Kestrel Troutman has earned a lot of badges, patches and pins since she became a Scout in kindergarten.
She also receive pearls when she earned the Gold Award, the highest honor for a Girl Scout.
"Our Founder, Juliette Gordon Low, sold her pearl necklace to pay for creating Girl Scouts," Troutman explained.
The Maryville High School senior earned the Girl Scout Gold Award with a service project she calls "10,000 Hours of Connections."
She created a video oral history of volunteers with at least 10,000 hours of service with the National Park Service.
They are two minute profiles of volunteers.
"These volunteers are absolutely amazing and I adore them and I wanted to have the communities around the National Park Service give them the recognition they deserves," she said.
Kestrel deserves recognition for her volunteer efforts in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
"Salamander monitoring, phenology plots, teaching, I have done a lot of citizen science, I absolutely love working at the Visitor's Center, I've helped with bear projects and elk projects. It is just a really wonderful experience to get out there, explore nature, and give back to our community," she said.
Maryville High School Counselor Kim Porter wrote college recommendations for Kestrel. By the way, she was accepted at age 14.
"When Kestrel sets a goal there is nothing that will stand in her way. She is going to achieve that goal," Porter said.
The badges and pins on the front of Kestrel's vest represent work on projects and community service. Patches on the back are for events she attended or hosted and activities she explored. Her spirit of adventure is guiding her career path.
"I plan to be a marine biologist studying ocean pollution and how to mitigate those risks for ocean life," she said.
Porter said, "She already has goals set out until she's at least 30 so I expect her to everyone of those and who knows where she'll end up but I am excited for her future."
It's a future that will include volunteering.
"These volunteers are absolutely amazing and have inspired me to do great things and to give a hand whenever I can," Kestrel said.
We want to showcase students who reach beyond their schools and families to help make our community better. To nominate a student, please send an email describing them and their community service to 10Hearts@wbir.com.
