WHEN 16-year-old Rachel Lim joined the Girl Guides four years ago, she did it only because her friends wanted to and she did the bare minimum in her first year.
At the Istana on Thursday, the Sengkang Secondary School student received the highest accolade for a girl guide here from President S.R. Nathan - the President's Guide Award.
Rachel's love for the uniformed group grew in secondary two, when she found the activities 'all-rounded' and trained everything 'from head to toe'. She eventually even rose to the position of company leader.
She was among the seven girl guides who received the President's Guide Award this year. Eight scouts also garnered the President's Scout Award.
The awards are given out annually to the most outstanding girl guides and scouts, who have to undergo a series of tests and shortlisting spanning a few months.
Eighteen-year-old Wong Kang Yan (chk), who got the President's Scout Award after more than two years of preparation, said: 'It's been a long journey.'
The Hwa Chong Institution student had been in the scouting movement since he was nine and had received the Chief Commissioner's Award and the Outstanding Scout Award previously.
