By: Girl Scout Cadette & Lime Green Giraffe Staff Writer, Zora F.

As a Lime Green Giraffe writer, I had the opportunity to interview a female leader in our city. I interviewed Leapfrog Services, CEO,  Yum Arnold. Leapfrog Services is an IT company with expert-level managed IT services that helps more than a 100 businesses and nonprofits worldwide. Yum Arnold is a woman pioneer in STEM and this year’s recipient of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta’s Changing the World Award.

While sitting down with Ms. Arnold we discussed the following:

Lime Green Giraffe: How did you use leadership to build you company?

Yum Arnold: I think that leadership requires self-confidence and some capacity to think through your ideas so others can understand them and want to follow them. I think leadership is something that you can work on all your life, but I think also some people come by it more easily than others.

She used self-confidence and courage to think through her ideas so others could follow.

Sounds like familiar words from our Girl Scout mission -- Courage, Confidence & Character.

LGG: How did you get into technology?

Arnold: The summer of my sophomore year of college, there was a factory in the town where I lived. The local manager of the factory asked me to work there. My task was to figure out how to make computerized fabric and wool. Later he gave me a book on programming Fortran. Fortran is a general purpose, imperative programming language that is especially suited to numeric computation and scientific computing. My summer experience with the factory lead to my interest in computers. After that I started my junior year of college. My college had just received their first computer so I helped program it.  

LGG: What are some words of advice for girls who want to be entrepreneurs?

Arnold: I think it's really important to not be afraid to fail. I think some keys to being an entrepreneur are thinking through the long-term goal that you have, then having a strategy that you try to follow and that you are willing to adjust. Entrepreneurs are known for not seeing all the pitfalls before they start something, because if they saw all the challenges, they would never do it.  Instead, they solve problems as they come up and move forward. 

It is also important to have a firm belief in your convictions and ideas, and also to surround yourself with people with who are strong, where you are weak. Because no one can do it all, no one is totally complete.

The reward for being an entrepreneur is wonderful.

LGG: What are some of your experience in Girl Scouts?

Arnold: I was never a Girl Scout but both of my daughters were Girl Scout Brownies. I would lead some of their activities. I knew a woman named Claire Smith. Her husband was the CEO of The Coca Cola Company. They were huge supporters of Girl Scouts. They did a lot of stuff for the Girl Scouts, so she really influenced me to get more involved with Girl Scouts.  

I am such a firm believer of girls being in single sex situations. I went to an all women’s college. Things like the Girl Scouts give girls permission to excel in a non-co-ed environment. The fact the Girl Scouts are focused on STEM is fabulous.  

Interviewing one of the first women pioneers of STEM was an amazing opportunity. I'm so thankful for getting to tour and learn more about Leapfrog Services and its CEO. 

Something, I will take away from this experience is to never be afraid to fail in to world of technology and STEM. And to always be ready to learn and try new things.

By: Lime Green Giraffe Copy Editor, Ali S.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Our NEW 2018 Spring Issue is here! 
In this issue you can read about all kinds of things like the adorable crafts you can make for Valentine’s Day and how to create your own homemade desserts out of Girl Scout Cookies. You can also have a good laugh at our humorous story about how to get your crush to like you. You can read about new amazing adventures that you can pursue, learn the best ways to study and even get advice from everyone’s favorite giraffe, GiGi.   

So, get started reading! <3 

The Lime Green Giraffe Staff 

Dear GiGi, 

Recently, I had to deal with a serious bully. I’m in musical theatre, and this particular girl kept telling me that I was totally tone-deaf and the worst singer she’d ever heard. I know you’re not supposed to listen to bullies, but this girl found the one thing I had just gotten comfortable with and started picking at it. She left theatre last year, but now I feel really self-conscious every time I get up to sing, even though people keep telling me I have a good voice. What do I do? 

Signed, 

Confidence Lost 

Dear Confidence Lost, 

Bullies have a nasty way of finding that one thing that you are insecure about and picking at it over and over. When they keep tweaking it, eventually you start to believe what they’re saying and your confidence takes a serious hit that can be hard to overcome. 

Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to restore that confidence; in my experience, you just have to keep doing the thing that makes you feel self-conscious until it doesn’t make you self-conscious anymore.  

You’re already part of the way there; you stuck with musical theatre. That’s really good! Now you have to keep pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Change up the harmonies you sing, audition for bigger parts, try out for the solo that’s up for grabs—find something that you don’t normally do and try it. Eventually, you’ll get more confident and start stepping out of your comfort zone even more, and that self-consciousness will disappear. 

