Dear fellow Bears,
I have learned a lot this weekend. I have learned that becoming a Greek is the best thing I have ever done with my life. I can sit back and say that NGLA, Sigma Pi, and OSIL has strongly led to the development of myself, my leadership capacity, and my passion for doing the right thing. I can only hope our Greek Community, and our Campus Body at Large can leave this Insitiution with half of those skills, becuase they will be forever blessed.
I dont have much else to share, for I can't full grasp the interpersonal change I am currently undergoing. I have a lot to think about and to assess, as my Spring Break Road Trip to Clemson Univ. and Univ. of Maryland will be the beginning of the search for Graduate School for me!
I now do know, however, that my passion is for Greek life! Maribeth clearly showed us all how to have some fun, remain focused, become totally dedicated, and how to be willing and able to take on challenges. I will never forget NGLA, or the letters that are forever in my heart.
Thank you so much to Bridgewater State College for your active participation in helping me succeed as an individual! During one of the sessions on recruitment this weekend, David Stollman (who we NEED to come speak to our Greeks at BSC) quoted: "Expect More. Achieve More." I couldnt be more proud to be a Bear!
This is Max, signing out.
HOO-RAAAAH
Monday, February 22, 2010
The End...Or a New Beginning If You Will
Heyy Friends,
As our fun adventure drew to a close yesterday I am reflecting on what I have learned and gained from this weekend. When I found out I was going to NGLA I legit was jumping up in down screaming in my room all by myself you all know me you have a visual image I know lol..This weekend was more than I seriously could possibly ever imagine. I not only learned so much but I have taken so much away from it as well. My biggest fear joing Panhellenic this fall was failing. I know it is indeed most peoples fear but I felt like so much was all of a sudden riding on the next two years and all of the responsabilities I would have to encounter. However, I did ineevitably find my niche in the world of Panhel and the world of Phi Sig. I knew changes needed to happen I just didnt know how to make them happen and there is always that fear of retaliation from others and the many other fears that come along with trying to make people realize that change needs to be inacted small as it may be things needed to be changed. Then I got this amazing opportunity to go to NGLA. I think that amongst everything I have learned about Turning things around, or recruitment whether it be from a Panhellenic perspective or a chapter perspective. What I most took away from this weekend was RESPONSE ABILITY. We have to be able to respond and take action for the things that go on in our chapter and our lives. Bystander Efeect is something that stood out to me a great deal. We needed to make it real to realize that we need to ask the right questions of our members in order to get them to be responsible for the actions that are taking place. To be part of the solution of any problem you need to understnad how it is you are part of the problem. This is important because without recognizing that everyone plays a part no matter how small it lessens the ability for people to respect that you want to be apart of the change and that you arent better then everyone else and think that you just think everyone is below you. This was very important to me because it was the underlying theme to everything we did all weekend. I want to be able to not just stand by while things occur not only in my chapter but in my life as well I now have the tools to effectively intervene.
This weekend has been a very inspiring one. I am thankful beyond belief not only that I got to go but that I was given the chance to have the experience with some amazing people.
Thanks Everyone for Reading,
<3 Jess
As our fun adventure drew to a close yesterday I am reflecting on what I have learned and gained from this weekend. When I found out I was going to NGLA I legit was jumping up in down screaming in my room all by myself you all know me you have a visual image I know lol..This weekend was more than I seriously could possibly ever imagine. I not only learned so much but I have taken so much away from it as well. My biggest fear joing Panhellenic this fall was failing. I know it is indeed most peoples fear but I felt like so much was all of a sudden riding on the next two years and all of the responsabilities I would have to encounter. However, I did ineevitably find my niche in the world of Panhel and the world of Phi Sig. I knew changes needed to happen I just didnt know how to make them happen and there is always that fear of retaliation from others and the many other fears that come along with trying to make people realize that change needs to be inacted small as it may be things needed to be changed. Then I got this amazing opportunity to go to NGLA. I think that amongst everything I have learned about Turning things around, or recruitment whether it be from a Panhellenic perspective or a chapter perspective. What I most took away from this weekend was RESPONSE ABILITY. We have to be able to respond and take action for the things that go on in our chapter and our lives. Bystander Efeect is something that stood out to me a great deal. We needed to make it real to realize that we need to ask the right questions of our members in order to get them to be responsible for the actions that are taking place. To be part of the solution of any problem you need to understnad how it is you are part of the problem. This is important because without recognizing that everyone plays a part no matter how small it lessens the ability for people to respect that you want to be apart of the change and that you arent better then everyone else and think that you just think everyone is below you. This was very important to me because it was the underlying theme to everything we did all weekend. I want to be able to not just stand by while things occur not only in my chapter but in my life as well I now have the tools to effectively intervene.
This weekend has been a very inspiring one. I am thankful beyond belief not only that I got to go but that I was given the chance to have the experience with some amazing people.
Thanks Everyone for Reading,
<3 Jess
A final note...
Hello BSCers!
Tonight I write to you from my lovely room in East Hall. It is sad to not be in Hartford anymore. I will miss the immense amounts of unity that I felt among my fellow greeks this weekend. NGLA was a place where everyone understood each other. It was a common ground where we could come together and relate to each other. It didn't matter the school or the organization just that we all had the same obstacles and accomplishments. For chapters struggling, chapters that succeeded would lend a non-judgmental helping hand. It was such a well oiled machine. It made me realize just how important it is to feel that sense of unity all the time in the BSC Greek Community.
In the mini van ride home today, MB told us to write our final post. She challenged us to write about one particular thing that we learned and wanted to bring back to the BSC community. This was a struggle for me because I learned so much about things I think are necessary for the community to learn. After a lot of thinking I decided that the most important thing for me to educate the community on is the strength of the college Panhellenic and IFC.
It is so important for the Panhellenic and IFC to be well organized and efficient in order for the Greek community to succeed to its fullest potential. Especially in terms of Panhellenic and recruitment for example. Without a well organized and structured recruitment and set of judicial guidelines the chapters, there is less room to place as many women as possible in organizations. But it should not all be put on the Panhellenic. It is also important for the chapters to have a good relationship with the Council and with each other. We have strength in numbers and supporting each other is the best way to bring as many women (or in IFC's case, men) into Greek life.
I learned so many things about how to strengthen the Panhellenic Council here on campus and I know Max and Sarah learned just as much about IFC. I think that this time is better than any other time to strengthen our governing boards especially with the growing interest in Panhellenic due to the recent passing of extension. I plan to share all that I have learned with my fellow Greeks and have many ideas for change in the future. But Lexi, Katelyn, Jess, Sarah, Max and I cannot change the Greek community single handedly. We need your help whether you are Greek or not there is something you can do to help make this community even better than it already is. Be inspired. If you see something that you want to change, let your voice be heard. Anything can happen when you take action.
I am so appreciative that I had the opportunity to attend this conference. I didn't only learn more about how to impact the Greek community but I learned more about myself. I was so empowered by NGLA and cannot wait to see what we learned put into action. Thanks you everyone who followed us on this transforming journey. I hope that by reading this you learned more about yourselves as well.
Panhellenic Love back in BSC!
Aubree
Tonight I write to you from my lovely room in East Hall. It is sad to not be in Hartford anymore. I will miss the immense amounts of unity that I felt among my fellow greeks this weekend. NGLA was a place where everyone understood each other. It was a common ground where we could come together and relate to each other. It didn't matter the school or the organization just that we all had the same obstacles and accomplishments. For chapters struggling, chapters that succeeded would lend a non-judgmental helping hand. It was such a well oiled machine. It made me realize just how important it is to feel that sense of unity all the time in the BSC Greek Community.
In the mini van ride home today, MB told us to write our final post. She challenged us to write about one particular thing that we learned and wanted to bring back to the BSC community. This was a struggle for me because I learned so much about things I think are necessary for the community to learn. After a lot of thinking I decided that the most important thing for me to educate the community on is the strength of the college Panhellenic and IFC.
It is so important for the Panhellenic and IFC to be well organized and efficient in order for the Greek community to succeed to its fullest potential. Especially in terms of Panhellenic and recruitment for example. Without a well organized and structured recruitment and set of judicial guidelines the chapters, there is less room to place as many women as possible in organizations. But it should not all be put on the Panhellenic. It is also important for the chapters to have a good relationship with the Council and with each other. We have strength in numbers and supporting each other is the best way to bring as many women (or in IFC's case, men) into Greek life.
I learned so many things about how to strengthen the Panhellenic Council here on campus and I know Max and Sarah learned just as much about IFC. I think that this time is better than any other time to strengthen our governing boards especially with the growing interest in Panhellenic due to the recent passing of extension. I plan to share all that I have learned with my fellow Greeks and have many ideas for change in the future. But Lexi, Katelyn, Jess, Sarah, Max and I cannot change the Greek community single handedly. We need your help whether you are Greek or not there is something you can do to help make this community even better than it already is. Be inspired. If you see something that you want to change, let your voice be heard. Anything can happen when you take action.
I am so appreciative that I had the opportunity to attend this conference. I didn't only learn more about how to impact the Greek community but I learned more about myself. I was so empowered by NGLA and cannot wait to see what we learned put into action. Thanks you everyone who followed us on this transforming journey. I hope that by reading this you learned more about yourselves as well.
Panhellenic Love back in BSC!
Aubree
Sunday, February 21, 2010
"Max, The end is near!" Day 4 in the life of Katelyn A. Rapoza
Hello everyone,
So I write to you from the bed in Crimson 230, we arrived back in Massachusetts, it's quite bittersweet. I already miss Connecticut but I'm glad to be back on Campus. We got up a little later today which was nice, I was still tired because we decided it was a good idea to stay up later last night I don't know why. But we got up, packed, got ready, got starbucks for the 4th time, (croissant and java chip frappacino, obvi.) and got into the van. The ride home was good. We got to reflect on our time away and talk about what we wanted to tackle once getting back into the swing of things at BSC.
