As a highly-awarded college preparatory high school, St. Mary's Academy (SMA) is brimming with excellent students. But Rebecca Kirkman and Kim Kilday are exceptional examples of the spirit and drive that makes a St. Mary's girl special. As Girl Scout of the USA (GSUSA) cadettes, Kirkman and Kilday are organizing a comprehensive Women's Health Night at SMA to receive the highest GSUSA award possible in their age group - the Girl Scout Silver Award®. The event will be held Wednesday, April 26th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at St. Mary's Academy, 1615 S.W. Fifth Avenue, Portland, Oregon.

With a focus on women's health, the evening Kirkman and Kilday are coordinating is ambitious - with representatives from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Curves for Women, Miss Fit Adventures, Wild Oats, Muddy H2O, a One With Heart self defense presentation and interactive booth, two young adult breast cancer survivor speaking presentations, members from the SMA Yoga Club and SADD Club, a naturopath, Chinese Medicine practitioner, and dietician on hand. For more information, visit http://www.womenshealthnight.com.

"Our grade school principal survived breast cancer," says Kirkman. "She and other family members and friends are sources of inspiration for this event." For example, Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of GSUSA, died of breast cancer.

In 1980, Girls Scouts introduced the Girl Scout Gold Award® (for Girl Scouts 14-17 and grades 9-12) as its highest honor, along with the Girl Scout Silver Award® (for Girl Scouts 11-14 and grades 7-9). To receive these awards, girls must meet requirements that help them prepare for, and complete, a special project benefiting their communities. As members of GSUSA Troop 1777, Kirkman and Kilday have been working for these awards for the last several years. Friends at school and in scouting, the girls earned their Junior Girl Scout Bronze Awards together working on community service projects at their grade school, St. Francis Academy.

As a sophomore at SMA, Kirkman has led an impressive life. She is consistently on the honor roll, a class officer, school ambassador, and an artist and accomplished flutist. Kilday is a freshman who is active in honors math, art club, volleyball, and the jazz band, where she plays clarinet. In grade school, she and Kirkman competed for three years in MUSE band ensemble groups and won first each year.

Girl Scouts of the USA is the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls-all girls-where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world. In partnership with committed adult volunteers, girls develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.

Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy of Portland, is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. St. Mary’s Academy is distinguished by its development of the whole person, and is the only school in the state to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools awards.