Sunrise Drive Students in Junior Girl Scout Troop #2074

LEARNING TO LEAD

To fulfill the final phase of the Lead On Badge requirement, members of the Junior Girl Scout Troop 2074 from Sunrise Drive needed to interview an accomplished woman leader. The troop felt fortunate when Dr. Rosemary Jones, Superintendent of Sayville Schools, agreed to sit for an interview to help them complete their badges. Gathering in the Administration Board Meeting Room over refreshments, the Girl Scouts and their troop leaders met with Dr. Jones and asked her insightful questions about leadership qualities.

The Girl Scouts wanted to know how Dr. Jones first started in education and what has been her biggest achievement since joining Sayville schools. During the question-and-answer session, Dr. Jones explained many aspects of being in charge of the school district. She told the scouts her favorite part of the job was deciding how to help all students learn better, and admitted the hardest part of the job was keeping everybody happy. One Girl Scout asked Dr. Jones what she considered important when hiring new teachers or principals. "Enthusiasm for both the children and teaching were top among the attributes considered for a new hire candidate," Dr. Jones told the girls, "because if you can’t love the children you must teach, you won’t make a good educator."

Once the interview was over, Dr. Jones distributed a bookmark with a bullet list of leadership attributes and explained why she designed the bookmark with those points.

The Girl Scouts were thrilled by the whole experience. "I felt important sitting in the big chairs in the board room and was inspired by the bookmark Dr. Jones gave me," remarked Kaila Kotkiewicz. "I liked how Dr. Jones answered our questions with such good detail," added Zoe Rivera. "My favorite tip for success from Dr. Jones," commented Olivia Anderson. "was don’t give up, because I was working on an art project that made me really frustrated, and I wanted to give up."