Devin Coleman ’24 felt an enormous sense of pride and honor while completing a most rewarding Girl Scout Gold Award service project last month. Inspired by her grandfathers, who served in the Korean War, the LA junior cleaned and refurbished the Ripper Collins Veterans Memorial Garden in her hometown of Middletown in time for a Veterans Day tribute.
“Having the courage to go serve our country in all of these different wars is amazing to me,” Devin said. “Seeing them be so brave is just incredible. Having somebody in my family do that and come back to tell their story is unbelievable.”
Devin (pictured second from left with friends) spent about 45 hours working hard to clean up the site. Turning over the dirt, digging up the flower beds and planting required lots of time, labor and dedication. She will return in the spring to do more cleanup and replant after the winter. Devin looks forward to receiving her Gold Award at a ceremony next summer.
She met the Veterans Day deadline to complete the project in time for a memorial ceremony. There are 30-minute ceremonies honoring veterans at all the memorial sites in Middletown on Veterans Day.
Looking back on her 14 years as a Girl Scout, Devin recalled a time she wanted to quit during her childhood as a Brownie. Many years later, she’s happy she continued through the ranks all the way up to Ambassador.
“I’m so happy I stuck with it,” Devin said. “The site definitely needed to be cleaned up and cared for. It was definitely a lot of work but I’m happy I was able to do it. It was just a great experience to do something like this for the community.”
Devin is a three-sport athlete in her first year at LA. She plays volleyball, basketball and softball and takes dance classes several days per week. She’s also active in the school’s Chess Club and is thrilled with the transition to her new school.