Lackawanna College’s Career & Badge Showcase

Learning about different fields of study and discovering the perfect career just got easier for some area girls.

Lackawanna College and the Girls Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania are teaming up to hold a Career & Badge Showcase event from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 10 at Angeli Hall at the Scranton campus. The Scranton Foundation on behalf of Women in Philanthropy awarded the College a $2,700 grant to hold the career and education exploration event.

“One of Lackawanna’s core values is cultivating and maintaining active partnerships with our regional community, which includes non-profits such as the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania,” said Lackawanna College President Dr. Jill Murray. “This grant helps us bring a fun and educational event to the Scranton campus so young women can learn more about Lackawanna College, what careers are available to them and how Lackawanna can help them achieve their goals.”

Karen Lipnichan, program director for Lackawanna College’s Students Occupationally and Academically Ready (SOAR), came up with the idea for the showcase after meeting Lutricia Eberly, director of Outdoor and Program Experience for Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania at a Scranton Chamber women’s event. Jessica Mislinski, regional director of the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania in the local Scranton GSHPA office, presented to the Scranton Foundation on behalf of Lackawanna College and GSHPA, securing the $2,700 grant.

“This event will give the Girl Scouts a chance to participate in a day of hands-on learning and discovery about careers and education pathways,” Lipnichan said. “The girls will be able to identify what they like and what they don’t like, which can help them with their future career planning.”

The event is for Girls Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania members in kindergarten through 12^th grades. College officials are anticipating about 300 girls. The grant will enable the College to provide the girls with lunches, padfolios and a patch.

“This will also ensure that no girl is turned away because of limited financial resources,” Lipnichan said. “We want to ensure each Girl Scout who wants to attend this can, which is why we are so grateful we received this grant.”

Lackawanna’s event will also help the schools the girls attend fulfill a state requirement that calls for students to learn more about what careers they can pursue after graduating high school.

Some of the education opportunities and pathways the girls will explore include Criminal Justice, Cyber Security, Environmental jobs, Humanities, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Physical Therapist Assistant, Police and Law Enforcement, Surgical Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Additionally, the Girl Scouts will learn more about the College’s Emotional Wellness, Physical Wellness, Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Success and eSports programs.

Events will be based on the age of the girls to ensure each group is getting the information needed. Younger girls will get more hands-on interactive education sessions while the older girls will get interactive and informational sessions.

“This will expose the girls to in-demand careers and careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math or STEM industries,” Lipnichan said. “This event will have something for everyone. This is so vital for not only the older girls but the younger ones. Even though the younger girls aren’t close to graduating, they will get exposed to careers and pathways that interest them so they can make more informed decisions as they get older.”

For the younger girls, the event will have activities like a scavenger hunt, which will be a fun way for the College to show them the different places on campus. The sessions for the older girls will still be interactive and fun but will include an informational component. The College will also have a career panel in the morning and afternoon for the older girls where they will have women talk about career paths they have pursued.

“What we tried to do with this event is give the girls something unique that they normally wouldn’t do with their troops,” Eberly said. “Karen identified unique aspects of Lackawanna College and we pulled those into both Girl Scout badge experiences and career discussions. We’re looking forward to our members in NEPA benefiting from this collaboration with Lackawanna College.”