By Lori BODNAR

Crescenta Valley High School 12th grader Lily Zou created a music therapy program at College View School as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project. College View is a school within the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) that educates special needs students.

The Gold Award is the highest achievement in Girl Scouts and involves the creation of a “take-action project” that involves multiple steps. Gold Award projects address the root cause of an issue that has a national or global link. The Girl Scout shows leadership by taking action with a sustainable and measurable impact upon the community. Prior to beginning a project, the Girl Scout attends a Gold Award workshop, submits a project proposal and has an initial interview with the Girl Scout committee. Once approved, the Girl Scout can start the project under supervision of a project advisor. When completed, she submits a final report and has an exit interview before officially earning the Gold Award. Gold Award projects require at least 80 hours of service.

Zou said, “I started thinking about the Gold Award since about November 2023; I submitted my finalized plan for council approval in late April 2024. In terms of active, hands-on time, it’s about four months, but the seeds of the idea have been there for 10 months.

“I brought a music therapy program to the students of College View, a special education school. College View serves students with a range of severe intellectual and physical disabilities. Music therapy is a method to improve communication, social, behavioral and motor skills. The music therapy program provides a place for students to relax, de-stress and have fun. My Gold Award project allowed College View students to enjoy some of the positive effects of music therapy. My project also spread awareness of the potential of music therapy in special education. Music therapy is a very new field and exploring its applications has the potential to yield great value. By spreading the word about my project, I hope to inspire similar programs and spark greater interest into the potential of music therapy.”

Zou has been interested in music throughout her life.

“I have been playing the violin since fifth grade,” she said. “I currently play the violin and am in the CVHS symphony orchestra. The summer before sophomore year, I founded the Pineapple Quartet with a few friends. We performed at nursing homes, the Brand Library and College View School. Simultaneously, I was involved in disability advocacy in the CVHS Youth Capabilities Club. Drawing on these two parts of my experience, I wanted to combine music and service in my Gold Award.”

The music program focuses primarily on classical music.

“As my project advisor informed me, many special education students respond to classical music in a way they do not to other kinds of music,” Zou said. “For the interactive musical games we included we were lucky enough to be able to use College View’s own supply of simple instruments, including drums and shakers.”

Zou’s Gold Award project has positively impacted the students and community at College View.

“The music therapy program provided great sensory stimulation as students listened to music and played with instruments, as well as allowing them to exercise motor skills,” she said. “During the interactive activities we practiced taking turns, which involved social and communication skills.”

Undertaking a Gold Award project sometimes takes some readjusting of time and schedules, which helps build leadership skills.

“Initially, my idea was to create a music theory and appreciation class at the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge; unfortunately, they did not have enough space in their program. I reached out to GUSD College View and they were incredibly enthusiastic in their response,” she said. “It was a match, and I pivoted to focus my project on music therapy to better serve their special needs students.”

Girl Scouts who are interested in doing a Gold Award project can strategize ideas they are interested in and make a plan with feedback from others.

“The ‘right idea’ means doing something you’re interested in,” said Zou. “For all large projects, not just the Gold Award, it is crucial to do something you are genuinely interested in since you will be spending large amounts of time and effort on it. In terms of the ‘right plan,’ I would highly recommend having a trusted adult – or someone more experienced – be a sounding board as you brainstorm so you can make sure your plan is doable. Everything sounds easier when it’s an idea in your head, but when actually going through the project things will be exponentially more difficult and time-consuming than you thought.”

The music therapy program that Zou has brought to College View will continue after she graduates from CVHS.

“I will be passing on the responsibility of coordinating and managing the project to one of my wonderful teammates in the Pineapple Quartet,” she said.
“Together with the strong support of College View and the network of talented CVHS musicians I found through this project, the program can be continued next summer, and the summer after that, and so on.”