Latest / Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts / Ep 173 Two Girls One World: Bridging Literacy with Mariam

Transcript

Ep 173 Two Girls One World: Bridging Literacy with Mariam · Hearts Of Gold - Reflections from Gold Award Girl Scouts

• 0:00
  HOG ep173 Audio
• 0:01
  Thrille Media: The Hearts of Gold podcast is brought to you by the Grow and Share Network, produced by Thrille Media.
• 0:02
  Sheryl Robinson: Welcome to Hearts of Gold. Today, we have Mariam with us. Hi, Mariam.
• 0:03
  Mariam Dukhan: Hi, I'm Mariam.
• 0:04
  Sheryl Robinson: Can you tell us about your Girl Scout Gold Award project?
• 0:05
  Mariam Dukhan: Yes. So my Gold Award project is called Two Girls One World: Bridging Cultures Through Literacy, and my project was focused on bringing books to children.
• 0:06
  There's a literacy crisis happening in America right now, not just in Michigan. I'm from Michigan, by the way. And it's very, very hard to see because a lot of these children are growing up and not knowing how to read, and there's a lot of things out there. There's a lot of new technology up and coming and AI, and all of this is taking away from books and reading and writing, and I really wanted students to learn.
• 0:07
  I thought that students wouldn't like to read if they aren't interested in the book, and something that gets people interested in books is seeing themselves in it. I always grew up reading. My parents were very big proponents of literacy, and I always was reading books. There's always bunch of books on my nightstand.
• 0:08
  I would always read a book every day, and I feel like it helped shape me into who I am today. So I'm a very big advocate for that now. I never saw myself in books. I never saw my identity represented accurately. I never read something that told me, "Wow, this is you." This is you staring back at you from the book.
• 0:09
  So I thought it would be cool to do that. So I authored and illustrated a book called The Adventures of Dolly and Kaitlyn, and it's a more diverse book aiming to get a bunch of diverse cultures out into the world so children can learn more about them and are exposed to them at a young age. So I authored and I published this book, and I created curriculum to go along with including worksheets and guidelines corresponding not only to the Michigan guidelines but also to the American national literacy guidelines.
• 0:10
  And this literacy crisis is mainly affected in third through fifth grade. So I went into classrooms, and I read my book, and I taught it to fourth grade students in the Metro Detroit area because I really wanted to see if it had a tangible impact on students.
• 0:11
  Sheryl Robinson: So you created a website, which is where you're hosting this curriculum, and the curriculum is amazing.
• 0:12
  Can you tell us a little bit about it?
• 0:13
  Mariam Dukhan: So in my book, there are 10 different chapters, and there is a worksheet for each chapter that goes along with everything specifically that happens in there. And then I also have videos on YouTube that correspond with each chapter and each worksheet. There's a little checkpoint for each thing, and it makes it a little more organized and a little easier to follow along, and a little easier for teachers to lesson plan too, because it's very hard for teachers.
• 0:14
  I know the teacher I worked with, she had a lot of trouble fitting me into her schedule because there's so many things they have to reach before a certain time. So I thought that would make it an easier way for it to actually be implemented within classrooms.
• 0:15
  Sheryl Robinson: Can you tell us about your experience while you were working on your project and how you connected with the teachers, were able to get into the classrooms, and other experiences you had because of your project?
• 0:16
  Mariam Dukhan: So a lot of my favorite experience working with my Gold Award project specifically was getting to meet a bunch of new people. It's something I wish I used earlier on, is having a team. And I don't know if all the councils use Go Gold, but my council uses it. And you have to put your team in a section and your supervisor and all that.
• 0:17
  So I think a mistake I had earlier on is I didn't use my team to their fullest potential. I didn't ask for their opinions or ask, "Oh, what do you think about this?" Or, "What do you think I should improve, and how do you think I should improve it?" So that's something, but I definitely used that later on in my Gold Award process.
• 0:18
  My favorite thing was interacting with the children themselves. They're very lively, and I learned so, so much about working with them. There was actually this one instance I point out to a lot. This one student, she told me... I read a couple chapters of my book, and then they had to go outside for recess, and she told me, "I would rather stay inside and read your book instead of going to recess."
• 0:19
  And I actually went outside during their recess and I read the book to them in a little circle, which was so fun, and it was an amazing experience, and it really showed me that it impacts their lives because recess is, the ultimate and most amazing thing for children that age. And if she was willing to give up her recess for reading my book, that means it was actually intriguing and interesting.
