Twenty-one Girl Scouts at U.S. bases in Europe received their Gold Awards — the highest honor that Scouts ages 14-17 can earn — during 2005.

To earn the award, each girl must complete a project that is a culmination of the work she has performed while achieving the Gold Award, including leadership and organizational skills. The project must fulfill a need within the community, create change and, it is hoped, become ongoing.

Those earning the award and their school affiliation at the time they received it:

¶ Elisabeth Wilhelm, 18, daughter of Hans Wilhelm and Kathleen North-Wilhelm and a senior at Heidelberg High School, Germany, received her award on Sept. 31.

Her project, “Grrl Power! Online Writing Class,” involved building, running and teaching a 3-week online writing class for teen girls with an emphasis on feminist literature and women’s fiction. She has been in Girl Scouts for 10 years.

¶ Kelly Scott, 17, daughter of David and Jan Scott and a senior at Heidelberg High School, received her award Sept. 28.

Her project, titled “Protestant Chapel Web Site,” involved building an information Web site for the 411th Base Support Battalion Protestant chapel community including Heidelberg military and Department of Defense families. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

¶ Elyse Smith, 17, daughter of Lt. Col. Robert and Rosemarie Smith and a senior at Heidelberg High School, received her award Sept. 28.

Her project, “Web Site for the Heidelberg Military Catholic Community,” involved developing a Web site for the Heidelberg Military Catholic community to provide an efficient communication means for the parish office and ministry leaders to keep the congregation informed of parish activities. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

¶ Heather Holgate, 17, daughter of Lawrence and Marion Holtage, and a senior at Kaiserslautern High School, Germany, received her award on Aug. 21. Her project collected donated school supplies and sent them to schoolchildren in Afghanistan to help provide more educational opportunities. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 13 years.

¶ Caitlin McCullough, 15, daughter of Senior Master Sgt. Mark and Laurie McCullough, and a sophomore at Ramstein High, Germany, received her award on July 15. Her project taught children about safety in the community, including riding a bike, what to do in a fire, how to act on a bus, how to properly use a computer, staying fit and healthy, and what to do if they meet a stranger. She has been in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

¶ Angelica McGhee, 17, daughter of Maj. Kenneth and Tracey McGhee and a senior at Aviano High School, Italy, received her award July 15. Her project involved renovating rooms at the child development center in her community to make more space for teachers and students. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 10 years.

¶ Miranda Tolbert, 16, a junior at Vilseck High School, Germany, received her award on July 15. Her project, titled “It’s Safety Time,” involved creating a video to teach children age 6-11 about bike safety and safety issues for latch-key kids. The video will be distributed for use at the local Army Community Service and the elementary school.

¶ Jessica DeLuca, 16, daughter of Antonio and Joann DeLuca and a junior at European School Brussels, Belgium, received her honor May 30. Her project was a 3-day “vacation school,” made up of activities for children of different cultures and nationalities at a local community center. Its objective was to accelerate the integration of immigrant children into a European society, both linguistically and culturally. She has been in Girl Scouts for 10 years.

¶ Kandi Zimpelman, 18, daughter of Tech. Sgt. Thomas and Sheri Zimpelman and a senior at Aviano High School, received her award on May 30. For her project, she designed and created the criteria for Italia Gold, a patch for Italy that could be earned by all Girl Scouts. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

¶ Jamie Hurley, 17, and Kendal Hurley, 15, daughters of Robert and Karen Hurley, combined with Kaitlin Bibeau on a project. All received their awards May 7. The project was a “Children’s Holiday Winter Wonderland Festival” last December. Its goal was to create an event for military dependents to help them through the difficulty of being overseas during the holidays.

Jamie was a senior and Kendal a sophomore at Naples High School, Italy, at the time they received their award. Both have been involved in Girl Scouts for 10 years.

¶ Kaitlin Bibeau, 15, is the daughter of Lt. Mark and Kimberly Bibeau and a sophomore at Naples High School. She and the Hurley sisters created and ran the “Children’s Holiday Winter Wonderland Festival.” She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 11 years.

¶ Kristina Hesselbrock, 18, a senior at Lakenheath High School in England and daughter of Roger and Lynn Hesselbrock, received her award on May 6. Her project, “Adopt-a-Freshman,” involved a mentoring program for freshmen by seniors to incorporate the underclassmen in the high school. It provided several benefits, including increased communication and understanding among the freshman and senior classes. Kristina has been in Girl Scouts for 13 years.

¶ Lorin Schumacher, 18, daughter of Arnold and Lorilee Schumacher and a senior at Lakeheath High School, received her award May 6. Her project, titled “Meeter Greeter Program,” was designed to make it easier on high school students adjusting to life in a foreign country. It involved placing incoming students with student sponsors who had attended a training session Lorin conducted on orienting the new students. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

¶ Kallie Hedberg, 16, daughter of John Hedberg and Nancy Vandenberg and a junior at Lakenheath High School, received her award May 5.

Her project raised awareness among elementary schoolchildren about the dangerous effects of bullying through a Bullying Awareness Day (BAD). She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

¶ Blair Hoglen, 16, and Jenna Hoglen, 14, daughters of David and Jennifer Hoglen, both received their awards on May 5. Blair was an 11th-grader at St. John’s in Brussels, Belgium, and Jenna a ninth-grader at ARU 1 at the time.

The two had a joint project called “Parents’ Day Out” that enabled refugee and immigrant families the opportunities to have baby sitters free of charge while they ran errands or participated in other away-from-home activities. They also planned holiday festivals for both women and children. Both have been involved in Girl Scouts for 11 years.

¶ Autumn McMillan, 17, daughter of Sgt. Maj. Tom and Jennifer McMillan and a junior at Heidelberg High School, received her award May 5. Her project, “Uncle Sam Wants You Workshops,” included several arts and crafts workshops involving the U.S. and German flags, plus discussions on the importance, history, color representation and what the flag as a whole represents. Also involved lessons on properly folding each flag. She has been in Girl Scouts for 11 years.

¶ Alessandra Noelting, 17, daughter of D. Tevis and Swen Noelting and a senior at International School of Stuttgart, received her award in March. Her project, “Welcome Tour for Teens,” included planning and implementing a tour of her community for newly arriving teens. She included both sites on base and in the host nation community. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 13 years.

¶ Rhianna Jones, 16, daughter of Dr. Casey and Elizabeth Jones and a junior at Heidelberg High School, received her award in January. Her project, “Heidelberg Hospital Blumenvasenschrank,” addressed host nation cultural issues identified by an Installation Volunteer Coordinator Quarterly Advisory Council meeting and was intended to support a common cultural custom in Germany. It created a space at hospitals for vases and a process to collect, store and distribute vases. She has been involved in Girl Scouts for 12 years.

¶ Jessica Palaschak, 17, daughter of Len and Lt. Col. Kris Palaschak and a junior at Heidelberg High School, received her award in January. Her project was aimed at increasing membership in Girl Scouting among Daisy Girl Scouts and leaders. It served as an orientation to Girl Scouts by offering a day camp called “play time.” She has been in Girl Scouts for 12 years.