Arlissa Dumas, a Cathedral High School student, recently won the Girl Scout Gold award, and is grateful for the prestigious honor.

“Researching, developing, finishing, and winning the Girl Scout Gold Award is an amazing achievement for me,” Dumas says. “I feel very blessed to have been able to complete the award.”

Perseverance and dedication led to her winning the award, as did the extra hours she was willing to put in to reach her goals.

“It (the Girl Scout Gold Award) means a lot to me! I was able to show myself and the world that if I strive, I can achieve anything! It was a lot of rewarding work.”

The Girl Scout Gold Award is very prestigious. Since it was founded in 1916, only one million girls have received the award. Dumas says she is “proud to be in that number.”

“Due to the time commitment and work involved, a majority of the girls that start the award do not complete it,” Dumas says. “Only 5.4% of the girls in the U.S. complete the Gold Award annually.”

It is only earned by seniors in the Girl Scouts and/or The Ambassadors. Dumas is a Senior in the Girl Scout ranking.

“It is the equivalent of an Eagle Scout Award,” Dumas says. “It is the highest award that a girl can get. It shows that I can be committed and dedicated to a cause and complete my goal! It really shows perseverance and determination.”

Dumas says she was recently selected to represent “The Girl” on The State Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts.

“I will assist the board with decision making,” Dumas says, “The goal is for me to bring the girls’ perspective to their decision-making process of the Indiana State Board of Directors.”

In addition to her heavy involvement with the Girl Scouts, Dumas is also on the High Honor Roll at school. She is in the school’s choir, on the swim team, and in the Cathedral orchestra. She also volunteers at her church, Barnes United Methodist Church, where she is inspired by her pastor, Charles R. Harrison.

“At times it is very challenging,” Dumas says. “It is truly my faith, my relationship with God, my parents and grandparents that help to take me from place to place. I am also on the Speech and Debate Team at Cathedral. During the month of March, I won first place in a Speech Competition at Marion University! I was also on the team to represent Cathedral at the State Competition in March.”

Dumas has a successful system of accomplishing all of her goals.

“I often write things down and it helps me to keep track of all the things (going on).  I am also one of the top Girl Scout Cookie sellers in the state of Indiana. This year I sold over 2,000 boxes of cookies. I belong to a special cookie club. We are The Cookie Ambassadors. We do really cool things. This year we are going to San Francisco and visit Yosemite.”

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