• 0:20
  But yeah, my favorite part was definitely working with the students. And working with districts and teachers is very, like... I would say it is not so hard to do, but you definitely have to do a lot of networking and you have to do a lot of reaching out because you are a high school student most of the time, and it's very hard to have that reputation where they actually want to work with you, and they don't just downplay it.
• 0:21
  But I was fortunate enough that I've known the teacher I work with for a long time. She let me go in her classroom, so yeah.
• 0:22
  Sheryl Robinson: So who was on your team, and how did they help you?
• 0:23
  Mariam Dukhan: A couple teachers on my team And I had a bunch of my classmates and people who were my peers that were actively interested in reading and writing.
• 0:24
  I had a lot of people who were very articulate with their words and their writing. Specifically the teachers helped with creating the book and drafting it, and making sure that this was something that students actually wanted to read. So that's mostly how the teachers helped me. After I would go in, 'cause I went in multiple times to the classrooms, after each time they would give me feedback, and they would tell me what I should change, what is good, what is bad, and how to change it.
• 0:25
  So that helped me a lot. And then I also had some people who have published a book before on my team, so that was pretty cool because I got to understand the process. And I did go, I did have a couple of errors with the formatting and the margins and all that when I was uploading it, so it was very useful to have them on my team.
• 0:26
  And then there's a lot of these people who are my peers who are in AP Lang and AP Lit, and they're very, very articulate, and they helped me a lot with proofreading, making sure I didn't have any errors in my book, making sure everything was flowing smoothly in the text, and everything connected, and there was a plot line that actually worth following.
• 0:27
  Sheryl Robinson: One of the challenges you had was with your proposal. Can you tell us about your proposal experience?
• 0:28
  Mariam Dukhan: So right now I'm going into my senior year this fall, and I started working on my Gold Award, I want to say, the summer after my eighth grade. So I was working on it for, like, pretty significant amount of time, and I would definitely say hands down either my proposal getting accepted or formatting for the book publishing were the hardest parts.
• 0:29
  That's tied. But my proposal got rejected a couple of times. I want to say maybe, three or four, around that number. And that was one of the hardest things I struggled with because it was very hard to have motivation after it would keep getting rejected. But I had, I don't know if every single council does this, but I have a mentor assigned to me.
• 0:30
  We have a highest awards committee. So I had a mentor assigned to me, and she helped me a lot. She was very amazing along the way. She told me, "Oh, this is what you need to fix. This is what you need to change. This is what the highest awards committee does want to see, and this is what they don't want to see."
• 0:31
  I had a hard time articulating every single thing I wanted. I feel like in my mind I had this idea of what I wanted my project to be, and I just wasn't fully putting all those ideas down for them to read it. So there was a lot of blanks and a lot of room for improvement and room for, like they didn't know what I was thinking.
• 0:32
  So I remember the first time I had like a couple of pages of feedback, like full pages. I learned a lot through the process. I learned how to just give like a good elevator pitch and have everything just laid out flat just so like they can take a look in my brain sort of and see everything. But that was definitely very, very hard, especially after I would work so hard on it and then it would get rejected, and then I would have to keep working on it.
• 0:33
  But it gave me a lot to learn from and gave me back a lot of like knowledge and yeah.
• 0:34
  Sheryl Robinson: So you started out very, very bumpy. You clearly completed your Gold Award, as you are a Gold Award Girl Scout. However, you also received some special accolades. Can you tell us about those?
• 0:35
  Mariam Dukhan: Two things I want to mention.
• 0:36
  I earned the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan Precious Metal Award. It's, I don't know if- Anyone will be able to see, but it's right here, and I think it's GSSEM only. And it is what someone receives when they earn their Bronze, Silver, and Gold. So I thought that was pretty cool. And then the second thing I received was the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan 2026 Young Woman of Distinction Award.
• 0:37
  A distinction awarded to an individual who shows, and through their project shows exceeds the expectations and just all of the markings. I know there's a bunch of different things you have to touch on to get your Gold Award approved, your final project. So it's someone who exceeds the expectations and all of those, and just something that exemplifies what a Gold Award should be and has a tangible, meaningful, lasting impact on the world that also has a global link.
• 0:38
  Sheryl Robinson: What other Girl Scout experiences have you had?
• 0:39
  Mariam Dukhan: So this year I was very, very fortunate enough to be chosen for the Girl Scouts Global Citizenship Summit in DC. So it was a, I wanna say two or three-day event, and I got to interact with Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from all around the world, and I got to learn about global citizenship and what it truly means to be a global citizen and learn from the people around you.
