Lights cast a dim, warm glow. A sound machine plays white noise. Comfortable chairs offer different types of seating.
When Scranton High School students feel stressed or anxious and need a few minutes to relax and recover, a calm room offers solace.
Keira Brogan, a 2024 Scranton High School graduate and a freshman at Lackawanna College, created the room last year. The project earned her the Girl Scout Gold Award, for the 2025 Gold Award class, the organization announced last month. The Gold Award is the highest honor in Girl Scouts.
“It's nice to have a nice spot that you can just step away from class for five, 10 minutes,” the 18-year-old Scranton resident said. “It helped me just knowing that I had a safe place I can go to calm down and recoup, and I've heard from other students that they have come here, and it has helped them.”
In 2021, 42% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row that they stopped doing their usual activities, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Female students were more likely than male students to experience persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
Brogan’s project came at a time of heightened awareness of the mental health of teenagers. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed underlying issues and exacerbated feelings of anxiety and depression in children. Nearly five years later, schools continue to offer greater mental health support for students.

“I think coming out of the pandemic, there was a very great need for a space like this. There was a need for students to have a place to go and kind of get that anxiety in check again and just have a safe place in the schools,” said school counselor Morgan Aspey. “And over time, I think students have really become comfortable using the space.”
After receiving approval from the Girl Scouts and school to create the space, Brogan sought donations from family and friends. The former office features inspiring quotes on the walls, fidget toys, a yoga mat and posters with poses and coloring books with freshly sharpened pencils.

Teachers are receptive to students’ requests to use the room, the counselors said. Students can visit the room for 10 minutes at a time.
“They can just take time to unwind for those 10 minutes,” Aspey said. “And then they're able to go back to class, hopefully, refreshed and with a fresher mindset.”
The counselors are also available if students need additional help or guidance.
Students seek help for anxiety more than any other issue, counselor Christina Nasser said.
“I really do feel as if it's more normalized for them to seek us out,” she said. “We really do put a lot of effort and energy into making ourselves available and visible in the school community, so students feel comfortable seeking us out.”
Brogan experienced stress and anxiety herself, which led her to create the calm room. Now a baking and pastry arts student who hopes to one day open a bakery, she finds ways to cope in stressful environments.
The lifetime Girl Scout member visited the room last week, for the first time since graduating in June. She said she felt calm, and at peace. She hopes students continue to feel the same in the room – and have more conversations about mental health.
“It should be much more open about how people feel and to get the resources they need to make them feel better and live a happier life," she said.