Isabelle Thebeau

I embody the ideals of the Medal of Esteem through my values and actions. I deeply believe in never lying, cheating, or stealing, values that guide me daily. One significant example of this is when I chose to redo my Silver Award (the second-highest award in Girl Scouts) because my troop leader had falsely credited me for another girl's work. Even though it wasn’t my mistake, I redid the project to say I earned it through my own effort.

I demonstrate service through my commitment to helping others in my school and community. Over the past four years, I’ve participated in many high school activities and taken the initiative to give back to the communities who’ve helped me grow as a person. For example, I spoke at a school board meeting to help secure a shop for all five Piper Robotics teams, created a STEM tutoring program for the high school, mentored elementary students in the FIRST Lego League, and organized STEM outreach events for the Kansas City community.

I represent achievement through my academic success and by using my talents to create meaningful change. Even when attending seven different schools, I’ve maintained strong academic performance and developed communication, collaboration, and leadership skills that helped me earn my Gold Award (the highest award in Girl Scouts). For my Gold Award, I created a STEM tutoring program for Piper High School. I’ve also expanded the high school robotics team’s outreach to bring STEM opportunities to students not just in Piper, but throughout Kansas City.

Leadership is something I practice by stepping up to guide teams and create welcoming, inclusive spaces. As CEO of the robotics team and previously as PR/Media lead, I’ve spent most of my three years in the program leading meetings, keeping projects on track, and encouraging others. I’ve worked hard to ensure every team member feels supported and confident enough to try new things, especially those new to the robotics community.