Lara Carter

Without selling a single box of Thin Mints or Peanut Butter Patties®, LSU Master of Business Administration student Lara Carter helped one Louisiana Girl Scouts organization with its bottom line.

"Lara focused on improving our financial operations by streamlining procedures," said Sheila Ryan, executive director of Girl Scouts-Audubon Council Inc., which serves 9,100 girls in a 10-parish area.
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Carter, who received her M.B.A. in May, was seeking just such an opportunity, but hoped to put her skills to use for a community organization.

"We are not required to be involved in the community, but we realize the importance of giving back ... and there are many programs set up through the M.B.A. program that facilitate these efforts," said Carter.

Carter explained that one of her professors told her about the Girl Scouts opportunity, informing her that the organization was looking for someone to support its accounting operation and help improve its bookkeeping processes.As a child, Carter spent six years in the Girl Scouts, and she jumped at the chance to help an organization she said played an important role in her life.

"It was an organization that did a great deal for me, in terms of developing confidence and socialization skills," she said.
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Carter said that she had never worked for a non-profit organization before, so her first step was to learn issues, terminology, and processes specific to that segment of the business world.Once that was accomplished, she helped the Audubon Council staff identify issues and brainstorm solutions.

"The staff at Audubon Council do a great job of supporting the girls and the community, and their workload keeps them very busy," she said."My job is to help alleviate some of their workload."

According to Carter, one of the most rewarding aspects of her work with Girls Scouts-Audubon Council has been witnessing the fruits of her labor."Because the organization is small compared to large, public corporations, I can see results almost immediately," she explained.

In addition, she feels that her experience has provided her with a valuable way of "testing" what she has learned in the M.B.A. program.

"Knowledge isn't really powerful until you use it," she said.