Jessica Verian of Holly Springs, NC has been awarded the Girl Scout Silver Award by Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines, which is the second highest achievement in Girl Scouting. This award symbolizes outstanding accomplishments and a commitment to excellence, and helps girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement. Its Girl Scouts like Verian that make the world a better place.

For her Girl Scout Silver Award project, Verian assisted in leading the Holly Spring’s Library’s Summer Reading Program. She distributed prizes for hours read and assisted with several promotional events including the Summer Reading Family Kick Off Event.

Verian is a student at Fuquay-Varina High School and has been a Girl Scout since1999. She is a member of Girl Scout Troop # 1437 advised by Cindy Verian and Gracia Gartland. In addition to Girl Scouting Verian is an active member of Key Club at Fuquay-Varina High School and Springs Dance Company at Holly Springs School of Dance. About the Silver Award

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award girls in grades 6-9, or are the ages 11-14 can earn as a Cadette Girl Scout. The Girl Scout Silver Award represents a girl’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others. The first four requirements of the Girl Scout Silver Award help girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement. The Girl Scout Silver Award Project can be undertaken when the first four requirements are completed. It can be done as an individual or with a group. If done with a group, a girl must be responsible for a specific part of the project and evaluate her contribution to the project and the group. Girl Scouts and Leadership

Girl Scouts of the USA has a 97-year tradition of building leadership skills in girls. Girl Scout alumnae represent 70 percent of women serving in Congress and 66 percent of women of professional achievement. Illustrious alumnae include Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States; Eileen Collins, the first woman space shuttle commander; Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, the first female president of Harvard University; Katie Couric, the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast; and Governor Beverly Perdue, the first female governor of North Carolina. Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.6 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouting is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines serves more than 31,500 girl members and 9,000 adult members in 41 central and eastern North Carolina counties. (Counties are: Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and Wilson.) The council’s administrative headquarters is located in Raleigh, with additional program and service centers located in Fayetteville and Goldsboro. For more information on membership or volunteer opportunities, call 919-782-3021 or visit www.nccoastalpines.org.