Carpino Meets With Girl Scouts

State Rep. Christie Carpino, who was a Girl Scout growing up as a child, was sworn in as an Honorary Girl Scout during a statewide event that showcased the organization’s efforts to push for more educational opportunities for girls.

Girl Scout Day at the State Capitol on Wednesday, permitted legislators to meet with local Girl Scouts about the issues they feel are most important to them.

Carpino, who is a member of the Education committee and in the midst of reviewing major education reform legislation that deals with the student achievement gap, talked with the Girl Scouts about their educational aspirations and goals.

Wednesday's focus was on the Girl Scouts of Connecticut’s commitment to more educational opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) for girls. The goal is to elevate the voices of girls on issues that matter to them and their futures. The aim is to explore how girls can better become engaged in STEM through examination of what girls themselves say are their interests and perceptions about these important fields.

“I am grateful to have an opportunity to speak with local Girl Scout troops and share my experience as a woman in a leadership position in Hartford,” Carpino said in a press release.

According to the recently released study by the Girl Scout Research Institute, Generation STEM: A majority of girls find STEM fields interesting, but only a small percentage pursue the fields as their top career choice. In fact, 57 percent of girls say that if they went into a STEM field, they would have to work harder than a man to be taken seriously. Girl Scouts of Connecticut believes that these attitudes must be changed to ensure that girls have just as much opportunity to succeed in these critical fields for the future.

Carpino, R-Cromwell, represents Portland, Middletown and Cromwell in the 32nd Assembly District.