• 0:40
  I live in Farmington Hills, where there are over 60 languages spoken, and all of my classmates are truly so different and diverse, and all of my friends are different, and I learn something new from each one of them, and I take one thing from each of them, and that's what makes me into who I am.
• 0:41
  So I really, really loved that experience. It was so cool. We got to go to the Council on Foreign Relations. The United Nations Association of the United States of America, an organization nonprofit called Vital Voices. So we got to do a lot of things, and we just got to bond and hang out together, and it was super amazing.
• 0:42
  And then I also attended the Girl Scouts Unite event right after that, which is where I met Sheryl. But it was very, very cool. I love seeing so many new faces. There's so many Girl Scouts there, and it's such a fun thing that all these people are here, and we all have this one thing in common, but we're all vastly different.
• 0:43
  I love doing swaps with everyone. It was super fun. For swaps, I actually bought a rock. Each swap had a rock in it, and the rocks were from Lake Michigan. And then I also put a little message on them. So I thought that was pretty cool.
• 0:44
  Sheryl Robinson: In 2029, what was Girl Scouts Unite this year, they sometimes change the name, but we in general call it convention, is going to be in Indianapolis.
• 0:45
  What would you say to girls in middle school, very early high school, that will still be in high school in 2029? What would you say to them about thinking about attending Indianapolis Convention?
• 0:46
  Mariam Dukhan: Oh, I think it's definitely worth something thinking about, worth something worth doing. It was such, such a cool experience.
• 0:47
  All the sessions were so cool, and all of the people there speaking, and everyone there was just so interesting, and I loved it a lot. I actually got to host a couple sessions, speaker sessions. I don't know if it's called a speaker session, but I got to host... I'm just gonna call it a breakout room, but I got to host a couple of those.
• 0:48
  I got to host three. So I got to work with the speakers. With one of them we actually got to sing a song. We had to sing a song in front of everyone, which was very fun experience, out of my comfort zone, but it was super cool. It's something worth attending, and I'm so grateful I had the privilege to go because it's truly something that can change the trajectory of someone's life.
• 0:49
  Sheryl Robinson: It's slightly different at each convention, but at this most recent convention in DC in 2026, there were three main components. There were the breakout rooms, there were main stage sessions, and then there was the actual convention hall floor. What was your favorite thing from each one of those three components?
• 0:50
  Mariam Dukhan: So from the breakout rooms, my favorite part was hosting the session. I got to host a session about me and my partner. We got to host a session about diplomacy, and there was, like, this simulation and we got to participate in it too, which was super-duper cool. The other one we hosted was about uplifting girls and women with messages, which was super cool.
• 0:51
  My favorite part about the Hall of Experiences was we had two chaperones, and for our chaperones, we got cards and we wrote them cards and made them bracelets, and we gave it to them on the last day Which was super fun. And then I got to talk to a representative from Penn State, and it was a very insightful conversation.
• 0:52
  So that was probably one of my favorite parts. But I think my favorite part overall was the Hall of Experiences, because there's there's so many different things there, and you can just go from station to station, and there's a bunch of patches there, and bracelets. And everything there was super, super cool.
• 0:53
  And then from the speaker sessions, my favorite things were getting to see Megan Keller, because Megan Keller is from my city. She's from Farmington Hills. And I ice skate, and she plays hockey, and she used to play hockey at the same rink I ice skate at. So super cool getting to see her. And then also, this other woman, I can't recall her name, but she swam-
• 0:54
  Sheryl Robinson: The Seven Seas Challenge.
• 0:55
  Mariam Dukhan: Yeah. And I was like, "That's such a cool thing to do. That probably takes so much resilience, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally." So it was so cool to see her.
• 0:56
  Sheryl Robinson: Yeah. I loved that panel. For those that don't know, Megan, it was on the USA Women's Hockey Team that won the gold medal, and she had her gold medal there and was letting the Girl Scouts hold it after her session.
• 0:57
  There were so many girls that were so excited to see Megan. What is coming up in your future?
• 0:58
  Mariam Dukhan: So during senior year, I'm definitely planning a bunch of things. So specifically for being the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Young Woman of Distinction, I am like the face for the council. So I get to do a bunch of speaking events in front of adults, and I know the last one I did was speaking at the Bronze Award celebration.
• 0:59
  So I got to try to uplift the Bronze awardees, which was super cool. But there's gonna be a lot of speaking events in the future. I think my next one is in September. So it's definitely been super cool. It's been a good way to become a better speaker in front of crowds. For senior year in general, there's a bunch of different senior things.