Maribeth informed us that she wanted us to write about one thing we wanted to bring back to our community after attending NGLA. I have been thinking about it and there are just so many new ideas I would like to see carried out at BSC, there is no way I could pick just one. So, what I wanted to bring back to the community is more of a concept than a "thing." Being at NGLA really taught me something that I don't really think all greeks understand. We are all one big greek family, true story. Sure we have different founders, and colors and rituals but we are more closely related than we think. We are all based on values such as leadership, scholarship, service, brotherhood, sisterhoods, etc. We all have something bonding us and that is that we all understand the amazing things that greek life does for us. So I don't thing there is one "thing" I would like to bring back to the community, I think that if we all can realized that we're all in this together(<3 high school musical) we can go from there to make our necessary changes.
Attending NGLA was an incredible experience. I learned so much about myself, my organization, and greek like in general. I was reminded why I joined greek life in general and I was able to reflect on what it has done for me. It has given me confidence, poise and the belief that with my fellow greeks behind me there is so much that I do. I feel lucky to have had this experience and i am so thankful. My only hope is that next year, I can go again with double the delegation. (=
peace, love & greek life, FOREVER.
-Katelyn
So I write to you from the bed in Crimson 230, we arrived back in Massachusetts, it's quite bittersweet. I already miss Connecticut but I'm glad to be back on Campus. We got up a little later today which was nice, I was still tired because we decided it was a good idea to stay up later last night I don't know why. But we got up, packed, got ready, got starbucks for the 4th time, (croissant and java chip frappacino, obvi.) and got into the van. The ride home was good. We got to reflect on our time away and talk about what we wanted to tackle once getting back into the swing of things at BSC.
Maribeth informed us that she wanted us to write about one thing we wanted to bring back to our community after attending NGLA. I have been thinking about it and there are just so many new ideas I would like to see carried out at BSC, there is no way I could pick just one. So, what I wanted to bring back to the community is more of a concept than a "thing." Being at NGLA really taught me something that I don't really think all greeks understand. We are all one big greek family, true story. Sure we have different founders, and colors and rituals but we are more closely related than we think. We are all based on values such as leadership, scholarship, service, brotherhood, sisterhoods, etc. We all have something bonding us and that is that we all understand the amazing things that greek life does for us. So I don't thing there is one "thing" I would like to bring back to the community, I think that if we all can realized that we're all in this together(<3 high school musical) we can go from there to make our necessary changes.
Attending NGLA was an incredible experience. I learned so much about myself, my organization, and greek like in general. I was reminded why I joined greek life in general and I was able to reflect on what it has done for me. It has given me confidence, poise and the belief that with my fellow greeks behind me there is so much that I do. I feel lucky to have had this experience and i am so thankful. My only hope is that next year, I can go again with double the delegation. (=
peace, love & greek life, FOREVER.
-Katelyn
No Matter the Letter We're all Greeks Together!
Hello Friends!
It's sad to think that this is my last NGLA blog :( Going to this conference was an amazing experience for me. I came back to BSC feeling totally empowered to take a stand and make big changes on this campus. It was amazing to be surrounded by people who understood me and my problems as well as my triumphs. We all had a common bond no matter what our letters were. Even though all of the organizations were all founded differently we all share a some common values, the four pillars of Greek Life: scholarship, friendship, leadership, and philanthropy.
So, MB challenged us with this: If there is one thing that we can bring back to BSC that learned at NGLA what would it be? I honestly am returning to campus overflowing with information. There is not one thing I learned this weekend that isn't important and I wouldn't want to share with this community. If there is one thing that I will share in this blog it is this quote I heard in one of my sessions "No matter the letters, we're all Greek together".
Although we all may be from different chapters we cannot be a successful community without the help of each other. We all need to support not only our chapters but also the other chapters on this campus. We cannot change the way people view us until we have developed a strong community and are willing to come together to battle these stereotypes. I have full faith in this community and there is no doubt in my mind that Bridgewater can have the best Greek community out there. We have so many strong leaders there is no mountain we can't climb.
We all made a pledge to hold ourselves to a higher standard than others and to strive to be better. It is time that we hold ourselves accountable. We need to stop complaining that Greek Life is always looked at through a microscope and that we are analyzed because of our letters. This isn't a punishment, it is an opportunity! Lets use the attention of others to our advantage and show people how amazing Greek Life is and how much of a positive effect it has, not only on ourselves, but on our campus and community as well!
I cannot thank people enough for sending me to this conference. Thank you to MB for being an amazing advisor and a support, and for always being there for all of us no matter what. You truly are amazing and I appreciate it more than words can explain. Thank you to Max, Aubree, Lexi, Katelyn, and Jess for going through this experience with me and filling it with great memories that I will never forget. It was awesome to be surrounded by people who "got it" and were willing to open up about the past and plan for the future. I can't wait to work with all of you in our future endeavors. I would also like to thank the people who followed our blog! You're the best fans ever :)
TTFN ♥
Delta Love,
Sarah
It's sad to think that this is my last NGLA blog :( Going to this conference was an amazing experience for me. I came back to BSC feeling totally empowered to take a stand and make big changes on this campus. It was amazing to be surrounded by people who understood me and my problems as well as my triumphs. We all had a common bond no matter what our letters were. Even though all of the organizations were all founded differently we all share a some common values, the four pillars of Greek Life: scholarship, friendship, leadership, and philanthropy.
So, MB challenged us with this: If there is one thing that we can bring back to BSC that learned at NGLA what would it be? I honestly am returning to campus overflowing with information. There is not one thing I learned this weekend that isn't important and I wouldn't want to share with this community. If there is one thing that I will share in this blog it is this quote I heard in one of my sessions "No matter the letters, we're all Greek together".
Although we all may be from different chapters we cannot be a successful community without the help of each other. We all need to support not only our chapters but also the other chapters on this campus. We cannot change the way people view us until we have developed a strong community and are willing to come together to battle these stereotypes. I have full faith in this community and there is no doubt in my mind that Bridgewater can have the best Greek community out there. We have so many strong leaders there is no mountain we can't climb.
We all made a pledge to hold ourselves to a higher standard than others and to strive to be better. It is time that we hold ourselves accountable. We need to stop complaining that Greek Life is always looked at through a microscope and that we are analyzed because of our letters. This isn't a punishment, it is an opportunity! Lets use the attention of others to our advantage and show people how amazing Greek Life is and how much of a positive effect it has, not only on ourselves, but on our campus and community as well!
I cannot thank people enough for sending me to this conference. Thank you to MB for being an amazing advisor and a support, and for always being there for all of us no matter what. You truly are amazing and I appreciate it more than words can explain. Thank you to Max, Aubree, Lexi, Katelyn, and Jess for going through this experience with me and filling it with great memories that I will never forget. It was awesome to be surrounded by people who "got it" and were willing to open up about the past and plan for the future. I can't wait to work with all of you in our future endeavors. I would also like to thank the people who followed our blog! You're the best fans ever :)
TTFN ♥
Delta Love,
Sarah
Scholarship, scholarship, scholarship!
Hi Friends...
After probably what I would consider the most educational time of my life, the NGLA Greeks are back on campus and I am so happy, no, ECSTATIC I was given this opportunity. Regardless of the fact that my room stayed up until post 3:30 AM and not only traveled back to the Commonwealth (as MB refers to it), but attended my organizations retreat until about 5pm this evening. What a great end to the weekend, spending quality time with my sisters :)
The one thing that I want to examine now that I am back is the Order of Omega chapter here on campus... apparently we may still have an open chapter and I would LOVE to learn more about it and start this up again. It is something that I don't think just individuals can benefit from but also the entire Greek Community because of the endless possibilities that this organization can do.
I specifically want to focus on the Greek's scholarship; maybe because I am a past scholarship chairwoman or my urge to share my knowledge, but I feel that our Greeks could use some more emphasis on our GPAs through all-Greek study hours, Scholarship round tables, Pi Awards, etc. There are endless possibilities to any pillar of Greek life but scholarship is the one pillar to our existence... our organizations emerged from literary societies on campuses where students strive to be better... they are already making themselves better through knowledge... so why not spend sometime focusing on this important pillar of excellence.
I hope you enjoyed all of my blogs these past few days. I encourage any of you to contact me with questions, comments and concerns about any of the sessions or any part of my experience at NGLA!
PEACE LOVE & GREEK LIFE
-Lexi
After probably what I would consider the most educational time of my life, the NGLA Greeks are back on campus and I am so happy, no, ECSTATIC I was given this opportunity. Regardless of the fact that my room stayed up until post 3:30 AM and not only traveled back to the Commonwealth (as MB refers to it), but attended my organizations retreat until about 5pm this evening. What a great end to the weekend, spending quality time with my sisters :)
The one thing that I want to examine now that I am back is the Order of Omega chapter here on campus... apparently we may still have an open chapter and I would LOVE to learn more about it and start this up again. It is something that I don't think just individuals can benefit from but also the entire Greek Community because of the endless possibilities that this organization can do.
I specifically want to focus on the Greek's scholarship; maybe because I am a past scholarship chairwoman or my urge to share my knowledge, but I feel that our Greeks could use some more emphasis on our GPAs through all-Greek study hours, Scholarship round tables, Pi Awards, etc. There are endless possibilities to any pillar of Greek life but scholarship is the one pillar to our existence... our organizations emerged from literary societies on campuses where students strive to be better... they are already making themselves better through knowledge... so why not spend sometime focusing on this important pillar of excellence.
