CONWAY, Ark. (February 12, 2016) – Hendrix College student Kaersti McLellan ’19 has been chosen as the Girl Scouts Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Young Woman of Distinction Award.
The award honors women who are exemplary role models for girls and whose efforts are aligned with the mission of Girl Scouting to build girls of courage, confidence, and character and to make the world a better place.
McLellan, a pre-med student from Fort Smith, Arkansas, will receive the award, which also includes a scholarship, at a banquet in her honor on Thursday, March 3, in Fort Smith.
“I am very honored to receive this award because there are very few young women who ever get recognized by this,” said McLellan, who joined a Girl Scouts troop when she was five years old and received her lifetime membership last year. “It is a joy to see that I
have made such an impact on so many lives for the better and am very happy to represent the Young Women of my community.”
As a Girl Scout, McLellan started a club for junior high girls interested in STEM fields. She has volunteered to help children and adults with special needs and was president of the Southside Habitat for Humanity club and dance team member.
“My favorite part about Girl Scouts was the trips we took. Not just because they were fun and you got to be with your friends, but because they truly helped me grow as a person by exposing me to different, new places,” she said. “I have been lucky enough through my years as a Girl Scout
to go on many camping trips, spend the night in the Oklahoma City Zoo and Science Museum, spend a week in Savannah, Georgia to learn about Juliette Lowe, the founder of Girl Scouts, and go on a 25 day backpacking trip through Italy, Switzerland, France, and England. Where we got to visit many of the iconic
tourist towns, such as London, Paris, and Venice but we also spend a week at the Girl Guide World Center in Adelboden, Switzerland, where we became friends with Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from all over the world. I still keep in touch with a few Girl Guide friends of mine from Scotland.”
“I believe my Girl Scout experience helped prepare me for Hendrix because it gave me tools for making the world a better place, which I believe is also one of Hendrix College's goals,” she said. “It also challenged me to be become a confident young women which has helped me
pursue going to college and also my career path.”
About Girl Scouts – Diamonds of Arkansas,
Oklahoma and Texas
Girl Scouts – Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas provides the premier leadership program for girls in 79 counties. The Diamonds Council serves all counties in Arkansas, except Crittenden; Adair, LeFlore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma; and Cass and
Bowie counties in Texas. Its outcomes-based program model empowers girls to develop life and leadership skills they will use for the rest of their lives. For more information, visit
http://www.girlscoutsdiamonds.org.
About
Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.