• 1:00
  I know, think next week or the week after I'm gonna be painting a parking spot and doing all these senior year things, senior sunrise, all these specific senior year activities. So I'm super excited about that. It's also very bittersweet because we're all gonna be going to college, and we don't know if we're going to the same colleges too, which is...
• 1:01
  It's very cool. Then also outside, like after senior year, I want to be a dentist, so I'm looking at schools that have good dental programs and good accelerated direct dental programs too. Then I'm also very, very interested in government and politics and also international diplomacy, so I've also been looking at things around that too.
• 1:02
  Sheryl Robinson: What else would you like to share with the audience?
• 1:03
  Mariam Dukhan: Something I really want to share with the audience, there's two things. The first thing is definitely strive to go for your Gold. It's such a unique experience, and it kind of gives you the, a pipeline to... A lot of people are doing, in high school, are doing things called passion projects, and it kind of combines what you like into impacting the community.
• 1:04
  And I think a Gold Award is the perfect structure for a passion project. And I wanna say definitely choose something that you are passionate about, even if you think it's very, very hard to achieve or something that people are telling you, "This is so hard." "I don't know if you're gonna be able to do that."
• 1:05
  If you have enough passion for it, I'm 100% sure that you can get it done. So definitely don't let people discourage you, and don't let people tell you your dreams are too big. And definitely be resilient, and there's a lot of obstacles that come your way during the Gold Award process. So just Be aware of those obstacles and be aware that there are hard things and there are much harder things coming in the Gold Award, and not just in the Gold Award, but in your life in general.
• 1:06
  And that's how you learn and grow. And don't be afraid to embrace those setbacks because that's what makes your project unique, and that's what makes you into the person you are in the future. I also want to say a couple things just about, life in general. But I think it's so important to learn from the people around you, even if you disagree with them, and even if your world views are different.
• 1:07
  Put yourself in someone else's shoes or put yourself in someone else's mind, and it is so rewarding to learn about different people. That's one of my favorite things. I love talking to random people, and I just love seeing where they come from and what opinions they have, and it's super, super fun. And don't be discouraged by anything.
• 1:08
  Girl Scouting is amazing. I've learned a lot. I started Girl Scouts in first grade, and I was a Daisy, now I'm an Ambassador, which has been very, very cool experience. I've been to Savannah, which was super, super nice, the birthplace of Girl Scouts. You can do a lot through Girl Scouts. Don't let someone tell you that Girl Scouts is only for this specific thing or this specific thing.
• 1:09
  It's a very, very wide variety of diversions. If you wanna do one specific thing, if you wanna be an engineer, there's so many STEM things in Girl Scouts. If you wanna be a business person, there's so many things in Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts has a lot to offer, and they cater to so many different, like- Just a wide variety of things.
• 1:10
  So you can definitely pick and choose what you wanna do
• 1:11
  Sheryl Robinson: I completely agree. And I also think that you're a great example of thinking about your Gold Award, and the fact that you were able to achieve it in your junior year not only has given you some other opportunities because now you're a Gold Award Girl Scout, it's given you some opportunities that you may not have had the space to have captured if you were already in college after your Gold Award, and it's given you a little bit more space for senior year, 'cause you're not worried about your Gold Award project either.
• 1:12
  How do you make your s'mores?
• 1:13
  Mariam Dukhan: I don't like it burnt, but I like it pretty cooked. I like it a little darker than golden, I wanna say. And chocolate, obviously, just like regular Hershey's milk chocolate and a graham cracker. And something I actually started doing because of Girl Scouts was putting freeze-dried strawberries in my s'mores.
• 1:14
  Sheryl Robinson: I have not heard that one before.
• 1:15
  Mariam Dukhan: Yeah. And I started it when I was, like, pretty, pretty young, and it's always stuck with me. That was through Girl Scouts, everyone that was in my troop, we all used to have these weird s'more combinations. But I would say that's on top.
• 1:16
  Sheryl Robinson: I'm gonna have to try that one.
• 1:17
  That sounds delicious. Thanks for joining us today.
• 1:18
  Mariam Dukhan: Thank you for having me.
• 1:19
  Sheryl Robinson: Make sure to click follow or subscribe so you always know when new episodes are released. Power your passion and conquer your challenges.
• 1:20
  Thrille Media: Thank you for listening. If you'd like to be on the show to share your story with how you earned your Gold Award, reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com.
• 1:21
  Be sure to catch up on our previous shows on any of your favorite podcasting platforms, as well as view the full video versions at youtube.com/SherylMRobinson. Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next time.