By Matthew Baughman
The Leader-Telegram
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Whether it is fighting fires, dressing injuries or keeping the peace, Girl Scouts learned about three emergency response career paths they could follow in their future.
Chippewa Valley Technical College EMS Instructor Jennifer Struensee said this is the fourth year Girl Scouts have been invited to the Hero Academy at their Emergency Services Education Center.
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“It was the Girl Scouts that approached us and wanted to do an event to showcase our departments, whether it be to intrigue the girls for jobs that they might want to have in their future or for some of the younger girls to get used to what law enforcement and firefighters look like,” she said.
Around 70 Girl Scouts attended the event on Saturday. While there is a small fee for those attending, those dollars are immediately given to the Girl Scouts. Struensee said all the CVTC students and instructors working with the girls are volunteers from the three major departments of law enforcement, fire and EMS.
At the fire station, Girl Scouts helped operate a water hose and took part in a “search and rescue” obstacle course to find a stuffed otter.
Alex Georgeson, a CVTC student and firefighter out of Menomonie, said she wished events like this were available when she was young.
“I think it’s really important. You don’t really see a lot of female-only types of events like this, and the fact that it’s a Girl Scout is really cool,” she said. “I was a Girl Scout when I was young; if I could have done something like this, it would have been amazing.
“I did this last year as well, and helping out with stuff like this is something I want to do for a long time.”
Carrie Andringa, director of teen engagement for the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes , said their Girl Scouts are always craving experiences they would not get anywhere else.
“And this program has always provided that,” she said. “It’s always given them a way to explore hands on some things that they might not get exposure to in everyday life or even at school. So that’s one of the great things about this program. And one of the main reasons why I partner with Jen is because their CVTC students, faculty, the staff, they let girls get messy. They let them get up close and personal with the equipment, with some of the training exercises.
“It’s been a great eye opening way for our youngest Girl Scouts all the way up through our high school Girl Scouts to experience these careers.”
In addition to being a career preparatory program, Andringa said it also exposes their youngest Girl Scouts to people who work in these fields to show them they should not be afraid when they see somebody who is in a uniform.
“It helps girls know how to manage sometimes scary situations when they know that they have a person they can go to,” she said.
Continuing, Struensee said, “That’s what we want. We don’t want them to be afraid of somebody who shows up in their house. Because firefighters can look big and scary. Law enforcement can look big and scary. But when you see them in this setting, they’re not big and scary anymore.”
With the event wrapping up around midday, Andringa said, “My hope is always that Girl Scouts can see themselves in some of these careers in the future, and also that they leave feeling empowered to try new things and seek out new experiences.”
She also added that the Girl Scouts hope their partnership with CVTC through this event continues to grow.
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