MONTVALE, N.J.—Congratulations to Aria Anahita Chalileh of Montvale Girl Scout Troop 94006, whose 12 years of service have culminated in her Gold Award, the most prestigious Girl Scout honor.
The award, bestowed April 30 by Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, requires a minimum of 80 hours dedicated to a project benefiting the community. Only 5% of Girl Scouts attain it.
Her lifesaving work and leadership are ongoing.
Through her final project Chalileh reached approximately 2,000 students and parents in Bergen County, including at Pascack Hills High School and Fieldstone Middle School, through live and recorded presentations on the health hazards of vaping and the marketing practices of Big Tobacco—the largest global tobacco industry companies—and on empowering youth to opt instead for “a natural buzz.”
Earning a Girl Scout Gold Award doesn’t just happen. Chalileh put together an action plan, a timeline, and outcome measures. Then she recruited and led a team to execute it..
Now, she says, “I believe I will be able to reach even more youth and have a greater impact by sharing the information about my journey. This would not only advance my cause, it also could inspire other youth to take action and become agents of change in their own communities.”
She has collaborated with the Bergen County Prevention Coalition, Hills-Valley Coalition, the Woodcliff Lake PFA Parent Academy, and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
She has worked with Pascack Hills Student Assistance Counselor Jennifer Zimmermann, a coordinator with Hills–Valley Coalition, on “Ditch the Vape!” outreach
PHHS notes, “She completed over 34 live and seven pre-recorded presentations reaching over 1,200 students in Montvale and other towns in Bergen County.”
It adds that the recorded version of her presentation was leveraged by Bergen County Prevention Coalition to reach and educate an additional 814 students.
She also conducted info sessions about vaping tailored to parents, produced a brief but powerful video, wrote an article, and developed an Instagram page to post anti-vape messages for youth.
Aiming to give her message lasting force, Chalileh advocated for anti-tobacco legislation at the Bergen County Board of Commissioners, presented at town council meetings, and participated in a podcast hosted by the chair of the Board of Commissioners.
Her awareness campaign has been featured in Pascack Press—the clips are prominent in her outreach materials—and on Montvale TV’s “Montvale in Motion.”
And, says her mom, Mahnaz Fatahzadeh, “She was very determined to see her project through and managed to execute it during her senior year of high school while balancing classes, SAT preparation, college applications, extracurricular activities, and navigating Covid-19 restrictions.”
Chalileh said on receiving her award, “My awareness campaign addresses the weakest link in the vaping epidemic: Vaping is not a reflection of one’s character; it is merely a manifestation of one’s vulnerabilities.”
She tells Pascack Press, “I have been involved in a number of extracurricular activities in high school, but by far my most meaningful pursuit has been my membership in the Bergen County Youth Tobacco Action Group.
“After witnessing the vaping epidemic infiltrate my community and affect my peers, whom I had completed the DARE program and taken the 5th grade pledge with to resist harmful substances, I knew that there needed to be change.”
She says, “I found it difficult to stand by as my classmates fell victim to vaping in search of a buzz or in an attempt to relieve the mounting stress of high school cliques, courses, co-curricular activities, and the pandemic.”
As a youth member of Incorruptible.US, part of the New Jersey Prevention Network, she has provided a youth perspective at the county and state levels.
In summer 2019 she was sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Health to attend the Lindsey Meyer Teen Institute summer leadership conference, a week-long camp that saw her bond with fellow youth leaders from across the state.
They discussed how to be effective leaders and role models through team building activities. At the end of the week she presented the Incorruptible.US action plan for vaping prevention to 100 campers and staff.
She said the experience boosted her confidence and solidified her determination to help her community “I also developed a network of friends and resources for future collaborations.”