Good luck! Break a leg! 

GiGi 

************************************************************************************* 

Dear GiGi, 

I’m going to be honest: I don’t like reading. I’m a really slow reader, I sometimes have trouble retaining what I read, and many books are just so boring, which makes both problems worse! I really want to like reading, but it seems impossible! Help! 

Read-y to Quit 

Dear Read-y to Quit, 

It’s okay to not like reading! Some people just don’t enjoy books, and that’s completely okay. But that can make school difficult, so good for you for wanting to like doing it more. I have a few suggestions that might make it easier. 

My first suggestion is to try listening to an audiobook. If you’re a slow reader, listening to an audiobook can speed things up and make stories a lot more fun. Listen to the audiobook while you’re getting ready for school in the morning, or while you’re tidying up your room; you’d be surprised how much time you can spend listening to a story. It also helps make boring books go by a little faster. 

My second suggestion is to find a book on your own time on at topic that you enjoy and read it. If all you are reading is what you’re required to read, it’s not going to be super fun. So if you can find a book that you really like and can read in your free time, it might help. 

My third suggestion is to divide reading up into more manageable chunks so you’re not reading an entire 400-page novel in a day. This means you’re going to have to start reading earlier if you have a deadline, but you might enjoy the book more if you’re not cramming.  

Find a cozy space to curl up and read your book, even if it’s just for five minutes. Then put the book down and do something else for the same amount of time, and just keep doing it back and forth until you’ve finished the story. 

I hope one of my suggestions helps you out; there’s a whole world waiting for you under that cover! 

Love, 

GiGi 

By: Grace J. 

Valentine's Day, a day to remember and celebrate your loved ones. The celebration brings families and friends and couples together on this wonderful day. How are you going to tell this significant other your feelings or how much you care about them? Well here's my Valentine's Day guide. To make this person feel special make them a card and not just any card. When I make cards I like to use watercolor pens and I like to make it colorful because colors have different meanings. Also, when you're writing inside the card, don't just sign your name write a poem or find a scripture that describes the meaning of love for that person. Cards might disintegrate but the writing on a card last forever. So here are three examples of wonderful Valentine’s Day cards you can make in your home. 

The Wonderful Watercolor  

For this card you will need for this card you will need: 

1. Scissors  

2. Watercolor paints  

3. Paint brushes 

4. Water  

5. Cardstock, or any kind of thick paper 

Begin by taking your scissors and cutting down the cardstock or paper to the necessary size. Fold the piece of paper in half. Prepare your paints by laying them out and getting water in a small dish. Get scrap pieces of paper to test your paints. Using one of the paint brushes mix some of the water in with the paint. Gently wipe the brush on both sides using the scrap paper and then paint your design. Wiping your brush will make sure that the color is lighter or darker. If you want your color lighter mix a lot of water in with your paint, if you want your color darker use more paint than water. When I make a watercolor card I usually paint flowers because it looks more realistic with watercolor paints. 

Colorful Cut-Out Design 

To complete this card you will need: 

1. Scissors 

2. Paper  

3. Crayons 

4. A candle or hair dryer 

This card is kind of tricky. First you want to grab your piece of paper and fold it in half. Grab your crayons and sort them into the colors you want. For Valentine's Day maybe you'd want the colors red, pink, and white. If you want writing on your card use a piece of tape and put it on the card but fold a little bit of the tape to have a tab so you can take it off at the end. Then, using a candle or hair dryer take the crayons hold them on the top of your card and heat them so they drip down the page. Isn't it beautiful it looks like colorful rain. This card is sure to bring happiness during Valentine's Day. 

Last but not least, you can make a fun meme card. Memes consist of jokes or even inside jokes. My favorite memes are the ones that are relatable. So to create this funny card you will need: 

1. Cardstock 

2. Printer 

3. Scissors 

4. Glue 

First, go online and find a meme. Maybe if you know what this person likes, you can find a meme that is relatable to them or uses the characters from their favorite show. Then, print off your meme and cut it out. Using your wonderful cutting skills cut a square out of the middle of your card. Insert the meme from the inside of the card so you can see the meme from the outside hole where the square was in the middle of the card. Inside the card write your own funny saying and wish that person a Happy Valentine's Day. 

Hopefully you created a wonderful card for this person for Valentine's Day. This day is not about cheesy quotes and couples, it’s about sharing your friendship and love for people all around your life.