(above) Deepa Irakam of Troop 65512 received a Gold Award for her work on “Empower Your Future.”
Watchung Hills Senior Deepa Irakam Earns Gold Award
Submitted by Anitha Irakam
Deepa Irakam, a member of Girl Scout Troop 65512, recently earned the prestigious Gold Award.
Through her Gold Award, Empower Your Future, Deepa Irakam worked over 80 hours to address the issue of sexual harassment. She educated students, ages ranging from middle school to high school, as many of them have heard about sexual harassment but are still not quite sure what it is, and gave them an opportunity to learn more so that they understood what they can do to make sure it doesn’t continue. In addition to working with students in group activities, teaching lessons, and creating discussions, she created a resource guide that included more information on sexual harassment and who to reach out to for help.
The resource guides were distributed to local community centers and schools as a way to spread awareness for sexual harassment education and empower students to speak out when they see something that isn’t right. She also created a website with more information to help continue her education platform which includes a printable version of her resource guide. You can find her website at deepairakam.wixsite.com/empoweryourfuture.
Through the #MeToo Movement and the Time’s Up Movement, it’s clear that these platforms have started to create positive change to prevent sexual harassment from continuing. However, there is still work to be done. Deepa’s project aims to educate students early on about sexual harassment affecting schools, communities, and the workplace, because education is what starts conversations and can serve as a force for meaningful change.
Her Gold Award, Empower Your Future, would not have been possible without the support of her advisor Dr. Susan Cooper, her Girl Scout Troop Leader Sonia Estevez, her Girl Scout Troop, and her Gold Award Team.
