Silver Award Girl Scout, Olivia McCartney

Before I Die Wall

Olivia is creative and enjoys art. She also likes getting to know people in her community. The more she observed her community, the more Olivia noticed the lack of art in it. Olivia discovered that art provides more than just beauty for a community; it provides a means of connection and inspiration for its citizens. Olivia learned that there were some initiatives to beautify her community including a soon-to-be-built River Walk, which will include stationery art installations, but it wouldn’t address the larger issue of people making connections with their fellow neighbors.

For her Silver Award project, Olivia was inspired by an international art movement called “Before I Die.” Olivia decided the best way to merge her interest in art and community building would be to install an interactive art wall in her community. Olivia put her leadership skills to the test by presenting her project idea and the benefits it would have on the community to her town’s Director of Finance, the Mayor, and other town administrators.

To ensure her project would have a lasting impact and measurable outcomes, Olivia knew the art wall would need to be located in an area where there would be a lot of foot traffic. Finding a suitable location was not easy, but Olivia overcame this challenge by working with the local Community Center. Together they were able to secure a location for her art wall.

Olivia was very excited to see how successful her project was and never imagined that it would turn out the way that it did. Her advice to others working on their Silver Award is to not procrastinate and to go out of your comfort zone because it pays off.