Emily Festa is a former Girl Scout from the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and a 2015 Gold Award Recipient.
Emily's Girl Scout Gold Award Take Action Project, “Express Yourself,” addressed the complicated issue of bullying. By conducting workshops and sharing her personal story about being bullied, Festa strove for her presentations to have the greatest impact possible. She provided adults, teens and adolescents in her community with information on what to do and where to go if they encounter bullying. She also conducted pre and post surveys to measure children’s understanding of bullying and skills gained on how to prevent it. Festa also had both parents and children sign a pledge promising to no longer stay quiet about bullying.