Girl Scout Troupe 1024 marked the beginning of Anne Bauer's journey.
From kindergarten to high school senior, she participated in tons of activities and made childhood friendships. As she prepares to graduate from East Lake High School, her 13 years as a Girl Scout for 13 years has taken her through many stages of life and given her opportunities beyond what school covers.
"It made me unique," Bauer said. "At times it was like, 'Do I really want to keep doing this?' It's not the popular thing to do and it's not what most people are doing. I recognized that it made me unique and it was a positive thing and at that point shifted my mindset to not think about what others would think of me and what they thought it meant to be a Girl Scout and fully invested myself, and I found that it was so rewarding."
The opportunity to make a difference in her community sparked her drive. More importantly, she loved that it allowed her and other girls to be around one another and be themselves without having to impress each other.
Bauer's Gold Award project revolved around the empowering of young women with a daylong workshop on interviewing, resume building and job guidance she dubbed the Career Café. She built the event from the ground up, and after the first workshop last year received recognition from her peers and mentors at the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.
The Tampa Bay Lightning named her a Community Hero of Tomorrow in early February 2018, donating $25,000 to continuing her education at the University of South Florida and $25,000 towards continuing the Career Café. The boost led to the second Career Café last week, which drew more than 100 girls and more than a dozen professional women willing to lend a voice.
"This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm thankful I'm able to continue the Career Café and that I had the support of my mentors, friends and family," Bauer said. "It's hard to believe."
The second annual Career Cafe included professional women in todays multitude of industries. Catalyst Consulting Services CEO Michelle Turman, myMatrixx vice president Ronda Clement, and longtime banking executive Holly Donaldson are just a few of the business women who shared their experiences.
"I hoping these girls walked away with the confidence to go after jobs they want," Bauer said. "I hope they use the connections they might have gained from the speakers and mock interviewersand allow them to be role models for them."
The inspiration for the Career Café came from attending the 2016 Women's Conference of Florida where Bauer engaged with women leaders and learn some of the more pressing issues women face in entering the work force.
"My eyes were opened to very important things which are the gender wage gap and the lack of women in executive positions," Bauer said. "From there, I knew I wanted to do something about this because it's unacceptable that these things exist and it shouldn't."
From talking with peers and mentors, she found that most young women who are in high school or about to graduate are not ready for career interviews. After that, Bauer knew she found her Gold Award project that was sustainable and would leave her final mark as a Girl Scout.
Jessica Muroff, CEO for the local Girl Scouts, said it's inspiring for her to have a relationship with a strong and talented young women like Bauer.
"Anne [Bauer] has confidence and poise that goes well beyond her years," Muroff said. "She really took the Career Cafe and hit it out of the park. This is only the beginning for her and so far from the end."
Even with her commencement looming, Bauer remains steadfast in looking forward to her future. She has held on to many tools and sources she's picked up from her network of mentors and is ready to put them to use.
Bauer plans on majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Finance to go into Medical Sales.
"I'm not scared about the future," Bauer said. " I'm excited for the endless possibilities."