Heather Merry, a Westminster College freshman elementary education major from Bethel Park, has been nominated for the national Girl Scout's "Young Women of Distinction Award."

"Heather is just the kind of student we dreamed of when imagining what kind of student the Young Presbyterian Scholars Program (YPS) would bring to Westminster," said Carey Anne Meyer LaSor, YPS program coordinator. "She has exhibited leadership and faithfulness already, as this nomination proves, and there is no doubt that she will continue to honor her faith and her Westminster history in the years to come."

Merry was nominated by the Trillium Girl Scout Council on the merits of her Gold Award Project, "The Handicapped Children of Ndirande," which she completed while living in Malawi with her parents, Daniel (a 1977 Westminster graduate) and Beth Merry (a 1976 Westminster graduate), who are missionaries. The Merrys live in Pittsburgh, but spent a year in Malawi as partnership missionaries.

The Young Women of Distinction Award, which is given to only 10 women in the United States, will be presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in June. A Gold Award Project, which is needed to become a Gold Award Scout, is the culmination of a project that fulfills a need within a community, creates change, and something that hopefully becomes an ongoing project. A Gold Award Scout is the highest award given to high school age Girl Scouts.

Westminster College, a Presbyterian Church-related college, offers $48,000 scholarships to outstanding PC (USA) students and offers students a way to continue to grow in faith and leadership while on the Westminster campus. The scholarships are given to all PC (USA) congregations, in essence, to award to a student of their choosing who meets the qualifications of active memberships in a PC (USA) congregation, and exhibits a 3.5 or higher cumulative high school grade point average.

Contact Merry at mailto:merryhf@westminster.edu for more information about her Girl Scout nomination.

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