A Wichita teen is in Ohio this week to be honored by the Girl Scouts of the USA as a National Young Woman of Distinction.
Seventeen-year-old Maureen “Reeny” Botros is one of 10 Girl Scouts to receive the honor. The home-schooled senior earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouts, by inventing "Illumi-cize" fashion accessories.
Darcy Gray, with Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, says Botros' accessories monitor heart rates and light up to encourage exercise.
"[She] wanted to attract more girls to STEM careers, so what she did over the past year was she hosted a series of 'Catwalk Coding Camps,' and it taught girls both electrical and coding skills so they could make their own light-up fashion accessories," Gray says.
Botros also presented her invention to President Barack Obama in 2015 at the White House Science Fair. She'll conduct a Catwalk Coding Camp for more than 100 girls in Mexico City next month.
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Carla Eckels is interim news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.
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