MTSU welcomes Girl Scouts to campus for career mentoring

About 20 Girl Scouts spent time on the Middle Tennessee State University campus this week as part of a daylong career mentoring project hosted by first lady Elizabeth McPhee that provided exposure to a wide range of professions.

McPhee, a retired educator with Murfreesboro City Schools, hosted the girls for a breakfast in the President’s Residence, then connected the girls with volunteers from the university’s faculty and staff, who in turn allowed the girls to shadow them in their daily job duties.

MTSU first lady Elizabeth McPhee, top left, welcomes a group of local Girl Scouts to campus Tuesday inside the Cope Administration Building. The scouts met with various MTSU faculty and staff during a daylong career mentoring project hosted by McPhee. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

The girls visited offices, classrooms and other operations on the campus, stopping briefly midday for a lunch in the Student Union Building.

The mentors ranged from professors in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences to staff members from several operations, including Athletics, the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center, Campus Planning and the Marketing and Communications division.

The first lady said it was the first time that MTSU has held such an event for Girl Scouts.

“And we plan on doing it again next year, plan on it being even bigger,” she said. “It’s all about empowering young girls, empowering women. We know we’re right on target.”

Dawn Rhodes, right, regional executive of membership for Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, thanks MTSU first lady Elizabeth McPhee, left, during remarks inside the Cope Administration Building Tuesday. McPhee hosted a daylong career mentoring visit for the group of about 20 scouts, who met with various university faculty and staff throughout the day. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Dawn Rhodes, regional executive of membership for Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, told faculty and staff that the council “appreciates all of you taking time out of your day to spend making a difference in the lives of the girls in our community.

“I encourage you to pause and take it in — and realize that one of these girls may be attending your class one day because of this moment and following in your footsteps.”

MTSU is discussing forging a partnership with the Girl Scout council similar to the ones signed recently with the Tennessee Wing of Civil Air Patrol, the volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, and the Middle Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America. Those partnerships make it easier for the youth programs in those organizations to gain access to campus and tap into academic and program resources.

— Andrew Oppmann (andrew.oppmann@mtsu.edu)

MTSU first lady Elizabeth McPhee, center left in white hat, is shown with a group of about 20 local Girl Scouts as well as some MTSU faculty and staff Tuesday inside the Cope Administration Building. The scouts met with various MTSU faculty and staff during a daylong career mentoring visit hosted by McPhee. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)