By: Girl Scout , Mae O'Neill

My name is Mae O’Neill, and I’m a Gold Award Girl Scout from Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital.

Growing up as a military kid, both my parents served in the Army, and their service has always been incredibly important to me. My dad has been in the Army for over 20 years, and my mom served as an engineer. I noticed that I often heard about my both of parents experiences serving while at home, but not as often did I hear about women’s soldiers experiences in an educational setting. . That made me realize how often women veterans’ stories are overlooked.

In high school, I also noticed that in classes like AP World History, we learned a lot about veterans, but there was almost no focus on women veterans. That’s when I decided that for my Gold Award project, I wanted to change that.

I created a short form documentary about women veterans—highlighting their history, experiences, and contributions. I shared it with my school, local,community, and school district to help others recognize the impact these women have had on our country. As a military child I moved somewhere close to ten or eleven times, I was constantly adjusting to new schools, communities, and routines. But Girl Scouts was one of the very few things that stayed consistent, no matter where we went, as my family and I always made it a priority. It was something that I was really grateful that I had because I always knew that in Girl Scouts, I had a support system in my troop and mentors that I could go to. It was a place where I knew I belonged, which is something that not everybody can say in moving around a lot if they don't have a core foundation.

Knowing that there's an organization like Girl Scouts where you are going to have those constants in a military kid’s world where there's so many things that are just unknown, is something I really valued. Having Girl Scouts be there and knowing that I had a troop and that I had mentors that I could go to, that was something that was special and reassuring.

In the three years that I was part of the Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital council it gave me a foundation of community service, project management, and leadership skills that continue to impact me even now, as a college student. In the end, my Gold Award project allowed me to share stories of women veterans, and it also helped me grow as a leader, one that advocates for causes I care about.