Girl Scouts Earning Badges at Cookie University; Kappa Delta Sorority Leads the Way

While many are focusing on the flavors inside each box, the Kappa Delta Sorority at NDSU is helping the girls selling the treats

FARGO, N.D. — It’s girl scout cookie season and that means each young entrepreneur is taking steps to earn her next badge.

KVRR’s Jessie Cohen tells us how one NDSU sorority is helping these scouts graduate from Cookie University.

Girl Scout Cookie season has arrived and while many are focusing on the flavors inside each box, the Kappa Delta Sorority at NDSU is helping the girls selling the treats.

“They’ve got cute faces but they really do learn personal skills and how to talk to people and just really interact and it’s not just about the cookie,” said Erin Lemanski, the VP of Community Service for Kappa Delta Sorority at NDSU.

At the annual Cookie University, girls are of course learning about the flavors and earning a badge towards their entrepreneurship of cookie season.

“A lot of times they will have a new appreciation for a different aspect of the cookie sale,” said Jennifer Jamieson, the Members Support Lead with Girl Scouts-Dakota Horizon.

“It’s not just a cookie you’re buying, you’re buying a future for them,” Lemanski said.

“Our brownies right now are working on the give back badge which basically talks about what they are going to do with the funds that their troop raises,” Jamieson said.

While they learn there is more to each cookie than what meets the eye, their wheels are turning…is there a secret to being a great saleswoman?

“A lot of the things we end up teaching them are just basic life skills too I mean if you think about customer service and interaction with people they are going to be doing that everyday,” Jamieson said.

But the cherry on top is the relationships formed with the Kappa Delta sisters.

“It’s nice to be able to give back and teach these girls at such a young age. It’s beautiful really because they look up to us and we’ve had so many parents come up to us and saying thank you for doing this every year,” Lemanski said.

“It makes them go hey I could be a college student, she’s smart and she’s funny and she’s beautiful and she’s at school and I can do that and we need more mentoring like that,” Jamieson said.

“They’re like we want to go to college because of you, it’s honestly amazing,” Lemanski said.

The girls are walking away from Cookie University with more badges on their sashes, but skills to succeed in business and in life.

This is the third year Girl Scouts–Dakota Horizons has partnered up with the Kappa Delta Sorority at NDSU.