Empowering future leaders: Lafayette hosts Girl Scout Badge Day

On Nov. 9, Girl Scouts in grades K-12 learned about engineering, STEM careers, performing arts, and more alongside Lafayette faculty, staff, and students. | Photos by JaQuan Alston

By Stella Katsipoutis-Varkanis

More than 80 local Girl Scouts gathered on the Lafayette campus Sunday, Nov. 9, for the College’s second annual Girl Scout Badge Day. Scouts in grades K-12 learned about engineering, STEM careers, performing arts, and more alongside 60 Lafayette faculty, staff, and students. The day culminated in each Girl Scout earning two badges. 

“This event offers scouts a chance to get hands-on experience building and creating alongside experts. They discover new subjects, skills, and potential career paths they may not have had a chance to discover before,” says Kelly Huth, associate director of internal and community communications. “It’s also empowering for students to mentor scouts in the subject areas they’re studying.” Huth organized the event along with Jodi Fowler, associate director of civic leadership programs at Landis Center for Community Engagement; Christiane Tomik ’03, instructional technologist; Jenn Rossmann, William Jeffers Dean of Engineering; Lauren Anderson ’04, dean of faculty; and Lisa Karam, engineering coordinator and program manager.

In addition to encouraging creativity and curiosity through immersive activities, Fowler says the event gave scouts a chance to experience a college setting, helping to make higher education feel more familiar and accessible.  

Interactive badge sessions were held in Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center, Acopian Engineering Center, Williams Arts Center, and Skillman Library. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

“The Lafayette community stepped up in so many ways to make Badge Day possible,” Huth says. “It really brings the campus community together. I’m so grateful for all those who shared their time, talents, and expertise.”

Lafayette volunteers planned and led interactive badge sessions held in Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center, Acopian Engineering Center, Williams Arts Center, and Skillman Library. During the sessions, Girl Scouts engaged in a variety of interactive projects like coding, building robots and Mars rovers, engineering fling fliers, learning about influential women in the College’s history, performing on a theater stage, and more. This year’s sessions, Fowler explains, included an even wider range of topics so returning troops could have a fresh experience and explore new areas of learning. “For our Lafayette volunteers,” she adds, “it was a chance to strengthen their connection to the local community while practicing leadership and mentorship in a hands-on way.”

English major Claire Coker ’27 says she was excited to lead a session for the first time this year after volunteering at the inaugural Girl Scout Badge Day in spring 2025. “I loved volunteering last time, and I find it especially rewarding to work with children, so I was excited about this opportunity to get more involved,” says Coker, who guided a Daisy troop through a drawing exercise to help them reflect on what it means to be a good neighbor. 

Lafayette students, faculty, and staff shared their expertise and worked with scouts grades K-12 to help them earn their badges. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

Working as a session leader, Coker explains, also gave her the opportunity to hone her own interpersonal skills. “I adapted the session to accommodate the kids’ different personalities—for example, I had to ask the shyer kids in my group the right questions to encourage them to open up. Having those people skills and knowing how to navigate conversations is universally applicable, and it’s something I’ll use no matter what career I choose to follow,” she says. 

With an even larger turnout compared to last year’s event and with the addition of more activities for Brownies, this year’s Girl Scout Badge Day was a success thanks to the help and support of departments and student clubs across campus, including: Landis Center, Community Engagement Council, Engineering Division, Physics Department, Computer Science Department, Dyer Center, Lafayette College Libraries, Lafayette Arts, Admissions, Alpha Phi Omega community service organization, Society of Women Engineers, Women in Computing, Office of Sustainability, and many more. 

Plans are already underway for next year’s festivities, and Fowler is looking forward to expanding the event in the future. “More than just a day of badge-earning, I hope the experience helped scouts see college as an open and inviting place while giving our campus community a meaningful way to engage beyond the classroom,” she says. “I hope everyone left feeling more connected with knowledge and memories that will last.”