I hope you enjoyed all of my blogs these past few days. I encourage any of you to contact me with questions, comments and concerns about any of the sessions or any part of my experience at NGLA!
PEACE LOVE & GREEK LIFE
-Lexi
Saturday, February 20, 2010
NGLA to the MAX!
What is an IFC Supposed to do? Good question, I didnt know either...until today!
Advocate, Educate, and Collaborate, are the best answers that I found today.
Now the only problem is, as I mentioned yesterday in my blog, to get everyone to "get it" and buy into the messages we are trying to promote about Fraternities.
Today and yesterday were the two most empowering days of my life thus far. I can not even fatholm the amount of support, similar problematic areas within our communities, and the passion that has engulfed this (INTENSE) Marriot Hotel and Convention Center.
The fact that almost 800 student leaders could have and hold valuable and very meaningful conversations with one another (complete strangers might I add) was something I had never experienced before. The only reason this was even possible was becuase we all share the same life long bond, we are Greek! At our cores, we all strive for the same things: Service, Leadership development, Friendship (brother/sisterhood), and Scholarship.
These 4 pillars (we call them The 4 Pillars of Greek Life for those who may be wondering) bonded us all, not only today, but forever. It made us all able and totally willing to open up and talk about the pressing issues our campus communities and chapters are facing. These pillars, the ones that all greeks stand for, have united us here at NGLA, but more importanly, have united Greeks all over the US and Canada.
I have never in my life (not even the day after my initiation) felt so proud and "Phired Up" about being a Greek. Becoming a Sigma Pi, becoming a leader in my college community, and becoming self aware, as any good leader should strive to become, have truly re-defined my core personal values. Before college, even before high school, I had no idea what core personal values were. Now, I strive to not only better myself, but my fellow brothers and my fellow greeks each and every day!
I make concious efforts to hold doors open for women, be a role model for my community members, treat them all with unbiased and non judgemental respect, as well, I put others before myself in order to help them become better. What other organization can pride themselves in doing these things? The answer is quite simple, no one! Only Greeks do this, and we do it well.
Any one here can vouch for this: Greek Life, done right, is the best thing around. It is the best and sometimes only way that young men and women can be molded into aspiring leaders, upcoming scholars, and most importantly respected, well rounded individuals.
I have learnt a tremendous amount, not only about myself, but my brothers, our chapter, IFC, my fellow BSC Bears here with me, bananagrams, hazing prevention, the bystander effect, conflict management, personal development, passion, recruitment, recruitment done effectively, and about the north american greek community as a whole. Thank you BSC Faculty and Staff and NGLA 2010 for believing in Greek Life. I would not be who I am today with out it!
We are all leaders in our own way, and it is our jobs to educate, collaborate, and advocate the power of Fraternity and what is right and wrong.
Our ideals, our legacies, and our commitment to the betterment of ourselves and our campus communities have made us rise to the top of the student leadership totem pole. It is now our job to keep educating ourselves and those around us of the power of Greek Life.
I will end this blog with 1 final quote that stood out to me the most in my time here at NGLA:
"Dont put the letters on your chest, put them in your heart" that way you will never loose sight of where you are going and how you can get where you want to be in life.
Goodnight NGLA, see you all back at BSC, we will all be psyched and pumped to start a new greek revolution. A revolution of students who hold each other accountable, stand up for what is right, and continue to give back in more and more ways to our communities. Please, stay tuned for so much more goodwill from your BSC Greeks!
~Max
The Word of the Day "Recruitment"
Hello Friends,
We concluded our evening last night with a fantastic pajama jammy jam and we were quite fashionable friends.. MB and I rocked some matching cup cake pjs.. Mine have a story though :) for all you Gilmore Girls fans out there my mother and I are obsessed with it and well basically mommy and i believe our lives are just one big sitcom and quote one after another.. So we are in Wallly World aka Walmart for all you not cool peeps...And I go "NO WAY cupcake pajamas... you know mommy il put on my cute cupcake pjs a lil lipgloss and wait up for The Puffs to come take me to a "secret" breakfast..." "And My mother replys dont ring any bells... for all you who understand the reference to season two of gilmore girls when the guidance counselor tells Rory to make friends that she is a loner and she winds up sitting w a secret society and its an ordeaal you know what i am talking about... for those who dont well you should watch duh!!!
Anyways totes aside from the point so we played BANAGRAMS!! SO FUN!!! We were making up words left and right and for those of you who know im an english major noo i did not win any rounds of the game... However we had tons of funn..
Today started our second session of events and my day consisted of recruitment recruitment and more recruitment... But DUDE did i learn some things let me tell you!!!!
In the morning our general session for all was on Dynamic Recruitment and I learned so much from it I did not bring my notes with me so i will be summing up all my sessions details to follow you should ask me all about my weekend!! ;) So he started with a fantastic discussion about the types of people you have recruiting out there for you and told us a delightful story about how some people are the horses of the organization and work hard while others are the mule and kick you down (full story to follow jsut ask me) This is something I really learned alot from about how different members in organizations work and how we can all work cohesively together and i feel that it is SO IMPORTANT that we realize when we most def are not...
Then we ventured off into our ed sessions and I went to my first session about Perfecting Your Structured Reecruitement... Since we are adding a new sorority (YAYYY EXPANSION!!) on to our campus I thought it would be beneficial to see the changes and similarities in how people with more chapters then ourselves run their formal recruitment.. I learned quite a bit about some different processes the the NPC is trying to implement at colleges across the country as well as how to perfect some of the ideas that we already have going on.. This session made my jaw drop for serious i walked out going "holy recruitment batman" and for serious it got way more interesting from there..
We continued on with the day and had a lunch of sandwichs and cookies... Then I continued on to my NPC Area Meeting which was very itneresting... Then I went onto my next ed block called 365 Recruitement Process... The session was about making sure we are recruiting 365 days a year 24/7... There are two different types of recruitement Static Recruitement and Dynamic Recruitement and no group is one or the other many fall into the spectrum of everything... This was so educational and it taught about how new members join a sorority to join us .. people join people... and that in order to be successful and continue or organizations in the future we needed to make friends and network... I was given some very helpful tips on how to recruit and where to recruit and how a simple handshake can make you a new friend as easy as pie... Jessica Gendron spoke at this session and for serious she was AMAAZZZINNNNGG!!! Let me tell you!! She definately hit home about a lot of issues that need to be worked out and I was given some great resources I CANNOT wait to share with you all.... I just bought her book online I <3 Recruitment.. I am psyched and will be touching base with her in the future to get her work book and some more information for our organizations...
I then continued on to What your sorority recruitment is suppose to look like? Here I learned a great deal at how to perfect our tranining and the way in which we communicate things to our pnms and how our Rho Chi's can reach our pnms at a more personal level... This session was very beneficial and like a sneak peak into the panhellenic side of recruitment for the vice presidents side and how it shouldnt be just her dealing with it she has to know who and how to trust in others to make recruitment successful... I learned that Panhellenic is only a THING you can blame for poor numbers .. In reality numbers and quality members and quantity problems fall on everyone...I also learned that these excuses we use to recruit our "quality" members are really road blocks for us preventing us from reaching some untapped potential...
Today was so fun and sooo long... I definately am going to have to go back and process alot.. But get psyched BSC we are COMING BACK!!! We all have so much knowledge to share be patient with us because we are PUMPED!!!
Miss and Love You all
See You Tomorrow...
Calling all Phi Sigs get psyched im coming home!!
<33 jmurph
We concluded our evening last night with a fantastic pajama jammy jam and we were quite fashionable friends.. MB and I rocked some matching cup cake pjs.. Mine have a story though :) for all you Gilmore Girls fans out there my mother and I are obsessed with it and well basically mommy and i believe our lives are just one big sitcom and quote one after another.. So we are in Wallly World aka Walmart for all you not cool peeps...And I go "NO WAY cupcake pajamas... you know mommy il put on my cute cupcake pjs a lil lipgloss and wait up for The Puffs to come take me to a "secret" breakfast..." "And My mother replys dont ring any bells... for all you who understand the reference to season two of gilmore girls when the guidance counselor tells Rory to make friends that she is a loner and she winds up sitting w a secret society and its an ordeaal you know what i am talking about... for those who dont well you should watch duh!!!
Anyways totes aside from the point so we played BANAGRAMS!! SO FUN!!! We were making up words left and right and for those of you who know im an english major noo i did not win any rounds of the game... However we had tons of funn..
Today started our second session of events and my day consisted of recruitment recruitment and more recruitment... But DUDE did i learn some things let me tell you!!!!
In the morning our general session for all was on Dynamic Recruitment and I learned so much from it I did not bring my notes with me so i will be summing up all my sessions details to follow you should ask me all about my weekend!! ;) So he started with a fantastic discussion about the types of people you have recruiting out there for you and told us a delightful story about how some people are the horses of the organization and work hard while others are the mule and kick you down (full story to follow jsut ask me) This is something I really learned alot from about how different members in organizations work and how we can all work cohesively together and i feel that it is SO IMPORTANT that we realize when we most def are not...
Then we ventured off into our ed sessions and I went to my first session about Perfecting Your Structured Reecruitement... Since we are adding a new sorority (YAYYY EXPANSION!!) on to our campus I thought it would be beneficial to see the changes and similarities in how people with more chapters then ourselves run their formal recruitment.. I learned quite a bit about some different processes the the NPC is trying to implement at colleges across the country as well as how to perfect some of the ideas that we already have going on.. This session made my jaw drop for serious i walked out going "holy recruitment batman" and for serious it got way more interesting from there..
