[009] GIRL SCOUTS’ ANNUAL GIRL UNIVERSITY EVENT COMES TO MTSU JULY 18

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 7, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, lrollins@mtsu.edu

GIRL SCOUTS’ ANNUAL GIRL UNIVERSITY EVENT COMES TO MTSU JULY 18
Organizers Extend Registration Period, Encourage Girls in Grades 9-12 to Attend

(MURFREESBORO)—Girl University will come to the MTSU campus July 18 for a one-day series of workshops designed to help young women and their parents get a head start on planning for life after high school.
Open to girls in grades 9-12, GU is program sponsored by Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee designed to provide young women and their parents with access to information and professionals who can assist in making important decisions and know-how about topics such as college applications, financial needs, how to choose a major, working with college advisers, college life and more.
Lynn Palmer, MTSU’s admissions director, said that this year’s campus-based endeavor is the second time the university has been a host site for GU.
“The event is designed to give girls a jump-start in preparing for college,” Palmer explained. “Girls and parents will attend classes led by college experts and business professionals. They will get information to make informed decisions and plan for life after high school.”
Megan Davis, program supervisor for Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, said, “Girl Scouts, since its founding in 1912, has sought to prepare girls for the wide range of opportunities in their futures, and so getting ready to survive and thrive on campus is a natural goal of ours.”
As for the university’s role in GU, “MTSU is centrally located in the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee's 39-county district,” Davis continued. “And as the largest university population in the state, it's a great way to introduce girls and their families to the college experience.”
During the course of the GU experience, Palmer said, “They take about 50 young women on a bus to tour selected schools across the state during the week (and) … they culminate their activities by spending Friday evening at MTSU,” she added. “Then, on Saturday, those 50 women are joined by about another 200 to participate in the (career- and college-planning) sessions on campus.”
The MTSU sessions will get under way with an 8:15 a.m. registration and 8:45 a.m. welcome, followed by three back-to-back workshops and a 12:30-1:25 p.m. lunch, and then two more sessions before concluding at 4 p.m., with a door-prize giveaway that will include a Dell Mini Notebook laptop.
Although GU is a Girl Scouts-sponsored activity, young women are not required to members of the Girl Scouts organization to participate, said Davis, who added that registration for GU had been extended and will continue to include on-site registration July 18. Also, there’s room for up to 200 participants, she remarked.
“Each participant gets their own personalized schedule based on the choices they indicated on the registration,” she shared, referring to the workshop options available.
Cost: The cost of GU, which includes workshops and lunch, is $12 for those who have membership in Girls Scouts. Those who are non-members may sign up for an additional $5. This fee entitles registrants to Girl Scout membership and its related benefits through Sept. 30, 2009. Please note that financial aid is available for those who qualify.
For more information about GU, including workshops available or to download a registration form, please access http://gsmidtn.org/calendar/girl-university/.
For more information by phone, please contact Davis at 615-460-0216.

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• Attention, Media: To secure a stock of Girl Scouts Mallory Klotzback and Michelle Stansbery of Troop 1868, both of whom are Silver Award 2009 recipients, or a jpeg of Megan Davis, please e-mail your request to Lisa L. Rollins at lrollins@mtsu.edu.