Gold

My solo trek to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal and volunteering afterwards at numerous orphanages and schools. After this experience I actually went back to Nepal the following Christmas where I was able to fundraiser a significant amount to buy the orphans a number of everyday items (a fridge, a heater, 15 beds including sheets and blankets etc.) as well as their first ever restaurant experience for Christmas dinner. A beautiful memory I hold close to my heart.

29

Continuing the Award after high school. I was one of few in my age group to finish my Gold Award after school. You don’t have teachers etc. encouraging you to continue and you really have to have that self-motivation to keep going as well as commitment.

Australia

I do a lot of hiking now with my now husband and we always love to go exploring to new places. Since competing the Award I have also been involved in multiple volunteering events. The Award really helped instil in me (even more so than my upbringing) to always help others. I learnt so much from completing the Award and will always have so many wonderful memories to look back on. I hope the Award is still around for my future children so I can encourage them to complete the Award. It was truly life changing.

At age 19, I decided to go to Nepal by myself to complete the Residential Project section of my Gold Award and undertake the trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. To this day, it is still the most challenging thing I have ever done but also one of the most rewarding. Not only was the trek itself extremely difficult but it took a lot of mental strength to keep going as well. I look back now and I am still so proud that I did that by myself at that age but also extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of something so special. Without the Award, I never would have looked to do something like that and since then it has opened so many doors for me. It helped me grow as a person, get out of my comfort zone and meet a range of new people. Something that I think has really helped me in life to this day. When I look at this photo, it reminds me of the beautiful scenery I was lucky enough to witness, the awe I felt for those incredibly hardworking sherpas and the happiness I felt completing something so challenging as a solo young woman.

Alumni