Cedar Rapids Girl Scout reaches pinnacle of scout achievement Lydia Mullins received every badge and award and took every journey at the Junior level

Eleven-year-old Lydia Mullins of Cedar Rapids has received every badge, taken part in every journey, and received all the awards available to Junior Girl Scouts.

Maura Warner, communications coordinator of Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, called it a 'unique accomplishment.”

'It takes a lot of time and dedication to accomplish all of that,” Warner said. 'Lydia really had to put some outside effort to achieve all the things that she has.”

The first badge Lydia earned - musician - is her favorite. To earn it, she and her fellow troop members formed a band.

'It was really fun because we have a bunch of instruments,” she said. 'We would take turns singing and playing different instruments.”

Lydia, a sixth-grader at Harding Middle School in Cedar Rapids, plays the guitar, cello and clarinet.

Her mother, Christina, said she is proud of her daughter's accomplishments and how far she has come.

'You wouldn't know by looking at her, when she was 2 years old, she could not talk. She couldn't speak,” Christina said. 'They sent her for evaluations with one of the leading developmental pediatricians in the country and placed her on the very far end of the autism spectrum scale.”

Lydia underwent years of intensive therapy, her mother said.

'She never gave up,” Christina said. 'She was in therapy three or four times a week. The goal was by the time she was 7 years old, we wanted everybody to look at her and not be able to tell that she's anywhere on a scale.”

Lydia was involved in Girl Scouts in Sheridan, Ill., before moving to Cedar Rapids and said she enjoys helping others.

She has run drives for Toys for Tots and collected items such as hats, coats and scarves to help those in need during the winter.

'I enjoy a lot of it,” Lydia said of her involvement in Girl Scouts. 'Helping out the community. Let's share your ideas, what you can do, and make it happen.”