Milpitas High School senior Vera Loui has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest and most prestigious honor in Girl Scouting. Representing the pinnacle of leadership, community impact, and dedication, the Gold Award is achieved by fewer than six percent of Girl Scouts nationwide, requiring over 100 hours of sustainable community service.

Loui founded Model UN Masters, an initiative designed to expand access to Model United Nations and help younger students overcome public speaking anxiety. After joining MHS’s Model UN club as a freshman, Loui experienced firsthand how the activity boosted her public speaking, strategic thinking, and global awareness. Wanting to share these benefits, she created a comprehensive curriculum covering debate skills, parliamentary terminology, and international policy analysis.

“Model UN is a vessel to teach essential life skills like collaboration, leadership, and problem-solving,” Loui said. “Students learn to analyze complex issues through diverse global perspectives and find common ground.”

To bring her vision to life, Loui partnered with local libraries, community centers, and teen facilities to host free workshops. She recruited and trained a team of high school volunteers, mentoring them in classroom management, public speaking techniques, and supportive instruction. Under her leadership, the Model UN Masters team logged over 1,800 volunteer hours and taught more than 400 students across 10 schools.

Loui’s initiative also inspired mentees to launch their own school clubs, with several returning to teach alongside her the following summer. Reflecting on her 130-plus hours of dedicated service, Loui expressed gratitude for her team and community partners, proud to have helped build a new generation of confident, articulate global citizens.