Senior Girl Scout Troop 4715
The Women’s Health Interest Project Patch

Maria, Karen, Callie, Rossie, Diana, Elizabeth, and Brittany

Our troop decided to work on this Interest Project Patch all together partly during a camping trip to Misty Mountain, October 15-17, 2004.  We were accompanied by Dr. Elizabeth Unger who is a pathologist engaged in cancer research at the CDC, Marie Lott who is a researcher with the University of California's Center for Mitochondrial and Molecular Medicine & Genetics, and Audrey Gargiullo who is an occupational therapist with Decatur City Schools.   Here’s what we did, and we did it on Saturday, October 16, except as noted.

Skill Builders

#1   We talked about negative and positive stress and read the list of Stress Reducers on page 61 of the Senior Resource Book.  During our weekend we hiked, rode horses, tried out archery, and worked on an interest project patch and a leatherwork project.  We felt that all of these things, especially being in a beautiful natural setting were really good stress relievers.

#3   Dr. Unger talked to us about the effects of a healthy diet.  We included some of the things she told us in our service project coloring book. 

(Bonus) #4   Mrs. Gargiullo talked with us about breast cancer research.  She shared information from the Internet with us.  We should read the information in the Resource Book and help promote a workshop on prevention and education for peers.

#5   Dr. Unger talked to us about the make-up of bones and the importance of calcium and exercise. We are sharing the information in our coloring book.

Technology

#2   Mrs. Lott and Dr. Unger talked to us about research that uses DNA and how our knowledge of the way diseases work had changed.

#3   Mrs. Gargiullo talked to us about the advances in technology that have changed the detection of breast cancer and other diseases over the past 25 years.

Service Project

#3   At our troop meeting on October 29 we created pages for a coloring book about healthy habits that we will publish on our website and announce to the troops in our Service Unit. Maria was not at the meeting, but she will be adding her pages.

Career Exploration

#3   Mrs. Lott, Mrs. Gargiullo, and Dr. Unger talked to us about opportunities and issues in scientific research in the area of women’s health. They also told us something about how they were trained for their careers.