We continued on with the day and had a lunch of sandwichs and cookies... Then I continued on to my NPC Area Meeting which was very itneresting... Then I went onto my next ed block called 365 Recruitement Process... The session was about making sure we are recruiting 365 days a year 24/7... There are two different types of recruitement Static Recruitement and Dynamic Recruitement and no group is one or the other many fall into the spectrum of everything... This was so educational and it taught about how new members join a sorority to join us .. people join people... and that in order to be successful and continue or organizations in the future we needed to make friends and network... I was given some very helpful tips on how to recruit and where to recruit and how a simple handshake can make you a new friend as easy as pie... Jessica Gendron spoke at this session and for serious she was AMAAZZZINNNNGG!!! Let me tell you!! She definately hit home about a lot of issues that need to be worked out and I was given some great resources I CANNOT wait to share with you all.... I just bought her book online I <3 Recruitment.. I am psyched and will be touching base with her in the future to get her work book and some more information for our organizations...
I then continued on to What your sorority recruitment is suppose to look like? Here I learned a great deal at how to perfect our tranining and the way in which we communicate things to our pnms and how our Rho Chi's can reach our pnms at a more personal level... This session was very beneficial and like a sneak peak into the panhellenic side of recruitment for the vice presidents side and how it shouldnt be just her dealing with it she has to know who and how to trust in others to make recruitment successful... I learned that Panhellenic is only a THING you can blame for poor numbers .. In reality numbers and quality members and quantity problems fall on everyone...I also learned that these excuses we use to recruit our "quality" members are really road blocks for us preventing us from reaching some untapped potential...
Today was so fun and sooo long... I definately am going to have to go back and process alot.. But get psyched BSC we are COMING BACK!!! We all have so much knowledge to share be patient with us because we are PUMPED!!!
Miss and Love You all
See You Tomorrow...
Calling all Phi Sigs get psyched im coming home!!
<33 jmurph
Greek life is the fillet mignon of student organizations...
...or so says Phired Up speaker Josh Orendi.
Hi Friends!
After last night's fabulous fun of pajama jammie jams, Katelyn, Lexi and I meandered back to 1513 where we intended to go to bed early. Instead we stayed up til about the same time as the night before laughing and probably keeping our neighbors awake. Oops!
We started today off with a 7:00 AM wake up. We pow wowed in front of the hotel rooms then went down for coffee at starbucks. We got our beverages and loaves and headed for the Greek Boutique once again. Did I spend money, you ask? Well when you get a nice RA check the day before, you can't help but feel the need to stimulate the economy. So my answer to you is yes, my friends I did. :-)
The convention today started off with an AMAZING session by Josh Orendi called Phired Up! This session was all about recruitment and ways to make it better. He had so many great tips that I plan to bring back to BSC. The main things we learned at this workshop were:
1. You cannot recruit who you don't know
2. People do not join organizations. People join people,
3. We scare people. Be more normal.
My favorite quote of the weekend (other than "peh") was "Greek life is the fillet mignon of student organizations." Hence, my title for this blog. I could not agree more with this quote. Greeks are expected to be above and beyond and not just settle for average. After all, we did join Greek organizations to be better in our lives. Unfortunately, I do not think that all of our members live up to the fillet mignon that we should be. People are settling for average, or in some cases, below average. And I think that is unacceptable for Greeks. Thoughts??
Once we were inspired by this fabulous recruitment workshop, we ventured to our first sessions of the day. My first session was about the Extension Process in Panhellenic. It was hosted by Julie Johnson, the Extension committee chairman. We learned all about the reasons to discuss extension, the proper way to vote for it and the process after passing extension. I think that BSC Panhellenic is right on track with what we learned. I was shocked, and somewhat jealous, to hear that other schools have quote as high as 94! Can you imagine a new member class that large? It is almost the size of Gamma Phi Beta and Phi Sigma Sigma put together! Then they talked about chapters with as many as 300 members total! That is more than the entire BSC Greek community put together! I was floored!
Once the session was over I approached Julie Johnson with the intent to introduce myself (calm and casually, of course) and suddenly, I was star struck once again and blurted out "Hi, I am Aubree Buyny from Bridgewater State College and I am just so excited to meet you!" in probably one breath. It was a little embarrassing but she was so sweet.
Next was lunch time. Sandwiches and treats woot. Once finished, we went to the Greek Boutique again to pick up our orders.
After a short break, Jess, MB and I went to the NPC area meeting. We met with our NPC advisor and she was so adorable. We discussed a few issues and happy things going on in the Panhellenic's in the area. Then it was time for a second coffee and session 2...
Session two was another one related to my favorite thing ever, Panhellenic! It was called Advance Panhellenic. It was actually a little preview of an eight hour program offered by CAMPUSPEAK to help improve your Panhellenic. We went around the room and tallied up the four most important values to each of our Panhellenic councils. Then we discussed the top four choices. Next we played a game where we had to stand in different sections: Advancing, Maintaining and Regressing, and stand in the section that pertained to our Panhellenic Councils. Then we discussed why we chose which category and bounced ideas off of each other of how we can improve and ways that other CPC's have improved. I think the program would be awesome to bring to BSC to have our Panhellenic council go through and revamp a few of our weak points.
My next session was a little depressing. It was called "It's not me, It's you. What to do when you want to break up with your chapter." I went to this as a way to help with retention but it was actually targeted more at the audience as people who are not happy in their chapters. We broke up into groups depending on dissatisfaction in our chapters so I went to the least dissatisfied group because I am not at all dissatisfied! It was really eye opening to know that other chapters have similar problems. Sometimes it seems like it is only your chapter when it is happening to you. It was nice to let out some frustrations about certain issues and offer suggestions to help fellow greeks.
Once we were finished with our sessions we returned to hear a closing lecture from the keynote speaker from yesterday. He gave us a few tips to remember and sent us on out merry way to get ready for fancy dinner.
Fancy dinner was at 7:30. We had more photo sessions and I encountered an escalator for the first time in my heels... More on that later. Dinner was pretty good. The salad was delightful. There was some chicken thing for the actual meal and cheesecake for dessert. I am not a huge fan of cheesecake but it wasnt too bad. After dinner they handed out awards. BSC did not apply for any awards but it was nice to hear why everyone was winning because of the great work they do. We will OWN the awards next year. I have decided that I would like to restart our Order of Omega and Gamma Sigma Alpha Honors Societies. Sarah and I plan to get on that ASAP!
After dinner there was an awkward entertainer that juggled and balanced things on his face. He was nifty. We felt bad because all but like 50 people left. He escaped a straight jacket... pretty nifty. I didn't know how they did that until MB said they diconned their arm from their shoulder socket... ew. It was hard to watch knowing..
Back to the escalator in heels situation... I have NEVER done this before and already being scared of the wretched things, I was nervous. Going up was ok. Done carefully and all was good. But, my main fear is the down escalators. They go too fast, they are high up, and there isnt as much room to step as the up ones. We also decided to used a new one. I became very nervous and could not do it... It is funny looking back and probably for you reading this. But I was borderline crying. Boo but Sarah came to my rescue. She came doen with me and I decided the best solution was to take off my shoes. So yes, I went bare foot down an escalator... swine? Perhaps. So that was today's TRAUMATIC MOMENT OF THE DAY!
Then we took some darling pictures on the stairs and in "therapy" with MB. It was fun.
Now we are sitting in the lobby next to the club in our pj's while everyone is all dressed up and ready to mingle. Obviously we are blogging! I am sad that the convention is over. I have learned a lot and I cannot wait to make suggestions to my chapter and Panhellenic. This was a life changing experience and I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to do this. And my fear for escalators in flat shoes is pretty chill... I may have to come back next year to work on escalators in heels. :-)
Although we had a blast, I am ready to go home and return to my normal routines as a slightly better developed human being and leader.
Panhellenic Love from Hartford CT!
Aubree
Hi Friends!
After last night's fabulous fun of pajama jammie jams, Katelyn, Lexi and I meandered back to 1513 where we intended to go to bed early. Instead we stayed up til about the same time as the night before laughing and probably keeping our neighbors awake. Oops!
We started today off with a 7:00 AM wake up. We pow wowed in front of the hotel rooms then went down for coffee at starbucks. We got our beverages and loaves and headed for the Greek Boutique once again. Did I spend money, you ask? Well when you get a nice RA check the day before, you can't help but feel the need to stimulate the economy. So my answer to you is yes, my friends I did. :-)
The convention today started off with an AMAZING session by Josh Orendi called Phired Up! This session was all about recruitment and ways to make it better. He had so many great tips that I plan to bring back to BSC. The main things we learned at this workshop were:
1. You cannot recruit who you don't know
2. People do not join organizations. People join people,
3. We scare people. Be more normal.
My favorite quote of the weekend (other than "peh") was "Greek life is the fillet mignon of student organizations." Hence, my title for this blog. I could not agree more with this quote. Greeks are expected to be above and beyond and not just settle for average. After all, we did join Greek organizations to be better in our lives. Unfortunately, I do not think that all of our members live up to the fillet mignon that we should be. People are settling for average, or in some cases, below average. And I think that is unacceptable for Greeks. Thoughts??
Once we were inspired by this fabulous recruitment workshop, we ventured to our first sessions of the day. My first session was about the Extension Process in Panhellenic. It was hosted by Julie Johnson, the Extension committee chairman. We learned all about the reasons to discuss extension, the proper way to vote for it and the process after passing extension. I think that BSC Panhellenic is right on track with what we learned. I was shocked, and somewhat jealous, to hear that other schools have quote as high as 94! Can you imagine a new member class that large? It is almost the size of Gamma Phi Beta and Phi Sigma Sigma put together! Then they talked about chapters with as many as 300 members total! That is more than the entire BSC Greek community put together! I was floored!
