East Longmeadow resident and Girl Scout Emily Paseos posed with Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts CEO Theresa Lynn at the Gold Awards Ceremony.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
EAST LONGMEADOW — The Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts have recognized East Longmeadow resident and Girl Scout Emily Paseos, 16, with the Gold Award — the highest achievement in girl scouting — for her work toward leaving a lasting impact on the local community.
The Gold Award is given to those who identify a community need, develop a sustainable solution and demonstrate exceptional leadership through a significant service project. She is a member of the Chicopee troop and became a girl scout in kindergarten.
Paseos received recognition for her Polish Center Passport Program. The program creates a more interactive and engaging museum experience for children and families visiting the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning.
She partnered with the Chicopee museum to design a guided passport activity, encouraging young visitors to explore exhibits, learn about Polish history and traditions, and collect themed stickers.
All physical supplies, files and ordering resources were also transferred to the museum to sustain the program and evolve it with future exhibits.
“Kids receive a booklet that is designed to resemble a Polish passport when they enter the museum, and each page corresponds to a room in the museum,” Paseos said. “Kids complete activities, such as finding an object, learning about it and coloring. Once an activity is completed, kids put a sticker on the page that looks like passport stamps you would get when you enter another country.”
Paseos said she became interested in the project in an effort to earn the Gold Award. She is half-Polish and thought it would be cool to learn about the culture and share it with others.
She began by designing the passport through learning about the museum’s collection and choosing which item would go on each page.
“I created the activities that kids complete along the way,” Paseos said. “After, I decided what would go into the prize bags kids receive at the end. Each person who completes the passport gets a bag with crayons to work on the coloring pages in the passport, and a wooden egg with paint to make a Polish pisanki — decorated Polish eggs.”
She said she felt excited and proud after hearing she had received the Gold Award.
“After over 100 hours of work on the project, which began in late 2024, I was so happy to see that my hard work paid off,” Paseos said. “To me, being a Gold Award Girl Scout means being able to make a difference in my community. I am proud that I was able to take an idea and turn it into something that is actually being used. It also means I have learned skills that will be useful to me now and in the future, such as project management, funding, public speaking, etc.”
Paseos attributed her experience as a Girl Scout to giving her the confidence and courage to travel over 5,000 miles to Tobatí, Paraguay, with Team Tobatí.
“Over the last two years, I have experienced a completely different culture, built friendships with people I never would have met otherwise and worked alongside the community on projects that have a real impact,” Paseos said. “Girl Scouts has given me opportunities to make a difference in my own community, while Paraguay has allowed me to experience service and community in a completely different part of the world. Both have taught me something important about myself. I am deeply impacted by connecting with other people and knowing that something I did made a difference to them. Those connections stay with me and are a big part of why I want to keep doing work that has a positive impact.”
Paseos also received the Military Order of the Purple Heart National Scouting Leadership Award during the June Gold Award Ceremony at Worcester’s Mechanics Hall.
She said receiving the award is especially meaningful because it not only recognizes her work, but also the leadership and service she developed throughout her time with the Girl Scouts.
