London lands a super nova award

By Carolyn Marnon – She is the second girl in Michigan and the first girl in her Cub Scout Pack 247 to win the Dr. Luis W. Alvarez Super Nova award. Lilly London received this award, given to honor scouts for exceptional STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) achievement through research and experiments, at a recent Pack 247 meeting held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Wayne.
Pack 247 is the first pack in Wayne to accept girls in Scouting and forms the first family pack in Wayne.
Lilly joined Pack 247 in the summer of 2018. Lilly is also a Girl Scout, but her older brother has been involved in the boy version of scouting and she has been exposed to the many activities that boys do in scouting. According to Lilly, the girls in scouting do more sleepovers, while the boys do more challenging activities. She’s been an honorary cub scout since she was 3-4 years old. She says she didn’t think twice when girls were allowed to join the boy scouting organization in 2018.
When Lilly was asked why math and science are important, she replied “Because STEM is a very important thing in life.”
In order to earn the award, Lilly had to complete numerous activities and science experiments. These were done at home, at meetings and at STEM events. One of the activities she did was take pictures of buildings to learn more about geometry. Lilly had to be mentored by someone other than a family member. Jill Shork mentored her along with a Chrysler engineer who taught her about different careers.
A letter from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer reads “You have proven exceptional diligence and passion that stood out among the other scouts. I have no doubt you will continue to make strides in your field of interest and serve as an inspirational example to other scouts who desire to follow your path.”
9-year-old Lilly is a Bear Cub in the scouting hierarchy. She would like to be a vet when she grows up and realizes that she needs STEM learning to reach that goal.
Born in 1911 in San Francisco, Luis W. Alvarez loved to tinker as a child. Physics eventually became his main field of study where he eventually received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968. He patented many inventions that revolved around optics.
As Lilly received her award at the pack meeting, another little girl sat in the audience with her mouth wide open when she heard that Lilly had done the work needed to earn the award outside of the regular pack activities. The letter from Gov. Whitmer was read and Lilly presented a special pin to her mentor, Jill Shork.
Lilly has goals for the future. Her short-term goal is to work on another Super Nova award. Her long-term goal is to attend a scout camp in Alaska. She’s watched movies on Alaska and says, “I’ve always wanted to see a husky race.”
There’s no doubt that her achievements in scouting will be many if she continues on her current trajectory, and we will one day be reading about her Eagle Scout pursuits.