Once the session was over I approached Julie Johnson with the intent to introduce myself (calm and casually, of course) and suddenly, I was star struck once again and blurted out "Hi, I am Aubree Buyny from Bridgewater State College and I am just so excited to meet you!" in probably one breath. It was a little embarrassing but she was so sweet.
Next was lunch time. Sandwiches and treats woot. Once finished, we went to the Greek Boutique again to pick up our orders.
After a short break, Jess, MB and I went to the NPC area meeting. We met with our NPC advisor and she was so adorable. We discussed a few issues and happy things going on in the Panhellenic's in the area. Then it was time for a second coffee and session 2...
Session two was another one related to my favorite thing ever, Panhellenic! It was called Advance Panhellenic. It was actually a little preview of an eight hour program offered by CAMPUSPEAK to help improve your Panhellenic. We went around the room and tallied up the four most important values to each of our Panhellenic councils. Then we discussed the top four choices. Next we played a game where we had to stand in different sections: Advancing, Maintaining and Regressing, and stand in the section that pertained to our Panhellenic Councils. Then we discussed why we chose which category and bounced ideas off of each other of how we can improve and ways that other CPC's have improved. I think the program would be awesome to bring to BSC to have our Panhellenic council go through and revamp a few of our weak points.
My next session was a little depressing. It was called "It's not me, It's you. What to do when you want to break up with your chapter." I went to this as a way to help with retention but it was actually targeted more at the audience as people who are not happy in their chapters. We broke up into groups depending on dissatisfaction in our chapters so I went to the least dissatisfied group because I am not at all dissatisfied! It was really eye opening to know that other chapters have similar problems. Sometimes it seems like it is only your chapter when it is happening to you. It was nice to let out some frustrations about certain issues and offer suggestions to help fellow greeks.
Once we were finished with our sessions we returned to hear a closing lecture from the keynote speaker from yesterday. He gave us a few tips to remember and sent us on out merry way to get ready for fancy dinner.
Fancy dinner was at 7:30. We had more photo sessions and I encountered an escalator for the first time in my heels... More on that later. Dinner was pretty good. The salad was delightful. There was some chicken thing for the actual meal and cheesecake for dessert. I am not a huge fan of cheesecake but it wasnt too bad. After dinner they handed out awards. BSC did not apply for any awards but it was nice to hear why everyone was winning because of the great work they do. We will OWN the awards next year. I have decided that I would like to restart our Order of Omega and Gamma Sigma Alpha Honors Societies. Sarah and I plan to get on that ASAP!
After dinner there was an awkward entertainer that juggled and balanced things on his face. He was nifty. We felt bad because all but like 50 people left. He escaped a straight jacket... pretty nifty. I didn't know how they did that until MB said they diconned their arm from their shoulder socket... ew. It was hard to watch knowing..
Back to the escalator in heels situation... I have NEVER done this before and already being scared of the wretched things, I was nervous. Going up was ok. Done carefully and all was good. But, my main fear is the down escalators. They go too fast, they are high up, and there isnt as much room to step as the up ones. We also decided to used a new one. I became very nervous and could not do it... It is funny looking back and probably for you reading this. But I was borderline crying. Boo but Sarah came to my rescue. She came doen with me and I decided the best solution was to take off my shoes. So yes, I went bare foot down an escalator... swine? Perhaps. So that was today's TRAUMATIC MOMENT OF THE DAY!
Then we took some darling pictures on the stairs and in "therapy" with MB. It was fun.
Now we are sitting in the lobby next to the club in our pj's while everyone is all dressed up and ready to mingle. Obviously we are blogging! I am sad that the convention is over. I have learned a lot and I cannot wait to make suggestions to my chapter and Panhellenic. This was a life changing experience and I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to do this. And my fear for escalators in flat shoes is pretty chill... I may have to come back next year to work on escalators in heels. :-)
Although we had a blast, I am ready to go home and return to my normal routines as a slightly better developed human being and leader.
Panhellenic Love from Hartford CT!
Aubree
How's about you, me and a crescent moooooon? Day 3 in the life of Katelyn A. Rapoza.
Hi Everyone.
So day three! there were A LOT of exciting things about today!
First things first, we got up after a fun & exciting night with bananagrams at about 7 oclock. we got ready in our best dressed chapter attire and all headed downstairs for starbucks, yum. Grande Java Chip Frappacino for me with a croissant. Then we headed over to the Greek Boutique, where I just got a simple blue tshirt with letters on the front and Gamma Phi Beta written out on the back. 20 bucks! and then I made my own key chain! maybe for a little, maybe just for me. =)
After our purchases we headed to the ballroom for our key note speaker. Josh Orendi, he talks about recruitment. SO GOOD. he really got us PHIred up! Just like his poster says ;) He was just extremely insightful and made us realize some really important points, one of his quotes really shocked lexi and I, we even gasped at one another; "You can't recruit people you don't know." SO true! we need to spend more time focusing on becoming friends with people then recruiting them. His quote that really "spoke" to me was "Greek life is the Fillet Mignon of Student Organizations." I think this is so trueeeee. In addition to PC of course. ;)
After Josh Orendi I headed to my first Ed Session. It was called Incentive-Based Approaches to better your chapter. Some of the issues all of our chapters touched upon was attendance, lack of motivation, low GPAs, and people not paying their dues. Some of the solutions was to implement a point system in the organizations. Gamma Phi already has the point system but maybe we could be more consistent when letting people know that they missed points for the month? just a suggestion. Also, maybe cutting out a big refrigerator and putting it on Maribeth's door and when us fabulous greeks get good grades, we'll post it on the fridge for everyone to see. I think it will really encourage people to try and get great grades! Also in this session I came up with the idea, after hearing what some other girls do, to implement granny dates for the seniors in our organizations. We'll be able to connect with them as sisters and make them feel like they are still needed in our organizations, because they most definitely are. (= This session was good, but I feel as though the facilitators didn't really talk, they just gave us ideas that were obvious, but we all ended up with good ideas by talking to one another.
Then it ws lunch time! definitely the best time. We had sandwiches, cookies, and soup that I did not like. We ate lunch with Sandy which was delightful. There were also little mini sodas that reminded me of NACA, love ittttt.
After lunch we went to a lecture, showcase, ed session thing with Jessica Pettitt. Her lecture that she does is called "Elephants and Onions" haha. SO EFFING FUNNY. She reminded Lexi and I of Chrissy so bad. She talks about Social Justice and how it's basically just talking about yourself, maybe I should switch my major because god know I looooooooove to talk about myself. She talked about how to make yourself a better person by: tracking, knowing your triggers and listening. Jessica said that you know all your friends triggers usually better than you know your own, which is really interesting and true. One of her quotes that made me laugh was "It's so much easier pointing out how someone else can be better and what they can improve but you can't figure it out about yourself. She also opened us up to a whole new vocab, "GP"- good point, using this all the time. ahaha. My favorite quote of her session was "I am a hot mess, and it's a full time job keeping my shit in order." Favorite quote of the day and possible of the conference. SO true.
The next session I went to was one called "Ethical Leadership: Challenges for Today's Members." This session was really confusing and didn't really teach me anything. I'm not quite sure if I didn't understand the description of the session, the content or maybe the presenters just weren't good at presenting. Whatever it was, it didn't appeal to me or teach me anything, I was lost and confused. I was nemo and I just wanted to go home, well...anywhere out of that room.
After that Ed Session was another one! I went to "6 steps for your Chapter's Enema." It was really informative and made a lot of sense. After leaving it I felt as though I could take on all of my chapter's problems, which I know I can't but it gave me the inspiration to do so. I think it'd be reallllly beneficial if we could bring David to Bridgewater, maybe Panhel and IFC could co-sponsor?
After that ed sesssion we had a closing session with Mike Hartley, it was kinda weird but I feel as though I was being yelled at by my vice principal. I can understand that it was frustrating with what happened with certain boys in the elevators, but it felt very downing listening to him. After that we went back to the room and got ready for the Banquet!
As always the bears were the first ones there. We had a nice little photo shoot before we went it. We also watched this cool, stepping, fraternity call. It was AWESOME. I wish we had one! We were let in an enjoyed a fabulous dinner, including cheesecake, SO good. We also watched the awards be given out. A gamma phi won one, toot toot. ;) After the dinner we watched this very cheesy magician/comedian, he ate a marshmallow off a machete. so bizarre. Then when he was done entertaining the crowd of 4 we left an began our photoshoot. Including the many dimensions to Maribeth's counseling career. after we finished our fabulous pictures(including the banister/arm picture.) So precious. I have been working on this blog for about 2 hours now. I will reflect on the remainder of the weekend tomorrow night, in addition to adding pictures.
peace, love & greek life forever!
-Katelyn
So day three! there were A LOT of exciting things about today!
First things first, we got up after a fun & exciting night with bananagrams at about 7 oclock. we got ready in our best dressed chapter attire and all headed downstairs for starbucks, yum. Grande Java Chip Frappacino for me with a croissant. Then we headed over to the Greek Boutique, where I just got a simple blue tshirt with letters on the front and Gamma Phi Beta written out on the back. 20 bucks! and then I made my own key chain! maybe for a little, maybe just for me. =)
After our purchases we headed to the ballroom for our key note speaker. Josh Orendi, he talks about recruitment. SO GOOD. he really got us PHIred up! Just like his poster says ;) He was just extremely insightful and made us realize some really important points, one of his quotes really shocked lexi and I, we even gasped at one another; "You can't recruit people you don't know." SO true! we need to spend more time focusing on becoming friends with people then recruiting them. His quote that really "spoke" to me was "Greek life is the Fillet Mignon of Student Organizations." I think this is so trueeeee. In addition to PC of course. ;)
After Josh Orendi I headed to my first Ed Session. It was called Incentive-Based Approaches to better your chapter. Some of the issues all of our chapters touched upon was attendance, lack of motivation, low GPAs, and people not paying their dues. Some of the solutions was to implement a point system in the organizations. Gamma Phi already has the point system but maybe we could be more consistent when letting people know that they missed points for the month? just a suggestion. Also, maybe cutting out a big refrigerator and putting it on Maribeth's door and when us fabulous greeks get good grades, we'll post it on the fridge for everyone to see. I think it will really encourage people to try and get great grades! Also in this session I came up with the idea, after hearing what some other girls do, to implement granny dates for the seniors in our organizations. We'll be able to connect with them as sisters and make them feel like they are still needed in our organizations, because they most definitely are. (= This session was good, but I feel as though the facilitators didn't really talk, they just gave us ideas that were obvious, but we all ended up with good ideas by talking to one another.
