Emily Kurburski (front, center) displays her Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore Gold Award. Also pictured are staff from the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM) Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Program (from left) Jamie Winters, Jennifer DeVries, Kim McQuistion, Megan King and Angie Linsenman.

Emily Kurburski, a senior at Petoskey High School, has earned a Gold Award through Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore. The award represents a culmination of her hours working on a project to help develop violence prevention curriculum for middle school students which will be utilized by Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM) staff. Additionally, she handcrafted scarves for area women who participated in WRCNM led support groups for domestic abuse survivors. Jamie Winters, Safe Home Coordinator, worked with Kurburski as her Girl Scout Gold Award Project Advisor.

Kurburski was also one of 23 grant recipients nationwide to earn $500 for a project through generationOn, a global youth service movement that inspires kids to make their mark on the world. The grant helped her fulfill a project to provide fresh, healthy meals to domestic abuse survivors utilizing services at the WRCNM Safe Home.

Kurburski is a highly motivated individual who has been involved in a variety of activities such as Emmet County 4-H and the Great Lakes Electric Co-op Youth Leadership Summit and Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. She was also selected to participate in the 149th session of the National Grange as a delegate, as well as a 10-week Crooked Tree Youth Leadership Academy. She recently attended DECA International Career Development Conference where her Petoskey High School team medaled for top 20 in the world. Ten years of involvement with First Tee of Northern Michigan earned what Kurburski describes as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to attend the organization’s Life Skills and Leadership Academy in Minnesota.

Kurburski’s hard work has not gone unnoticed. She has been recognized with the Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete Award and First Tee of Northern Michigan Scholar Award, as well as the Char-Em United Way Michigan Student Service Award eligible by donating 400 hours of volunteer time during her four years of high school. Kurburski is a National Honor Society member and also participated on the girls’ golf team and in track and field.

Kurburski plans to attend Kettering University in Southeast Michigan majoring in business administration. As a part of her studies at Kettering, she will intern at Bronson Healthcare in Kalamazoo.