Grace Hartigan is a senior at Natick High School and has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award. It is the highest award a Girl Scout can achieve. Only 6% of Girl Scout in the country will earn this award. The Gold Award is an 80 hour service project which identifies a problem and provides a sustainable solution for lasting change.

Hartigan developed a club called Kids Serve, Too.

Growing up as a kid, Hartigan’s stepfather was a helicopter pilot for the Army and spent two years deployed in Asia. Through his deployment, Hartigan did not get any extra support from people outside of her family during these difficult times.

Hartigan wanted to help other children who have family members serving in the military overseas. Hartigan decided to created an after-school club for military kids in Natick, working with the schools superintendent and principal.

Together the children engaged in a range of activities, including making posters  for a school building, learning coping techniques through yoga, interviewing a Natick veteran and much more. A teacher in the in the Natick school system and her two children who are part of a military family will continue to run the club after Hartigan graduates high school.  

Hartigan hopes to see more military kids join next year so we can keeping showing Natick who these strong kids are!

Hartigan has been part of Girl Scout Troop 72293 since first grade and always looked up to older Girl Scouts in her community and now she passing down these responsibilities to younger future leaders in our town.

Hartigan is a member of the National Honor Society and plans on attending Providence College in the fall.