Then it ws lunch time! definitely the best time. We had sandwiches, cookies, and soup that I did not like. We ate lunch with Sandy which was delightful. There were also little mini sodas that reminded me of NACA, love ittttt.
After lunch we went to a lecture, showcase, ed session thing with Jessica Pettitt. Her lecture that she does is called "Elephants and Onions" haha. SO EFFING FUNNY. She reminded Lexi and I of Chrissy so bad. She talks about Social Justice and how it's basically just talking about yourself, maybe I should switch my major because god know I looooooooove to talk about myself. She talked about how to make yourself a better person by: tracking, knowing your triggers and listening. Jessica said that you know all your friends triggers usually better than you know your own, which is really interesting and true. One of her quotes that made me laugh was "It's so much easier pointing out how someone else can be better and what they can improve but you can't figure it out about yourself. She also opened us up to a whole new vocab, "GP"- good point, using this all the time. ahaha. My favorite quote of her session was "I am a hot mess, and it's a full time job keeping my shit in order." Favorite quote of the day and possible of the conference. SO true.
The next session I went to was one called "Ethical Leadership: Challenges for Today's Members." This session was really confusing and didn't really teach me anything. I'm not quite sure if I didn't understand the description of the session, the content or maybe the presenters just weren't good at presenting. Whatever it was, it didn't appeal to me or teach me anything, I was lost and confused. I was nemo and I just wanted to go home, well...anywhere out of that room.
After that Ed Session was another one! I went to "6 steps for your Chapter's Enema." It was really informative and made a lot of sense. After leaving it I felt as though I could take on all of my chapter's problems, which I know I can't but it gave me the inspiration to do so. I think it'd be reallllly beneficial if we could bring David to Bridgewater, maybe Panhel and IFC could co-sponsor?
After that ed sesssion we had a closing session with Mike Hartley, it was kinda weird but I feel as though I was being yelled at by my vice principal. I can understand that it was frustrating with what happened with certain boys in the elevators, but it felt very downing listening to him. After that we went back to the room and got ready for the Banquet!
As always the bears were the first ones there. We had a nice little photo shoot before we went it. We also watched this cool, stepping, fraternity call. It was AWESOME. I wish we had one! We were let in an enjoyed a fabulous dinner, including cheesecake, SO good. We also watched the awards be given out. A gamma phi won one, toot toot. ;) After the dinner we watched this very cheesy magician/comedian, he ate a marshmallow off a machete. so bizarre. Then when he was done entertaining the crowd of 4 we left an began our photoshoot. Including the many dimensions to Maribeth's counseling career. after we finished our fabulous pictures(including the banister/arm picture.) So precious. I have been working on this blog for about 2 hours now. I will reflect on the remainder of the weekend tomorrow night, in addition to adding pictures.
peace, love & greek life forever!
-Katelyn
I'm PHIRED up! and you can't spell PHIRED up without PEH!
Woah. What a fantastic weekend.
Seriously.
This morning we had a great session with Phired Up Productions. Great stuff and I saw the lightbulbs go off as the cherubs took it all in. After our intro sessions the friends went off to their ed sessions and I headed to the AFA (Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors) regional meeting. It was nice to see who's new in the region and who is still around. Due to budget cuts I have not been to the AFA annual meeting the last two years, there is no way to sugar coat this.. it sucks. Unless the economy makes a miraculous turnaround and professional development money makes a comeback, I will likely need to save my own money to attend next year. I feel kind of in a rut, I feel like I haven't done the presenting I have always wanted to do or the networking I would like to have done in Fraternity and Sorority life. I am soooo passionate about Greek life and student affairs and I think it is high time to take my professional development into my own hands. With a wedding this past year (love shout out to the hubs here) the financial commitment to get to the Annual Meeting on my own was not a possibilty but hopefully I can start to save now and can head to Arizona in December 2010. As a renewal of my commitment to be in charge of my own development I stayed after the meeting and spoke with Veronica about volunteering for AFA on the Membership Recruitment team. I have spent too much professional time idle.. it's time to kick things up a notch for me and for my students. BAM (lagassi, e.)
Feeling psyched and ready I gathered my Panhellenic sistahs, Jess & Aubree, and we headed to our NPC Area meeting. We chatted about the great things NPC is doing in our region and talked about ways to better our Panhellenic practices.
For the next ed session I went to hear a presentation about NPC and Campus Partnerships. This sessions was particularly special to me for a few reasons.. first off, the presenters Monica Miranda Smalls (AFA President Elect I might add!!!) at the University of Rochester and Sandy Burba, NPC Alternate for GAMMA PHI BETA and my GphiB mom, both FABulous women I have known for years now. Also because the session was about the Gamma Phi chapter I was the Regional Coordinator for a few years back. In 2007 myself and a few other Gamma Phi Beta volunteers headed to Rochester for a weekend to help our struggling chapter,we spent the weekend strategizing pr plans and ways to connect on campus. The outcome of this plus TONS of the Panhellenic Association's support and Student Affairs support is today our chapter has hit quota and has grown exponetially. Really awesome stuff. Great work Epsilon Tau!
My last session was an awards feedback session. I was one of this years judges for the awards. A lot of changes have been made to the program and I think the feedback we recieved will be really helpful in the years ahead. My new pal Thea (from NJIT!!! I used to work there!!) and I invented some great jobs for ourselves. (See.. getting out there as much as I can)
The crew and I met after the final session and headed upstairs to get ready for the closing banquet. We looked really good if I do say so myself! Just check us out!!
I really had a great experience this weekend. The students were fabulous and really made me and BSC proud. They make us Bears look G O O D!!
It's our last night of blogging, tomorrow we head back to Bridgewater, the ride home will be easy but we know the road ahead to positively impact our campus community will be long and enduring, but we're READY. Let's DO THIS!!!
Go Bears!!
~Mb
Seriously.
This morning we had a great session with Phired Up Productions. Great stuff and I saw the lightbulbs go off as the cherubs took it all in. After our intro sessions the friends went off to their ed sessions and I headed to the AFA (Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors) regional meeting. It was nice to see who's new in the region and who is still around. Due to budget cuts I have not been to the AFA annual meeting the last two years, there is no way to sugar coat this.. it sucks. Unless the economy makes a miraculous turnaround and professional development money makes a comeback, I will likely need to save my own money to attend next year. I feel kind of in a rut, I feel like I haven't done the presenting I have always wanted to do or the networking I would like to have done in Fraternity and Sorority life. I am soooo passionate about Greek life and student affairs and I think it is high time to take my professional development into my own hands. With a wedding this past year (love shout out to the hubs here) the financial commitment to get to the Annual Meeting on my own was not a possibilty but hopefully I can start to save now and can head to Arizona in December 2010. As a renewal of my commitment to be in charge of my own development I stayed after the meeting and spoke with Veronica about volunteering for AFA on the Membership Recruitment team. I have spent too much professional time idle.. it's time to kick things up a notch for me and for my students. BAM (lagassi, e.)
Feeling psyched and ready I gathered my Panhellenic sistahs, Jess & Aubree, and we headed to our NPC Area meeting. We chatted about the great things NPC is doing in our region and talked about ways to better our Panhellenic practices.
For the next ed session I went to hear a presentation about NPC and Campus Partnerships. This sessions was particularly special to me for a few reasons.. first off, the presenters Monica Miranda Smalls (AFA President Elect I might add!!!) at the University of Rochester and Sandy Burba, NPC Alternate for GAMMA PHI BETA and my GphiB mom, both FABulous women I have known for years now. Also because the session was about the Gamma Phi chapter I was the Regional Coordinator for a few years back. In 2007 myself and a few other Gamma Phi Beta volunteers headed to Rochester for a weekend to help our struggling chapter,we spent the weekend strategizing pr plans and ways to connect on campus. The outcome of this plus TONS of the Panhellenic Association's support and Student Affairs support is today our chapter has hit quota and has grown exponetially. Really awesome stuff. Great work Epsilon Tau!
My last session was an awards feedback session. I was one of this years judges for the awards. A lot of changes have been made to the program and I think the feedback we recieved will be really helpful in the years ahead. My new pal Thea (from NJIT!!! I used to work there!!) and I invented some great jobs for ourselves. (See.. getting out there as much as I can)
The crew and I met after the final session and headed upstairs to get ready for the closing banquet. We looked really good if I do say so myself! Just check us out!!
I really had a great experience this weekend. The students were fabulous and really made me and BSC proud. They make us Bears look G O O D!!
It's our last night of blogging, tomorrow we head back to Bridgewater, the ride home will be easy but we know the road ahead to positively impact our campus community will be long and enduring, but we're READY. Let's DO THIS!!!
Go Bears!!
~Mb
I'M PHIRED UP!!!
Hello Friends!!
To be quite honest I don't know where to start. I guess I'll get a little sappy because that is how I feel since this conference has come to its official close. This was not only my very first NGLA but also my first large conference. I know it sounds cheesy but this has really been an experience that has influence my life and I have gained so many tools and lessons that I will not only use in Greek Life but also in my daily life. I am leaving this conference feeling empowered and its one of the best feelings ever!
