Siembida graduated from Columbiana High School and the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center in 2024. She had to complete a community project to earn her Gold Award for the Girl Scouts.

Only five percent of Girl Scouts ever achieve this award. Siembida is the first Girl Scout in 20 years from Columbiana County to earn her Gold Award.

A GaGa pit, as explained by Southside Middle School Principal Jason Martin, houses play of a game similar to dodgeball.

Back in 2021, he explained Siembida did a survey and reached out to Martin and Superintendent Donald Mook’s permission to install the GaGa pit after students said that is the kind of playground equipment that interested them.

A GaGa ball pit can be the perfect game for a small or large number of participants who have varying abilities.

Not only does GaGa Ball provide a fun way to develop skills but provides great exercise, as players must continually move on the playing field to avoid the ball.

Siembida also has earned the full trifecta of the top awards: researching a trail sign that was placed in Fairfield Township at the government building for the Bronze award and being responsible for a little reading library bench in Firestone Park for the Silver award.

Her mother, Crystal Siembida Boggs, explained that during the process of earning her Gold Award, her Take Action Project was the raising of funds so Gold Star Mother’s would receive bronze markers at their headstones in Columbiana Cemetery.

Martin said that Siembida handled all the fundraising for the GaGa ball pit. The Columbiana Rotary and the Columbiana Community Foundation were major donors for Siembida.

In addition to completing her senior year of high school and her already busy schedule, she also served as second attendant for the Johnny Appleseed Festival.

He explained that the middle school students were exposed to a GaGa trip during their annual trip to Camp Fitch and loved it.

Siembala said the project was very rewarding. “I got to see kids utilizing the GaGa ball pit within an hour of completing the project. We had funds left over that permitted me to add a portable ADA accessible sidewalk last minute, and that just made me feel like my entire goal was met.”

Siembida will receive her physical award during the 2025 awards ceremony in June.