Rising Star: Bunker Hill Senior Kayleigh Trimm Earns Girl Scout Gold Award for Mental Health Project

BUNKER HILL - Kayleigh Trimm, a senior at Bunker Hill High School and a member of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award after completing a two-year project aimed at helping students recognize and respond to warning signs of declining mental health.

Trimm received the organization’s highest award on April 19, 2026, for “Nurture Your Mind: You Don't Have to Navigate Life Alone,” a project completed in October 2025 in Bunker Hill.

The effort focused on bringing awareness to mental health warning signs, how to reach out for help, and where to find resources, with Bunker Hill High School students as the target audience.

Trimm has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. Completing the project and demonstrating “the leadership, community, and problem-solving skills she learned over her years as a Girl Scout” was described as “extremely exciting and rewarding.”

Working with a team for the past two years and spending more than 85 hours on the project, Trimm developed a presentation delivered to students by District Social Worker Trista Manar. Based on the presentation, Trimm designed a poster that was hung in the Bunker Hill High School library and the Bunker Hill Public Library.

Surveys sent to students before and after the presentations showed positive results. Trimm’s goal is for the posters to continue providing resources “that those in need of help can use to get that help without potential fears,” and that they “could even, hopefully, save a life someday.”

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