Now that I have gotten all of my cheesyness out I can talk about my AMAZING day!
The bears and I were up bright and early dressed to impress as usual! We stopped by Starby's to get our day started off on the right foot. Aubree and Katelyn guided me though my first experience and it was GREAT! We took our yummilicious coffee breakfast to go so we could go SHOPPING!!!!!!!
The Greek Boutique is a wonderful place. As much as it was stinky to not see a Phi Pi Delta table there it was a blessing in disguise. I would have spent all the money I was paid on Friday. Buying Greek Life stuff is a slight addiction for me. When I see them I just want them on anything and EVERYTHING. I did make a purchase however. I got a surprise for my little and some cute screen-printed letters for myself. Can't wait to wear them!!!
The day started off with an opening session called Phired Up: Dynamic Recruitment with Josh Orendi. This session was out of control. Everything he said was absolutely true. The first quote he said that stood out to me was: "Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world. Indeed its all that ever has" This statement stands true for Greek Life. Although the Greeks on our campus take up a smaller percentage of our campus people should never doubt us and the positive effect we can have on our community. He gave us the three secrets of recruitment:
1. You can't recruit people you don;t know. The largest group of incoming students does not come to college thinking that Greek Life will be in their future. You have to make connections and friendships with these people and show them why you and your community can be a beneficial part of their life.
2. People don't join organizations ... People join people. We shouldn't be putting our organizations out there for the short time we have rush but rather put ourselves out the whole year.
3. We scare people ... BE MORE NORMAL! We can be very intimidating as Greeks with all of our information. We need to be more aware of how comfortable people feel around us and act like normal people :)
He also talked about what it means to be a social organization. The main reason we are social is because we support community, interpersonal growth, and broadening ourselves for the betterment of the community. Not for parties, and keg stands, and other outlandish things. Josh read a story from a book that talked about the work ethics of mules and horses and compared those animals to our chapters. The horses are those members who continuously work really hard and carry a lot of the work load in the chapter. The mules are the members who seem to go missing when something needs to be done or they say they will do something and always seem to be too busy to actually get it accomplished. He taught us a very good lesson from this story. Your members choose daily when they wake up whether they want to me a mule or a horse in your chapter. You cannot make a mule into a horse, they need to make that change themselves. So how do you fix the problem of having more mules in your chapter than you have horses? You simply stop letting the mules recruit mules and have the horses start recruiting horses. Eventually the mules will come around and evolve into horses. Another helpful tool he gave us to help with knowing more people was called "the screw" (A.K.A a hand shake). It works every time and it is an easy way to start a conversation. He taught us the 5 F*n ways to master conversation:
1. family and friends
2. favorites
3. Future
4. fun
5. from.
Josh said the magic of recruitment is not the activity and what you do but rather who you are. He closed his presentation with this statement read it how you may and tell me what you see it as: OPPORTUNITY IS NOWHERE
The second session I went to was called Local Roundtable with Su Bartlet who is from a local chapter at a college in Pennsylvania. This was another GREAT session. Everyone at this session was from a local organization just like Phi Pi Delta. This gave us an opportunity to talk about the struggles we all have as local organizations as well as our triumphs. It was absolutely unbelievable to talk to these people and see that they are all struggling with the same things as my chapter is. We were all able to talk about our problems and give each other some feedback as to what has worked for us and could potentially work for the other organizations. I made so many connections in this session and I am hoping to stay in touch with these people so that we can all help each other develop into more successful chapters. The presented took a group picture of all the representatives from the local organization to put onto a facebook group she made for all of us. She plans on having us join the group and putting up resources to help us better out chapters. Two girls who are from other locals and I exchanged information so that they can send me a copy of their constitution since Phi Pi is working on re-writing our constitution. Phi Pi Delta is also going on a retreat to work on things that the chapter needs to improve on and I thin Su will be a great resource to us so I asked if she would be interested in coming to the retreat to give us some input from a person who has experienced a local chapter. I AM TOTALLY PSYCHED!!!!!! I think the two of us will stay in touch and be new friends :)
After this session we went to lunch!!!! I was able to feed Norman (my food baby). I got to eat lunch with Burbalicious and she is just as awesome as MB says (not that I doubted MB's opinion for a second). We had a buffet with yummy salad, pasta, and sandwich meat. The brownie that I got for dessert was DELICIOUS!! After lunch was over we ventured to the Greek Boutique to buy all of our fun purchases that looked absolutely AMAZING :)
The next session I went to was called Buy In or Get Out with David Stollman. He is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Words cannot even describe the feeling I had when I left this session. He had an unbelievable amount of stories that he told that he has seen people in Greek Life so that bring all the negative stereotypes to life. This was very unfortunate. Although he had all of these stories the point was not to show all the negative things Greeks have done, and some even continue to do, but rather to show people that there is really no good reason behind the negative behavior and they will not lead to a positive outcome for your chapter. He was a prime example because when he was in college his chapter did some horrible things but they had to pay. Now as an alumni he is not able to go back to his school and visit his fraternity house because his chapter was shut down. Could all of this have been avoided? The answer is YES. This was the moral behind is story. David truly believes that Greek Life is the best thing about college. He stressed to us that we should stand up as leaders and make a change in our organizations before Greek Life disappears before our eyes. Greek Life impacts too many lives for it to be taken away from campuses but that responsibility is in our hands. One quote that he said that stood out to me and meant a lot was this: "Don't put the letters on you chest, but rather out the meaning in your heart".
The next session I went to was called Can Someone Please Give Me a Clue as to What IFC is Supposed to Do. This session was so helpful. Max and I went to it together. It was nice to hear what is required of IFC's and see a mock constitution. I got tons of ideas and things that I need to do and become responsible for when I get back to campus. The one thing that was stressed the most was that Greek Life Advisors are doing more work than they should be by managing all the data that IFC should be taking care of. DATA DATA DATA! Having the data and knowing it can only help make your IFC more successful. You will be able to see where change needs to be made and acknowledge the very strong parts of your Greek Community.
A little IFC Love ♥
The last education session I went to was called Molding Your Members. The presenter gave us nine tips to having successful members:
1. Understand the cognitive level of members and meet the need of said members
2. Clearly identify what a graduating member should know, believe, and do.
3. Don't be Jello. You are not trying to make everyone the same.
4. Use your ritual, creed, and values.
5. Make members aware of programs that help them develop.
6. Catch members in the act of doing things right.
7. Don't be afraid to hold people accountable for poor actions.
8. Tie everything back to ritual and power of personal growth,
9. DWYSYWD: Do what you say you would do!!!
After our last educational session we had a final key-note speaker to wrap up the whole weekend. The BYSTANDER EFFECT. We are all guilty of it, but it is something we all need to work on and learn to take a stand. No matter how big or small the situation is, if something bothers you you have the right to stand up and tell someone to change that action. If it is something as serious as hazing or something that endangers others, it is your OBLIGATION to take a stand. The three things he wanted us to take away are the following: Ask more questions, Practice, and the lastly the one that stuck out the most to me was Don't verbally throw up on people when you return home!
HMMMM ... Verbally throw-up. It doesn't sound too appetizing but it is exactly what I want to do when I get home. I feel like I am bursting at the seems with information that can help better not only my chapter but all of Greek Life on the BSC campus and I want to share it with the world!!!! Unfortunately sharing it all at once with everyone will be very overwhelming and they will not be as accepting to all the things I have to offer. My plan is to post all of my notes here on this blog so that all of you friends that are following it will be able to learn as well, and to take it step by step nice and slow with my chapter.
ALAS THE DAY HAS NOT ENDED!!!! The fun has just begun. With all the the educational sessions ended we were given time to change into our pretty dresses and get all dolled up for the banquet. We were at the banquet nice and early so we could have some nice seats. While we waited to be let into the banquet hall we had a short photo shoot (OF COURSE because we are so good looking :D). A fraternity started doing their stroll and stepping which totally captivated my attention and i loved it ♥ look it up on youtube it is CRAZY!!! The banquet was very nice and the food was delicious. Norman was very happy with their food choice :) Following the dinner portion was the award ceremony. I think that BSC can totally qualify for some of these awards and I think we have a good chance of taking some home next year now that we have some NGLA experience under our belt. That will be a very exciting day! Dream Big!!! :)
After the banquet was over these bears had yet another photo shoot AS ALWAYS! (check out facebook for all of these great pictures) We love making memories and these will definitely stay with us forever.
Well that has been the last official day of NGLA and I am oh so sad to say that we have reached the end. I would however like to thank everyone who helped get us here because this really is a beneficial program from Greek Life and the things that were learned here can only be taken back to our campus and help Greek Life for the better. Can't wait to see everything in action! Thanks again!
TTFN ♥
Delta Love,
Sarah
To be quite honest I don't know where to start. I guess I'll get a little sappy because that is how I feel since this conference has come to its official close. This was not only my very first NGLA but also my first large conference. I know it sounds cheesy but this has really been an experience that has influence my life and I have gained so many tools and lessons that I will not only use in Greek Life but also in my daily life. I am leaving this conference feeling empowered and its one of the best feelings ever!
Now that I have gotten all of my cheesyness out I can talk about my AMAZING day!
The bears and I were up bright and early dressed to impress as usual! We stopped by Starby's to get our day started off on the right foot. Aubree and Katelyn guided me though my first experience and it was GREAT! We took our yummilicious coffee breakfast to go so we could go SHOPPING!!!!!!!
