When longtime Girl Scout Stephanie Hall began brainstorming ideas for her Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve, she let nothing stop her.

"I was looking for something that would help my community, and I knew my church was a good place to start," said the member of Conoy Brethren in Christ Church. "There was a bridge on the property that was older, and it looked like it needed to be redone. I had never worked with wood or with the tools to build a bridge, but I wanted to try."

Stephanie, who is the daughter of Jeremy and Christine Hall of Mount Joy, approached members of her church with her idea to improve the bridge, which spans a small creek on the property and provides access to a gazebo, playground and pavilion.

"I sold rails for the bridge, and I got a wood-burning kit," she said. "I learned how to personalize the rails with names or anything people wanted who purchased one. People loved the idea that they could add their name and designs like crosses or hearts. Some people purchased rails to honor family members who have passed away, and that was really special. It's a nice way to make sure people don't forget their names."

Stephanie is a 2024 graduate of Elizabethtown Area High School. She worked on her Gold Award project in the spring of 2024.

"The most challenging part of my project was getting a team of enough people together to build a bridge," she said. "Getting volunteers was difficult, but then people stepped up and it worked out."

In fact, she said the teamwork aspect of her project turned out to be the best part.

"It was really fun," she said. "A couple of my friends from my school and some family members helped. I got to know more people in my church. I didn't realize how many people in my church could do construction and what people were capable of."

Stephanie has been a Girl Scout since she entered the organization as a Daisy Scout in kindergarten. She planned to enlist in the U.S. Navy after graduation, and she knew she wanted to earn her Gold Award before she aged out of Girl Scouts at 18.

"I wanted to make an impact in my community before I started traveling and before I left home," she said. "It seemed like a good way to say goodbye."

She completed basic training in Illinois in November, traveled to Florida for aviation school and graduated from that program in December.

She's now stationed on the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier in Newport News, Va., where she is an aviation boatswain handler.

Once she completes her five-year contract with the Navy, she plans to continue her education, and she might start with online courses while she's serving in the military.

After her service, she said she may pursue a career in music therapy, noting that she loves to play music.

"I went to Europe and toured five countries, playing percussion with 150 students," she said. "I've done some really cool things with music." Piano is her favorite instrument, but she plays other percussion, including timpani and snare drums, and she started learning to play the guitar.

She's thankful for the experiences that Girl Scouts has given her.

"I had a best friend in Girl Scouts, and that kept me going," she stated. "Once we got into an older troop, we planned big trips to New York City, New England, Tennessee. We got to do a lot of really cool things, and we were really good at selling cookies."

Stephanie is a member of the 2025 Gold Award Class for her council, and she'll be recognized at a ceremony later this year.

The Gold Award is the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn, available to girls in high school who create sustainable change for a community or world issue. To be eligible to earn the award, a girl must complete a minimum of 80 hours of work on her project.

"I think it's a great experience to go for your Gold Award," she said. "You can really make a big impact on your community."