"No, we don't sell Girl Scout cookies," Kelly Lucot said.

As a member of Campus Girl Scouts, it's a question she hears a lot.

Lucot said students tend to wonder why, as an adult Girl Scout, someone would want to parade around campus wearing a bright green uniform decorated with pins and badges.

"There's definitely a stereotype out there, and it would keep people from joining the club," Lucot (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said. "They picture us with our little uniforms, which we definitely don't have."

Though the group of about 20 women is just winding down this semester, the club is planning an event for the fall semester -- an activity that will incorporate a new Girl Scout program, called Studio 2B.

"There's not so much of a requirement to go by the book," club secretary Maria Movafegh said of the program, adding that the girls earn charms, rather than badges.

"Studio 2B is a major departure from the traditional Girl Scout program," she said.

Movafegh (junior-biochemistry and molecular biology) said the theme of the get-together, scheduled for Oct. 22, is still being debated, but the event will be an interactive workshop between the club and the troops.

Activities like these are the groups' main focus, Lucot said.

Instead of going by the strict Girl Scout traditions practiced at a younger age or working on projects with the goal of earning badges, members of the club now serve the national organization of girl scouts -- Girl Scouts of the USA -- by helping to plan activities for local troops.

"We're not here so much to benefit from what Girl Scouts has to offer but to help the kids now," Lucot said. "We've already had the benefit, and now it's time to give back."

Although the club reached official status in fall 2003, it only had four involved members. This year was the club's first truly active year by becoming more involved in the community after increasing its numbers through the Penn State involvement and volunteer fairs.

"We've gotten so much done this year," Movafegh said. "Also, we've been working on networking with other groups on campus and leaders."

Being a member of Campus Girl Scouts -- a program run by Girl Scouts of the USA and found on campuses throughout the country -- only requires accepting what's called the "Girl Scout Promise," a commitment to helping others. Other than that, no prior Girl Scout experience is necessary.

In fact, it's not even necessary to be a woman.

"We don't have any guys who are in it right now, but we'd be more than welcoming for guys to join our organization," Club Vice President Heather Szoke (junior-communication sciences and disorders) said.

In addition to doing some volunteer work of their own, the club held several workshops for local troops this year, including a science workshop in February for elementary school students to help them earn badges.

Aided by members of chemistry fraternity Alpha Chi Sigma, 406 S. Pugh St., Club President Katie Lucot said the group was able to bring troop members the benefits of Penn State resources.

"It was a way to give the girls the opportunity that their leaders wouldn't be able to," she said. "Their leaders don't have the resources that the chemistry department has."