Fil-Am Girl Scout launches library project
FOR THE LOVE OF READING
BINMALEY—A 17-year old Filipino-American with roots in this town and a recipient of Girl Scout highest Gold Award honor in America, came home Monday to embark on a life long journey to help develop love for reading among the town’s youth.
Megan Untalan Musquiz, an incoming senior in Canyon High School in Anaheim, California, USA, returned to turn over initially 601 books on English, Science and Mathematics to the Baybay Elementary School in Barangay Baybay.
“My overarched long term goal is to help establish a love for reading among the students as well as providing them with a greater opportunity of learning and imagination,” she told The PUNCH.
“It’s humbling to see them excited with the donation. I didn’t expect all the kids to be smiling when they opened the books,” she said.
Megan said her gold award’s focus is to establish a library at Baybay Elementary School and to introduce a reading log program as an activity of the library.
She coordinated via her church’s ministry program in San Antonio de Padua Catholic Church, to collect and purchase book donations for this library.
She described the reading program requires daily reading activity but the material is chosen by the teacher.
“For some this could help them, as often people forget to set aside time for reading and instead opt to engage in other activities,” she said.
She said she chose Baybay Elementary School because her grandfather, Dr. Corleto Untalan, attended this school. When she visited the Philippines a few years ago, her grandfather told her that the school had no library.
School Principal Felixberto Bautista said Musquiz’s shared blessings to them “is a privilege since not all kids have access to the internet for their studies.”
Baybay Elementary School has 564 enrollees from Kindergarten to Grade 6.
A Girl Scout gold award is the highest award a girl scout could attain, Musquiz said.
To qualify to begin your gold award, one has to finish an extensive process of multiple projects. This could take five (5) years or more. During this process, they must first complete a book with various activities before qualifying to start a new project called a silver award.
Last May 20, Musquiz was among the 61 outstanding Yorba Linda Girl Scouts who earned the Girl Scout Gold and Silver Awards, symbols of “exceptional accomplishment in leadership, community service, career planning, and personal development where each of the awardees has made a difference in the lives of others.” As a group, these dedicated girls have volunteered more than 2,640 hours serving community needs. (Tita Roces)
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