Eva Mahajan: Gold Award Girl Scout

Eva Mahajan, a recent Jenks High School graduate, began Girl Scouts as a Daisy at age 11 and just earned the prestigious Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn. The award has allowed her to apply for various scholarships and ultimately led to expanded opportunities.

Photo credit: Jostens Photography

TK: Tell us a little about yourself.

Eva: I graduated from Jenks High School in May and have lived in Tulsa for 12 years. I have an older sister who goes to college in California and a black lab named Simba.

TK: You were recently honored by the Girl Scouts. Tell us about that.

Eva: I spent this past year working on my Gold Award, which is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn. I essentially spent 80 hours creating a sustainable and impactful community project. My project is called “Leap,” and it’s a pen pal program between elementary schoolers in the English Language Learners department and high school volunteers. By the end of this first year, we had over 1000 letters exchanged, 200 participants at four different schools within Jenks. I hope that it continues growing across Tulsa and that other schools launch something similar.

After earning my award in late December, I was able to apply to different scholarships. I became a Juliette Lowe Scholar with Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma and recently earned the GSUSA scholarship. Each council can have one girl receive the GSUSA scholarship, so I feel incredibly grateful for this opportunity.

TK: What has been your favorite part about being involved in Girl Scouts?

Eva: I really enjoy the sense of support and community within Girl Scouts. The entire organization is built on strengthening girlhood and developing both physical and emotional skills. Even as I got older, I still felt like troop leaders and other girl scouts (regardless of troop) encouraged me. I especially loved going to journey retreats with girls from around Oklahoma. The cookies are a great bonus, too!

TK: What has scouting taught you? Have you learned things that you have used in other aspects of your life?

Eva: Scouting has taught me many things, from outdoor survival skills to how DNA testing works. The variety of lessons and patches may seem unrelated to each other, but scouting really teaches you how to explore in every sense of the word. Girl Scouts gave me an outlet to discover what I was good at, and honestly, not so good at. These experiences follow me in how I approach situations in my life by internalizing the badge-earning format. I research, plan and then act. I used these lessons when I would have to plan events through my school and when completing tasks for work.

TK: What would you tell others who might want to get involved in Girl Scouts?

Eva: To any parents or kids reading this, please join your local scouting council! Girl Scouts is a great opportunity to grow skills that will stay with you throughout your life. Also, as someone who just graduated, Girl Scouts was a huge part of my college applications and helped me earn other positions like internships and scholarships.

The troop dynamic helped me learn how to work in groups, built relationships and allowed me to learn from other girls around me. It’s a great introduction to helping your community and gives girls so many opportunities to explore what they like. Earning patches is a nice plus, too!

TK: What are your future plans?

Eva: I’m attending Brown University in the fall and plan to major in economics and International Affairs and Policy. I might change majors down the line, but I want to work with nonprofits and in the international sphere.

TK: What are your favorite places to go or do in Tulsa?

Eva: My favorite pastime is just exploring what Tulsa has to offer with my friends, so I have an entire list. I always go to cafés to get work done, and my favorites are Pony Coffee and Shades of Brown. In terms of activities, I love going to the Admiral Twin Drive-in, Gathering Place and flea markets. As a self-proclaimed foodie, a few must-try places in Tulsa are Super Secret Donuts in Foolish Things Coffee Company, Et Al/Natsukashii pop-ups, and Mandarin Taste.

TK: Can you share a fun fact about yourself that others may not know or may be surprised to learn?

Eva: I’m currently trying to earn my private pilot’s license! I’m hoping that I can complete my flying hours and ground school before my junior year.