For Sarah Miller, the Gold Award is part of a foundation, a resume builder, a launching pad. Because for Sarah, the best is yet to come.

Sarah, a 16-year-old rising senior at Warwick High School, was recently bestowed the Girl Scouts of the USA's highest honor. It represented a compilation of past success as well as a peek into the future.

"I'd say it's probably the highest level of things I've accomplished," said Sarah. "I've done some other things that are pretty cool, but they won't help me out as much as the Gold Award."

A member of Girl Scout Troop 70246, which is based at Lititz United Methodist Church (LUMC), 201 Market St., Lititz, Sarah received her prestigious Gold Award at a formal ceremony held by the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania council at Bucknell University in Lewisburg on June 9. Sarah was joined by 70 other Girl Scouts from the chapter who also received their Gold Awards.

It was much ado about something special.

"It was really cool to see," reported Sarah. "They called our names, and we walked up on stage and read short presentations of our projects. You got to hear what other girls did with their projects."

"I was really excited because it was a long process," she added. "(The Gold Award) is not something all Scouts do."

"I'm definitely proud of her going the whole way and getting the Gold Award," said Elli Miller, Sarah's mom and troop leader. "When she was young, I remember her saying, 'I'm going to do that.' It's been cool to see her do it."

The Gold Award is an individual award. But to ascend to that level, Sarah had to first attain Bronze Award status, then Silver Award status obtained in cooperation with the other members of Troop 70246.

Sarah's Gold Award project involved promoting and advertising Aaron's Acres, a local organization that provides recreational opportunities for individuals with disabilities, and its need for volunteers. Sarah's project, which took 80 hours to complete, consisted of contacting churches and youth leaders and hosting a youth night at LUMC.

Sarah was made aware of Aaron's Acres' need for volunteers through past service to the organization.

"It's been a way for me to expand my friend circle," said Sarah of her 11-year involvement in Girl Scouts. "I've got to meet new people I wouldn't have normally met. I think it's also taught me how to do for myself and work towards my goals. I really wanted to get this award. Then it was kind of like, 'How am I going to do that?'"

Sarah has been on the honor roll during each of her first three years at Warwick High School. She also enjoys artistically expressing herself at Lititz Academy of Dance and through the academy's CoJoMotion Dance Company.

"The next big thing is figuring out which college I want to go to and what I want to study," said Sarah, who's considering majors in psychology or data analytics, among other things. "We've been researching them as a family. We've found out that (psychology and data analytics are) more related than we thought."

"She definitely has a kind heart," said Elli. "She's hard working. She puts her efforts and thoughts into others who need help. She'll be there to help anyone who needs help."

For additional information about the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania council, go to http://www.gshpa.org.