Gold Award Girl Scout Corrine Kelly worked to preserve the stories of veterans for future generations by interviewing them and saving their conversations at the Library of Congress.
Gold Award Girl Scout Corrine Kelly worked to preserve the stories of veterans for future generations by interviewing them and saving their conversations at the Library of Congress.
courtesy photo
Gold Award Girl Scout Corrine Kelly worked to preserve the stories of veterans for future generations by interviewing them and saving their conversations at the Library of Congress.
Corinne Kelly volunteered at Operation Care, and is shown here with two veterans.. (Courtesy photo)
PELHAM — A teenage girl might be the last person you’d expect to want to preserve the stories and history of military veterans, but that’s just what Gold Award Girl Scout Corinne Kelly has done, making sure her interviews with veterans are available to all through the Library of Congress.
Kelly, 18, of Pelham, earned Girl Scouting’s highest honor for members in grades 9-12, the capstone to a Girl Scout’s efforts to make the world a better place.
Her project, Veterans History Project: Remembering the Past to Change the Future, took Kelly 103 hours to complete. It includes nine video interviews of veterans, her speaking to a variety of groups about her project and why it’s important to honor veterans, working with younger Girl Scouts to educate them and have them send cards to veterans, and assisting in sending almost 1,000 care packages to deployed military members serving on six continents.
“I’ve always grown up in a very patriotic family,” said Kelly. “My family has served in the past. Both of my grandfathers have served, so supporting our military has always been something very important to me.”
The Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress is a popular one, with more than 116,000 collections archived to date, said Kelly’s adviser Lisa Taylor, liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center.
“Corinne did an excellent job with her project,” she said. “She is clearly a high achiever, and should be very proud of her work as a future leader.”
Alongside of her Girl Scout Gold Award work, Kelly volunteers for 40 other nonprofits, including the VFW and American Red Cross, and was crowned Miss New Hampshire’s Outstanding Teen 2022. She is currently in the next division as Miss Auburn and will compete in April to become Miss New Hampshire in the Miss America pageant.
Kelly has a supportive family who helps make her goals possible.
“I see her as motivated, determined, and hard working,” said her mother, Michelle Kelly. “She has a heart of gold and as such puts others ahead of herself. She loves volunteering and incorporates it into every aspect of her life. When you love something and believe in a cause completely, it’s easy to dedicate your time to it.”
Kelly wants to be a changing force in her generation, said her mother. “She heard again and again from her grandfather how they were all treated when they came home from Vietnam. She is determined that no service member will ever feel unappreciated for doing their job and serving their country. This is why she is so passionate about volunteering with the USO at Logan Airport, sending care packages and running letter writing campaigns for Operation Care for Troops, and honoring veterans when they take their Honor Flights to their memorials.”
Working on her Gold Award taught or strengthened many life skills for Kelly, including organization and public speaking. She said she personally gained a stronger appreciation for the sacrifices made by our military.
Don’t “take the sacrifices that our men and women in our military make for granted,” she said. “They’ve been through a lot that I can never imagine going through. And I’m just really grateful that there are brave men and women in our country that are willing to do so. To protect us and our freedom.”
Over her many years in Girl Scouts, Kelly enjoyed field trips and friendships, and got a taste of independence at Camp Farnsworth summer camp. She learned how to be confident while selling cookies, and helped her local food pantry.
Kelly graduated from Pelham High School last spring, where she was an honor student, captain of her high school tennis team, and held multiple teen titles as well as the state title in the NH Scholarship Program. She is a New Hampshire local titleholder, Miss Auburn, in the Miss America opportunity, and volunteers thousands of hours. She is currently a freshman at Regis College in Weston, Mass., studying dental hygiene. She is considering dental school in the future, along with a possible Miss America crown.
