SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – After winning the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award, 18-year-old Sicilia Salcedo’s photo was posted on Girl Scout’s national Instagram page. The caption praised her award-winning project focused on sharing ways to properly care for reptiles, but it was her ‘alternative’ style showcased in the photo that caught the eyes of thousands.
Through thick and thin (scales)
When Salcedo was in first grade, she joined Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada. Just a few short years later, she was promised a pet for Christmas.
As her and her mother took a tour of animals inside a pet store, she had no idea what a bearded dragon was. During the tour, the pet store employee named the reptile among those easiest to take care of. It was then that Salcedo decided to become the owner of Brittany Spikes.
“From that point on, Brittany and I have become very close,” Salcedo told the Tribune. “I’ve had her since she was a baby.”
Over the years, Salcedo racked up valuable knowledge and experience on how to care for bearded dragons, all while coming into her own and finding her confidence in the world. Throughout her time with Brittany, Salcedo also found a friend.
“I always felt judged by people, and I was excluded from a lot of spaces,” said Salcedo. “Brittany was always willing to hang out with me. Just having her as a companion really helped when I was going through rough patches in my youth.”
Being part of a Girl Scout troop also paved the way for Salcedo to feel safe and authentic. With troop leaders like Cheryl Schumacher who fostered a welcoming environment, Salcedo said she always felt like she was heard and seen.
Salcedo said that throughout her 11 years as a Girl Scout, a lot of her fellow troop members were like her – sharing unconventional interests, defying the ‘norm’ and overcoming obstacles.
“It’s just all about connecting and empowering each other, and being a leader. You don’t need to have all these prerequisites,” she said. “You don’t need to be an athlete. You don’t need to be popular. You just have to be open-minded and willing.”
Winning the Girl Scout Gold Award
The Girls Scout Gold Award is considered the highest and most prestigious achievement in Girl Scouting. Only 5.4% of eligible members earn the award which is designed for high school-aged Girl Scouts.
According to Girl Scouts of the USA, the award is given to an individual who plans and executes an independent, sustainable and measurable “Take Action” project that addresses the root cause of a local issue, creating long-term change.
Salcedo’s inspiration for her project was none other than Brittany Spikes, and her goal was to educate others in the proper care for reptiles through educational videos and presentations.
“I interviewed pet store owners and I interviewed vets, and a lot of them [expressed] that people don’t know that you need very specific lighting requirements for these lizards,” said Salcedo.
Salcedo explained that without the proper UVB lighting which they transform into calcium, reptiles like bearded dragons can get a disease called metabolic bone disease, causing their joints and muscles to fail. If a bearded dragon shows signs of sickness, owners will sometimes release them into the wild which can disrupt local food chains, introduce diseases and damage local ecosystems.
Through her project, she created a YouTube channel called “Bepis Valley” where she not only sheds light on proper lighting and care for owners, but also what bearded dragons eat and ways to communicate with them.
In turn, by teaching others, including younger Girl Scouts about responsible pet ownership, she reduced the likelihood of pet abandonment.
“I still remember the night that it happened. I was so happy and relieved to win it because it was just such a big goal that I had in mind.”
Going viral with style
After winning the Girl Scout Gold Award, Salcedo’s image was featured on their national Instagram page as she dawned a spiked choker, black lipstick, teased hair and a straight face.
The post gained so much traction, that even brands like Hot Topic and Applebees took to the comments to share their praises.
One commenter wrote “As the mom of a 9yo Goth Scout who loves animals I cannot wait to show her her new role model.”
Another one wrote, “As a former girl scout who was the only goth in the troop, this is iconic and even advocating for proper reptile care is even more iconic.”
Many deemed her style ‘goth’ or ’emo’, but Salcedo told the Tribune that although she doesn’t mind being labeled that way, that’s not what she would say of her style choices.
“I am completely fine with people calling me [goth] because I take a lot of inspiration from the fashion sense and the subculture. I’m not in the music scene and because goth is a music subculture, I just don’t identify with it,” she said. “ The exact same goes for emo. You can call me emo and I don’t care. I just, personally, am not part of the emo subculture.”
Salcedo said she likes to identify her style under the umbrella term ‘alternative’, and as a big fan of Japanese visual kei, a Japanese music and fashion movement which emerged in the 1980s, she takes inspiration from its flamboyant and non-traditional visual style.
After Salcedo saw that the post went viral, she said she was shocked.
“When people think of a Girl Scout, they don’t picture people like me,” she said as she touched on her photo challenging conventional assumptions about what a Girl Scout should look like.
“I’m just really grateful to represent those people now and to show everyone that just because I dress a certain way doesn’t mean that I’m not dedicated to this organization.”
Leaving a mark
Now a creative writing student at Sonoma State, Salcedo has left the South Lake Tahoe nest but said she still visits home often.
“I do find myself missing Tahoe because it really is so different from the rest of California in a lot of ways. I grew up around casinos and a huge tourist culture,” Salcedo said. “I do miss home sometimes, but I think that learning how to get out of my dorm and explore Sonoma, and how beautiful it is, just in and of itself, has really helped with that.”
Recently, Salcedo self-published a 393-page poetry collection with core themes that explore love, mental health, exile and human connection.
The book, “Oxytocin” was inspired by the love hormone.
“There’s this overlapping theme of love that I talk about in the book – people that I’ve loved and things that I’ve loved, things I shouldn’t have loved.”
“Oxytocin” is authored under Salcedo’s alias, Naroi Hart, and is available through Amazon.
Although she’s got an entire future ahead of her, Salcedo will always be committed to and grateful for Girl Scouts.
“Finding ways to keep volunteering and staying involved with Girl Scouts is definitely one of my goals,” she added.
