Chippewa Valley grad earns Girl Scouts’ highest honor

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Few people who join the Girl Scouts of the USA ever achieve the prestigious Gold Award. Madalynne Honeycutt of Clinton Township has made herself a member of this rarified sorority.

One of 13 Girl Scouts to achieve the Gold Award this year in southeastern Michigan, Honeycutt’s award caps off a long career with the organization by building a lasting resource for her community.

Following in the footsteps of her mother, Honeycutt joined the Girl Scouts while in elementary school.

“My mom was a Girl Scout as a child and she was like, ‘How about you try Girl Scouts,’” Honeycutt said. “Throughout my Brownie and Junior years, I was in a troop, and we had fun activities together. It got a little bit difficult when I got to middle school. When you get to that age level, not too many girls continue after elementary school.”

While the numbers of Honeycutt’s troop began to dwindle, she was faced with continuing with the Girl Scouts or joining her peers to seek other pursuits. She decided to remain with the Girl Scouts by becoming a “Juliette” — a Girl Scout who operates independently of a troop. Taking its name from Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, Juliettes have access to the full resources of the Girl Scouts while working with adult mentors; in Honeycutt’s case, her mother served as her effective “troop leader.” Remaining with the Girl Scouts allowed Honeycutt opportunities like visiting the General Motors Design Dome and getting to take part in programs at Camp Hawthorn Hollow.

“I always wanted to be a leader growing up,” Honeycutt said. “I always wanted to show and give back to the community, and I knew that Girl Scouts was an opportunity to show my power and worth.”

Honeycutt’s Juliette status allowed her to continue working toward achievements within the Girl Scouts, chief among them being the Gold Award. Comparable to the Boy Scouts of America’s Eagle Scout rank, the Gold Award is achieved by only around 5% of eligible Girl Scouts. Much like how Eagle Scouts are required to complete a project in their community, Girl Scouts seeking the Gold Award must complete a “Take Action” project in their community that targets an issue the Scout cares about and can be continued by community members once they have completed the project.

Honeycutt, pulling from her own experiences, decided to tackle the matter of sexual harassment education as her “Take Action” project. Honeycutt had direct experiences with sexual harassment during her time in middle and high school, describing sexual harassment as “very common and obvious” while at Chippewa Valley High School.

“A lot of people didn’t want to speak up about it,” Honeycutt said. “They’d just push it away like it’s not a big deal or that it’s not going to hurt, but I could see it going on in the hallways. I could see it going on online and in classrooms, but nobody was really aware that they were doing sexual harassment … I saw it happening around the school and I knew it wasn’t right, and I wanted to make a difference, so other people didn’t have to go through what I had to go through.”

Daniel Lawrence, the Chippewa Valley High School counselor Honeycutt worked with on the project, says instances of sexual harassment tend to be kept private by affected students and that “each situation was taken seriously and addressed” when brought to the attention of councilors.

Work began on the project shortly after Honeycutt achieved the Silver Award in 2021. Jan Robertjohn served as Honeycutt’s mentor during the project, helping her remain on track as she conducted research.

“The statistics were kind of crazy,” Honeycutt said. “I didn’t realize how many people don’t report (sexual harassment) or speak up about it.”

Honeycutt’s finished project, titled “Stand Up, Speak Up, Report,” took the form of a PowerPoint presentation that goes over the definition of sexual harassment, the various forms it takes, how it can reported and addressed, as well as providing contact information for support organizations. As the project’s sustainability is a key part of the “Take Action” project, Honeycutt’s presentation will continue to be used by Chippewa Valley counselors to help discuss sexual harassment. Lawrence said the project will be shared with other councilors.

“When you work with the community, that’s when you can make impactful change because they buy into what you are doing,” said Robertjohn, a volunteer Gold Award mentor with the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan. “They can see the value of it and then want to continue it. (Honeycutt’s project) will continue after she’s done at the high school, and I do understand that it’s possible some of the other school districts she contacted … could also use it in the future.”

As for Honeycutt’s life as a Gold Award recipient, she is currently enrolled at Macomb Community College and intends to transfer to either Kettering University or Oakland University for a mechanical engineering degree. She hopes one day to work for NASA.

“I hope with having my Gold Award, I can inspire other, younger Girl Scouts to aim high and go big because it is well worth getting your Gold Award,” Honeycutt said. “At the end, you will be so proud of yourself that you were able to accomplish the highest award you can get in Girl Scouts, and anybody can do it if they put their mind to it.”