Plainsboro residents Sarah Emerman and Anne Murphy have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting. Sarah and Anne are both members of West Windsor-Plainsboro Girl Scout Troop 1110.
   The awards were presented to Sarah and Anne at a court of awards held in West Windsor. Among those who personally presented the awards were U.S. Congressman Rush Holt, Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh and Plainsboro Deputy Mayor Neil Lewis. Sarah and Anne are seniors at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South and have been involved in scouting for more than a dozen years.
   Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award requires a girl to meet rigid and challenging achievements in badge work, career exploration, leadership, and community service before taking on an independent project that promotes community service, positive values and the leadership skills that she has developed.
   Sarah’s Girl Scout project was called "Leader-Daughter Mystery Mayhem," a weekend camping event at Camp Oak Spring held in September. Guests went to different stations doing sports, games, hiking, arts and crafts, and boating, while gathering clues to solve a mystery. The overnight adventure also included a night walk, a sing-along bonfire, stories and skits, breakfast, and a flag ceremony. More than 200 leaders and daughters attended the event.
   Sarah plans to study political science in college.
   Anne’s project was called "Amazing Art Around Us: Exploring the World of Pottery." She designed a program that introduced pottery to children, and developed projects appropriate for their age and abilities. Her program was a huge success as she presented it in different ways to children at the Arts Council of Princeton and Girl Scout troops, and packaged it complete with instructions and supplies so that new Girl Scout leaders can run the program themselves.
   Anne loves music and art and is an active member of the high school chorus. She plans to pursue a liberal arts degree in college.