On Saturday, Sept. 25, 15-year-old Tessa Baker’s family gathered to watch as GSUSA’s Medal of Honor was pinned to her Girl Scout uniform. In a brief ceremony at Empower Field, Girl Scouts of Colorado CEO Leanna Clark lauded Tessa’s quick-thinking in an emergency situation.
The Medal of Honor is given to a Girl Scout who has shown presence of mind (a clear and calm head) and true Girl Scout spirit in an emergency. Tessa learned she had earned the medal in June after she was nominated for her reaction to an incident in her math class in February.
In February, Tessa jumped into action when a classmate appeared to be having a seizure during an algebra lesson. As the teacher pressed the emergency call button, the student began to fall out of her desk. Tessa ran to help.
Her math teacher wrote in the nomination: “Everyone else was in shock. She (Tessa) knew we needed to lay the student on the floor, so the fall wouldn’t cause an injury. I moved the student to the floor with Tessa’s help. I don’t think I could have done it all by myself. I was so happy to have Tessa in that class. Tessa was so calm and collected. She was also very knowledgeable about what to do in such a situation.”
Watch a video of Tessa’s introduction and acceptance speech below. We apologize for the audio issues and background noise!