To help girls in grades 6 to 12 prepare for their futures in college and careers, the Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey held a Scout leadership summit on Nov. 19 at Rowan University’s Business Hall.
The event was split into two parts. The first was a career cafe featuring setups from groups and organizations to show Scouts how to excel in fields like automotive and dental, among others.
“The thinking in Girl Scouts is, ‘If you can see one, you can be one,’” said Vice President of Fund Development and Marketing Communications Lisa Kricun. “Part of what we do is create an ambience for the career cafe where we can have professionals who can talk a little about what they do to the girls who are a part of our council.”
Among organizations on hand were EMTs from the River Road Rescue Squad EMS, three of whom – Nadia Ahmed, Sruthi Alampally and Rihi Jain – gave the Scouts insight into what they do.
“We’re here to introduce young Girl Scouts to the world of EMS and all that EMS providers do for patients, for the community, and to show them our equipment and teach them a little more about what patient care is pre-hospital,” Ahmed explained.
“EMS is typically, like historically, a male-dominant profession, and we’re here to show girls, as female EMTs, that they can definitely do it,” said Jain.
The second half of the summit had girls attending workshops to help with skills they will need in the future, such as public speaking, essay writing, advocacy and budgeting. Workshops were held for both the Scouts and their parents.
“We want this for girls to allow them to think a little more about their future plans for a career, and that could be for a diverse number of careers,” Kricun noted. “The idea is to give them an understanding of what job opportunities are, and also because some of the topics of our workshop are around career paths.”
“Future readiness,” said member Nicole Forssell, of what she hopes the girls get out of the summit. “All their workshops today are about building where they are today into their future. So, they’re learning how to create a resume, presenting yourself in an interview – all things they need to build their leadership skills in the future.”
