With recruitment in full-swing, we are
kicking off a series that will share stories about some of our amazing
volunteers with the entire Girl Scouts community. There are 30,000 girls
waiting for the chance to be a Girl Scout, so the time is now to build our
volunteer force! These exceptional people prove that anyone can be a Girl
Scout volunteer: they are young professionals, senior citizens, men, and
so much more. And 88% of Girl Scout volunteers believe their lives are better
because they volunteer. So what are you waiting for? Volunteer today!
When
you ask someone what they think of when they hear “Girl Scouts,” the answers
will usually include cookies, crafts, and camping. But for one Alaskan dad, he thinks of his
all-girl LEGO robotics team, the Electronically Overdressed Survivors.
By
day, he works at the Army Corps of Engineers, but by night, “I am, in fact, a
troop leader,” Bruce said with a laugh.
“People are usually a bit confused by that at first, but that’s my role. I get to lead this special troop of girls as
a part of the Girl Scouts Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) program and get them ready for competition.”
The
competition? First LEGO League (FLL), a
themed robotics competition pitting teams against each other at the local,
national, and international levels. This
year’s theme is education, following on the previous years’ theme of natural
disasters.
At
the beginning of Bruce’s involvement with FLL, he was not a troop leader, but
was asked to be a judge. He came home
that day, as per usual, and talked to his daughter, Ellie, now 12. While talking about their days, they came to
realize that Ellie was participating in the same competition Bruce was asked to
judge. He accepted the position, and was
able to see his daughter’s competition firsthand. “We went that first weekend and I got
hooked,” said Bruce. “After five years
of being involved, I became the head coach of my daughter’s team, or
essentially their troop [leader].”
At
face value, FLL seems like a single-sided competition: build a robot and have it perform simple
tasks. However, Bruce maintains it is
much more complex than it seems. As
Bruce explained, “One-fourth of the competition is overall score, but there is
also a robot and programming portion, where the girls describe how they designed
the robot; a research component, where they investigate the theme, identify a
problem, and present a solution to the judging panel; and finally, a core value
component, where the participants have to demonstrate values like ‘gracious
professionalism,’ not unlike the values of the Girl Scouts.”
While
Bruce was, obviously, never a Girl Scout, he said this experience has given him
a great appreciation for the organization, as well as volunteering. “I have to thank the Girl Scouts for
sponsoring this team and letting a dad take the lead,” Bruce said. “Stereotypically, in STEM fields, people
think boys would be better than girls, but we won our [co-ed] state competition
last year, and we’re breaking that stereotype every day.”
But
just because they’re winners, doesn’t mean they’re going to slow down. “Our plan is to win state this year again,
and work our way to an international competition that’s being held in St.
Louis,” Bruce divulged. “We have a great
team, a fantastic group of young ladies, and I want to know much more we can
achieve by working together and motivating each other.”
But
as much as the girls are learning about robotics, Bruce is learning even more
about himself. “Sometimes you have to
keep the rough and gruff exterior, but when there are deeper issues going on,
you need to turn on the empathy,” said Bruce.
“It’s thrilling to be able to work with them, especially my daughter.”