TEEN SCENE
Welcome to Teen Scene. Each month, our young
authors write, in their own voice, stories that will
educate and inform fellow students and parents. If
you are a teen who would like to write your story,
contact The Journal. We’ll help you polish it up, so
don’t worry, let’s just get to sharing.
This month’s Teen Scene author is 17-yearold
Cameron D’Mello, of Holmdel. She is a
senior at Biotechnology High School and a
lifetime Girl Scout. She is a stakeholder in her
community, church and the Scouts. When
she noticed a need, she rolled up her sleeves
to complete her Girl Scout project, "War
Veteran Memorial at St. Catharine's Church.”
The lessons were many, and the rewards
are tremendous. Here is Cameron’s story.
When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do was garden
with my mom. We always shared a passion for plants. Our house
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lutely loved helping her take care of it all and watching something new
and beautiful grow.
In my church community, St. Catharine’s Church, I learned that many
of the patrons were war veterans. I began talking to some of them and
their families, and I soon realized that the church had no area where people
could pay their respects or pray for the many veterans who worked at
and attended our church. I knew they deserved recognition, so I decided
to take action through my Girl Scouts Gold Award project. This project is
the highest-ranking one you can work on, and I just knew that dedicating
my project to acknowledging and honoring the many people who have
risked their lives for our safety would be a project I could be proud of.
I have been a Girl Scout since kindergarten, and I am grateful that
I joined a program that values helping others so much. It allows young
girls to make difference even from a young age. Now I’m older, and I still
love gardening, so I decided to combine my passions for gardening and
Girl Scouts to construct a war veteran memorial with a commemorative
I would design and build a tranquil space for contemplation. As anyone
who has started a home improvement project knows, planning is key,
and I spent many hours in preparation before even breaking ground.
gardener, who helped me work on the technical issues like how I wanted
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ish in the environment and withstand our elements before selecting a
mixture of chrysanthemums, roses, crepe myrtles and boxwoods.
Then I began discussing my project with multiple garden centers
and was able to work out various deals and donations for all of my materials.
26 APRIL 2021 | TheJournalNJ.com
BY LORI DRAZ AND CAMERON D'MELLO
These donations included
bags of soil and fertilizer. Thanks to
my mom’s training and her green
thumb, I was able to use many of
the tools we already owned. I was
also fortunate to have a plaque-making
company generously donate and
install the plaque on the grounds.
Next, I reached out to my fellow
Girl Scouts who were enthusiastic
about gardening. They happily
volunteered with the actual planting
and creation of the memorial. Together,
we spent two days ripping out the
pre-existing grass and working hard to
plant everything. The end result was a
gorgeous garden and a calm, peaceful
area for patrons or passersby to pray or
meditate in this lovely, designated place.
sermons, discussing the importance of remembering veterans of the past
opportunity to help brighten the days of veterans and their families and
bring recognition to the topic.
I received some impactful messages after the project was completed,
in particular, one from a war veteran. He said the joy he got from
being recognized was one of the best parts of the whole project for me. It
was also a really great feeling to drive by the area and see people actively
commemoration.
The project had a few setbacks initially, such as timing, weather and
In the end, I feel I learned so much about being committed and seeing
something through to the end. I also learned leadership and management
by directing the volunteers. A garden also teaches you patience and
loyalty; I know because of the hours I spent making sure all the plants
were growing correctly. I had to learn problem-solving and marketing
communications to get all the vendors to participate.
I believe that if there’s a project you’re passionate about, you should
always go for it. There will be obstacles. There will be hours of planning
and hard work. Things will go wrong, but when you stay committed, you
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ate people really helps and makes it more fun too. It was amazing to see
how many people in the community, even ones I didn’t know personally,
supported my project and gave donations or words of encouragement.
The support really meant a lot in keeping me motivated to continue for-
you put your mind to it.
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