District VII Community Connections: HCC Southwest hosts Cookie College
Feb 11, 2014
Terms like business plans, mission statements, customer base, risk management and business ethics are expected in the market place as high powered business types use them every day. But they were the buzz words of a new breed of business leader when Houston Community College Southwest hosted Cookie College for Girl Scouts of America.
Young Brownies to teenage Girl Scout Ambassadors gathered at HCC Southwest’s Stafford Campus to learn five leadership skills, which also prepared them for all kinds of careers, says the event’s organizer, Deanna Thomas. The five skills were goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. These skills help girls discover and value their own strengths, connect with each other and the community, and take action as problem solvers within the global community.
In actual HCC Southwest classrooms, each level of scout worked toward earning new Cookie Business I badges, as well as Cookie College participation patches. Younger girls focused on safety issues, learning the products and simple sales skills, while older scouts graduated to the business side of the operation.
“These girls are learning the cookie business,” says Lawanda Olagunju, leading a class of fourth- and fifth-graders. “We’re teaching customer service, goal setting and preparation.”
Teens and pre-teens studied how to write an actual business plan for selling cookies to earn a Budgeting badge. They learned how to write a mission statement, set business goals, increase a customer base, create a risk management plan and gather expert feedback on a business plan.
“Are you excited?” asked Yvette Hayes, who taught the teen girls, using her favorite buzz word: positivity. “Are you ready to meet or exceed your goals?”
The positive vibe seemed to rub off on the girls, as well as their parents, who attended their own class on the process. According to Girl Scouts of America, Cookie College teaches skills that will help scouts grow into leaders in their own life, leaders in business and leaders in the world.