With "Make the Connection," Girl Scouts Learn How They Can Change the World
In the fall of 2005, a small group of Booz Allen employees partnered with the Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital to create the Make the Connection (MTC) program, with a mission to mentor and empower girls in the District of Columbia area. Back then, the program’s founders couldn’t have predicted its enormous success. Today, more than 60 Booz Allen mentors connect with more than 400 Girl Scouts annually with the goal of empowering these girls to change the world, and two women who were part of the original MTC program as participants — Emma Glass and Chandler MacLaren — are now Booz Allen employees and volunteer MTC mentors.
“I remembered that the Make the Connection program was an initiative by Booz Allen to encourage girls to consider STEM,” Emma Glass said. “It was a good introduction to the business and professional world.”
Although both women went through the MTC program, their paths to Booz Allen were different. Glass served as a Booz Allen Summer Games Intern and eventually started as a consultant in August, 2016.
MacLaren did not have any further interactions with Booz Allen outside of her MTC days until she began her job hunt after graduating college. Fortunately, MacLaren was reminded of her experience with Booz Allen when she came across her old Girl Scout vest with an MTC patch.
“I happened to be home one weekend and saw my vest with an MTC patch sewn on and I looked into what careers Booz Allen offered,” MacLaren said.
MacLaren joined Booz Allen in the summer of 2016 and is now a cost estimating consultant. Years after their initial involvement, both women are still involved with MTC – just in a different capacity.
“I think it’s pretty cool to see these events from the other side,” Glass said. “I’ve been involved with Girl Scouts my entire life, and I want to stay involved as much as I can. This program is a good way for young women, fresh out of college or a little older, to interact and influence these younger girls.”
“Girl Scouts tells you that you can do anything you want to do,” MacLaren said. “I think being back, I’m in a great place to volunteer and show these girls that it’s okay to pursue a degree in engineering and say, ‘look what it got me – a job at the firm that provided that opportunity in the first place.’”
This year, MTC has held three of its four annual events introducing Girl Scouts to a variety of career paths, making good first impressions, and keeping younger girls involved in the sciences.
The next MTC event, a team building exercise at a low ropes course on April 21st at Girl Scout Camp Crowell in Oakton, Virginia, is focused on teaching girls how to achieve success through trust, communication, and strategy.
To learn more about how Booz Allen is helping Girl Scouts envision their future in STEM, click here.
