Girdwood, a four-year letter winner on the Mars Area High School Girls Varsity Soccer Team, served as a team captain during her senior season. As a freshman and sophomore, she helped lead the Lady Planets to win back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA championships as well as four consecutive section titles; and, as a junior and senior, she was named to the All-Section and All-WPIAL teams.
At Mars Area High School, she serves as president of the Enrichment Club and National Honor Society; as vice president of Varsity Club; and is a member of Future Women in Health Care Club, Science National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, and Student Council.
Girdwood has attended pre-college programs at Brown University and Wake Forest University; and, as a junior, she as earned AP Scholar with Distinction honors, and, as a senior, was named to Butler County Community College’s President’s List.
In the community, Girdwood volunteers with Friends Helping Friends, Harvest Street Mission, Inspired Hearts and Hands, Linus Project, and Mars Area Soccer Club camps.
She plans to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering and medicine at either Pennsylvania State University or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Also among the 146 nominees for 2024 WPIAL James Collins Scholar-Athlete Awards was senior Ryan Ceh for his participation on the Mars Area High School’s boys varsity basketball and volleyball teams.
For more information, visit https://wpial.org/sports/2023/7/31/james-collins-scholar-athlete-award.aspx.