When Alexis Marks was a senior at Nashville School of the Arts, she received her Girl Scout Gold Award after using her choreography skills to create a dance group for girls that could not afford to take professional classes. Four years later Alexis’ dance troupe, the Metropolitan Praise Dancers, is five times its original size and its members frequently win awards in regional dance competitions.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting, and when Alexis considered what to do for her Gold Award project, she reflected on the wisdom she’d gained from her years as a Girl Scout.

“Girl Scouts taught me that girls can do whatever they want. They don’t have to be stuck inside the box that’s been created for them. Girls can play basketball. Girls can play football. Girls are strong.”

Alexis had grown up taking dance lessons, and she knew that teaching choreography to girls in her community would allow them to gain the same confidence that she had developed through Girl Scouting.

Today, the Metropolitan Praise Dancers have been locally and nationally recognized, and Alexis continues to lead the troupe and also teach a variety of dance classes from ballet to modern.

Alexis is currently a senior at Nashville State Community College with aspirations to continue her education at Lipscomb University. She hopes to one day become a pediatric surgeon.

Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee serves more than 13,000 girls and 6,000 adult volunteers in 39 counties. It is a part of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), the world’s preeminent organization for girls, with a membership of more than 2.8 million girls and adults nationwide. GSUSA continues to strive to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

For more information on how you can be involved in Girl Scouts visit the website at www.gsmidtn.org