Noelle grew up in Boise, ID and is finishing up her second year at the U. She is majoring in International Studies with an emphasis in Global Health and she is also Pre-Med. She hopes to attend Medical School, earn a Masters in Public Health, and one day work for the Center for Disease Control. Noelle is a member of the Honors College, and this year she had the opportunity to be a student ambassador where she interacts with prospective students. She is also a Girl Scouts outreach troop leader as well as a member of Pi Beta Phi.
Yes, she is a very busy woman. When she isn’t focused on the items mentioned above, she works as a Phlebotomist at the University Hospital.
“Yes, I’m one of the mean vampires. It’s an interesting job to have as a college student, but it comes with a lot of funny stories and I talk to a lot of amazing patients. I’m also in a lab that studies vascular access for chronic kidney disease patients. I really can’t escape anything to do with blood it seems.” -Noelle
When asking Noelle about the organizations she is involved with she wanted to focus on her involvement with Girl Scouts of America.
How long have you been involved with Girl Scouts of America?
“I became a Girl Scout Troop Leader this semester with encouragement from a close friend so I have only really been involved for about three months.”
How did you get started/how did you find out about Girl Scouts of America?
“I was a Girl Scout during elementary school, but it looked a lot different than the troop I currently lead. We got all the fun Girl Scout vests, had our parents iron on the patches we would earn, and sell cookies for three to four weeks every year. The Girl Scout troop I work with is an outreach troop of first through fourth graders. Our troop is not funded and meets at an elementary school in a primarily low income neighborhood. The troop gives these girls an opportunity to still participate in the Girl Scouts organization as an after school program. We sell cookies one day a year and every week we do a fun activity related to the patch we are working on! I got started through the Bennion Center and a friend who was already a troop leader!”
For those that don’t know, what is Girl Scouts of America?
“Girl Scouts is an organization for girls that prepares them to empower themselves and promotes compassion, courage, confidence, character, leadership, entrepreneurship, and active citizenship through different activities including community service and earning badges by learning practical skills. The Outreach program through Girl Scouts of Utah wants to make sure that every girl who wants to be a Girl Scout has the opportunity to do so. They provide the experience to girls in afterschool programs, community and refugee centers, homeless and domestic violence shelters, as well as in community resource centers serving special populations.”
What do you do/what are your responsibilities as a Girl Scouts of America Troop Leader?
“Every Wednesday afternoon, my coleader and I come with a planned activity (and occasionally treats) related to the current Girl Scout patch we are working on. Last month, we worked on earning our Cookie Patch. The girls learned about money management, marketing, the Girl Scout cookies, and communication and presentation skills. We had a cookie booth and completely sold out in less than two hours! This month we are working on the Starry Nights patch which focuses on all things astrology! This week we drew our own constellations and created stories about the formation of our unique constellations. The girls really want to make glow in the dark slime, and I am really hoping it warms up so we can do that outside and not smash gooey slime into the classroom carpet.”
What has been your favorite part of Girl Scouts of America?
“My favorite part about being a Girl Scout leader is hearing all the bright, silly, fun ideas that the girls come up with every time we do an activity. My co-leader and I always plan an activity and it almost always never ends up the way we planned, however, it teaches me so much about these girls. It is so exciting for me to see the wheels spinning when we bring up a new topic or activity to work on earning new badges.
My goal as a coleader is to teach these girls things that they don’t necessarily learn at school or from their parents, who are often busy working extremely hard to take care of their families. I want to empower them to think outside the box, develop unique opinions, and set goals for the future with their passions in mind. No matter the age, I think it is incredibly important to foster and encourage passion in others. For these girls, the path to the future may not always be super clear depending on specific family situations so I hope to give them the tools and encouragement to push forward with their passions in hand.”
How can people get involved in or support Girl Scouts of America?
“If you interested in becoming involved with Girl Scouts outreach, the Bennion Center on campus has a Program Director that works with Girls Scouts of Utah to connect interested students to schools looking to start an after school program.”
What advice would you give to freshmen or incoming students who want to get involved on campus?
“Allow yourself the first couple weeks of the semester to understand the academic part of college first. Go to your classes and figure out what commitment you think those classes will demand. After you have a general grasp of the academic focus of college, try everything! Fencing may not have been your thing in high school but who knows, maybe you are secretly an extreme fencing master. Say yes to multiple opportunities that may seem a little different and if it gets to be too much or overwhelming, it is more than okay to step back and reevaluate. By saying yes to different experiences, you will find something that either supports an existing passion or unleashes a newfound passion that you are excited to pursue!”
“Noelle is very dedicated and engaged. She has a passion for people and works hard to make sure she is meeting the needs of the people around her. She is very intelligent and creative. She is so easy to be around and work with, she makes everyone feel loved and full of energy. Noelle is involved with so many initiatives all over campus, and is a great example to her peers.” -Noelle’s friend, Keely Kringlen
“Noelle is the most genuine person I know by far. She cares so much about her friends and she is always there for anyone who needs her help. Her passion to help others is inspiring to me. She is so intelligent and is always working so hard in school. She does so much, yet she still dedicates time to anyone who needs her help with school, pi phi or whoever just needs someone to listen. She is so loving and she has the biggest heart. I don’t know what I would do without her.” – Noelle’s friend, Lexi Varanakis
Outside of school and work, Noelle loves to draw, travel, eat acai bowls, make her mom snapchat her pictures of her dog, and watch Law and Order: SVU for hours on end! If you ever see Noelle around campus, say hello!