It’s that time of year: the reign of Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs no one can resist.

Yet, amidst the Girl Scout cookie fever, Girl Scout Jackie Nakamura, a junior, aims higher than her typical door-to-door enterprise and aspires to strive for the Gold Award, the highest recognition in Girl Scout of U.S.A.

With a recommended minimum of 80 volunteer hours and a passion to help the community, less that six percent of all scouts earn the Gold Award. As long as Nakamura can sustain her grand project of teaching character traits at Pacific Rim Elementary Kids Care program, Nakamura fully qualifies for the gold.

“I enjoy spending time with the kids,” Nakamura said. “My project taught me to be patience. The kids don’t have long attention spans so I have to find new ways to make it fun for the kids and teach them at the same time.”

Every other Friday since November, Nakamura has spent her hours teaching elementary students about upholding character like respect, trust and honesty. With Pacific Rim’s strong emphasis on building character, Nakamura feels her project will create a lasting impression. Spending hours planning lesson plans for exciting activities with the children, going for the Gold Award is no easy task.

“Trying to get the Gold Award taught me time management,” Nakamura said. “I definitely organize my time better and spend time with kids who really enjoy my time.”

A varsity tennis player and vigorous academic student, Nakamura juggles her time and dedication to her project. Regardless of the long hours, Nakamura never stops aspiring to expand her passion for the community.

Despite the hours she already commits, Nakamura plans to propose her ideas to other school districts, hoping to spread the importance she feels for building character at earlier ages.

“I’m really excited for the program to spread,” Nakamura said. “My goal is to get other people in high school to get involved in order to sustain my project.”