The Greek Boutique is a wonderful place. As much as it was stinky to not see a Phi Pi Delta table there it was a blessing in disguise. I would have spent all the money I was paid on Friday. Buying Greek Life stuff is a slight addiction for me. When I see them I just want them on anything and EVERYTHING. I did make a purchase however. I got a surprise for my little and some cute screen-printed letters for myself. Can't wait to wear them!!!
The day started off with an opening session called Phired Up: Dynamic Recruitment with Josh Orendi. This session was out of control. Everything he said was absolutely true. The first quote he said that stood out to me was: "Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world. Indeed its all that ever has" This statement stands true for Greek Life. Although the Greeks on our campus take up a smaller percentage of our campus people should never doubt us and the positive effect we can have on our community. He gave us the three secrets of recruitment:
1. You can't recruit people you don;t know. The largest group of incoming students does not come to college thinking that Greek Life will be in their future. You have to make connections and friendships with these people and show them why you and your community can be a beneficial part of their life.
2. People don't join organizations ... People join people. We shouldn't be putting our organizations out there for the short time we have rush but rather put ourselves out the whole year.
3. We scare people ... BE MORE NORMAL! We can be very intimidating as Greeks with all of our information. We need to be more aware of how comfortable people feel around us and act like normal people :)
He also talked about what it means to be a social organization. The main reason we are social is because we support community, interpersonal growth, and broadening ourselves for the betterment of the community. Not for parties, and keg stands, and other outlandish things. Josh read a story from a book that talked about the work ethics of mules and horses and compared those animals to our chapters. The horses are those members who continuously work really hard and carry a lot of the work load in the chapter. The mules are the members who seem to go missing when something needs to be done or they say they will do something and always seem to be too busy to actually get it accomplished. He taught us a very good lesson from this story. Your members choose daily when they wake up whether they want to me a mule or a horse in your chapter. You cannot make a mule into a horse, they need to make that change themselves. So how do you fix the problem of having more mules in your chapter than you have horses? You simply stop letting the mules recruit mules and have the horses start recruiting horses. Eventually the mules will come around and evolve into horses. Another helpful tool he gave us to help with knowing more people was called "the screw" (A.K.A a hand shake). It works every time and it is an easy way to start a conversation. He taught us the 5 F*n ways to master conversation:
1. family and friends
2. favorites
3. Future
4. fun
5. from.
Josh said the magic of recruitment is not the activity and what you do but rather who you are. He closed his presentation with this statement read it how you may and tell me what you see it as: OPPORTUNITY IS NOWHERE
The second session I went to was called Local Roundtable with Su Bartlet who is from a local chapter at a college in Pennsylvania. This was another GREAT session. Everyone at this session was from a local organization just like Phi Pi Delta. This gave us an opportunity to talk about the struggles we all have as local organizations as well as our triumphs. It was absolutely unbelievable to talk to these people and see that they are all struggling with the same things as my chapter is. We were all able to talk about our problems and give each other some feedback as to what has worked for us and could potentially work for the other organizations. I made so many connections in this session and I am hoping to stay in touch with these people so that we can all help each other develop into more successful chapters. The presented took a group picture of all the representatives from the local organization to put onto a facebook group she made for all of us. She plans on having us join the group and putting up resources to help us better out chapters. Two girls who are from other locals and I exchanged information so that they can send me a copy of their constitution since Phi Pi is working on re-writing our constitution. Phi Pi Delta is also going on a retreat to work on things that the chapter needs to improve on and I thin Su will be a great resource to us so I asked if she would be interested in coming to the retreat to give us some input from a person who has experienced a local chapter. I AM TOTALLY PSYCHED!!!!!! I think the two of us will stay in touch and be new friends :)
After this session we went to lunch!!!! I was able to feed Norman (my food baby). I got to eat lunch with Burbalicious and she is just as awesome as MB says (not that I doubted MB's opinion for a second). We had a buffet with yummy salad, pasta, and sandwich meat. The brownie that I got for dessert was DELICIOUS!! After lunch was over we ventured to the Greek Boutique to buy all of our fun purchases that looked absolutely AMAZING :)
The next session I went to was called Buy In or Get Out with David Stollman. He is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Words cannot even describe the feeling I had when I left this session. He had an unbelievable amount of stories that he told that he has seen people in Greek Life so that bring all the negative stereotypes to life. This was very unfortunate. Although he had all of these stories the point was not to show all the negative things Greeks have done, and some even continue to do, but rather to show people that there is really no good reason behind the negative behavior and they will not lead to a positive outcome for your chapter. He was a prime example because when he was in college his chapter did some horrible things but they had to pay. Now as an alumni he is not able to go back to his school and visit his fraternity house because his chapter was shut down. Could all of this have been avoided? The answer is YES. This was the moral behind is story. David truly believes that Greek Life is the best thing about college. He stressed to us that we should stand up as leaders and make a change in our organizations before Greek Life disappears before our eyes. Greek Life impacts too many lives for it to be taken away from campuses but that responsibility is in our hands. One quote that he said that stood out to me and meant a lot was this: "Don't put the letters on you chest, but rather out the meaning in your heart".
The next session I went to was called Can Someone Please Give Me a Clue as to What IFC is Supposed to Do. This session was so helpful. Max and I went to it together. It was nice to hear what is required of IFC's and see a mock constitution. I got tons of ideas and things that I need to do and become responsible for when I get back to campus. The one thing that was stressed the most was that Greek Life Advisors are doing more work than they should be by managing all the data that IFC should be taking care of. DATA DATA DATA! Having the data and knowing it can only help make your IFC more successful. You will be able to see where change needs to be made and acknowledge the very strong parts of your Greek Community.
A little IFC Love ♥
The last education session I went to was called Molding Your Members. The presenter gave us nine tips to having successful members:
1. Understand the cognitive level of members and meet the need of said members
2. Clearly identify what a graduating member should know, believe, and do.
3. Don't be Jello. You are not trying to make everyone the same.
4. Use your ritual, creed, and values.
5. Make members aware of programs that help them develop.
6. Catch members in the act of doing things right.
7. Don't be afraid to hold people accountable for poor actions.
8. Tie everything back to ritual and power of personal growth,
9. DWYSYWD: Do what you say you would do!!!
After our last educational session we had a final key-note speaker to wrap up the whole weekend. The BYSTANDER EFFECT. We are all guilty of it, but it is something we all need to work on and learn to take a stand. No matter how big or small the situation is, if something bothers you you have the right to stand up and tell someone to change that action. If it is something as serious as hazing or something that endangers others, it is your OBLIGATION to take a stand. The three things he wanted us to take away are the following: Ask more questions, Practice, and the lastly the one that stuck out the most to me was Don't verbally throw up on people when you return home!
HMMMM ... Verbally throw-up. It doesn't sound too appetizing but it is exactly what I want to do when I get home. I feel like I am bursting at the seems with information that can help better not only my chapter but all of Greek Life on the BSC campus and I want to share it with the world!!!! Unfortunately sharing it all at once with everyone will be very overwhelming and they will not be as accepting to all the things I have to offer. My plan is to post all of my notes here on this blog so that all of you friends that are following it will be able to learn as well, and to take it step by step nice and slow with my chapter.
ALAS THE DAY HAS NOT ENDED!!!! The fun has just begun. With all the the educational sessions ended we were given time to change into our pretty dresses and get all dolled up for the banquet. We were at the banquet nice and early so we could have some nice seats. While we waited to be let into the banquet hall we had a short photo shoot (OF COURSE because we are so good looking :D). A fraternity started doing their stroll and stepping which totally captivated my attention and i loved it ♥ look it up on youtube it is CRAZY!!! The banquet was very nice and the food was delicious. Norman was very happy with their food choice :) Following the dinner portion was the award ceremony. I think that BSC can totally qualify for some of these awards and I think we have a good chance of taking some home next year now that we have some NGLA experience under our belt. That will be a very exciting day! Dream Big!!! :)
After the banquet was over these bears had yet another photo shoot AS ALWAYS! (check out facebook for all of these great pictures) We love making memories and these will definitely stay with us forever.
Well that has been the last official day of NGLA and I am oh so sad to say that we have reached the end. I would however like to thank everyone who helped get us here because this really is a beneficial program from Greek Life and the things that were learned here can only be taken back to our campus and help Greek Life for the better. Can't wait to see everything in action! Thanks again!
TTFN ♥
Delta Love,
Sarah
Third Day at NGLA! (and it STILL rhymes...)
Hey, hey, hey,
Once again... this morning came realllllllllll early. Even after an early night of pajammy jam jam sesh, last night Aubs, Katelyn & I (obviously still in delirious sleep deprivation state) went back to our room and laughed for another ohhh 2 hours or so... Aubs got up and showered and Katelyn and I followed suit at around 7:20ish...
The day started with a Starbucks date and we got there before the crowd because we are the Bears... on time = being early. I got a delicious cinnamon cake thing... and then we went to the Greek Boutique where I can not lie I indulged and bought myself a really cute teal sweater... which you will be sure to see me wearing around campus next week. Then we arrived for the morning session and sat in the very front row... because we are Bears :) It's just how we roll...
The morning session was by Phired Up! (the spelling is correct)... a company that specializes in recruitment techniques and I absolutely LOVED it! Katelyn, Jess & I sat next to eachother and the entire time it was like a light bulb kept going off in our heads. He talked about a variety of things regarding recruitment. He taught us techniques to rope people into conversations and the two different types of people in our organizations who he referred to as... the work horse and the mule. The most prominent statement he made was "We can't recruit... who we don't know"... Katelyn's favorite statement was "Greek life is the filet mignon of student organizations".
Ed. Sesh 4 was interesting... it was a variety of techniques on "How to Train the Trainer" with Lori... a fellow Gamma Phi Beta sister!! She taught us how to be effective facilitators in our organizations. It was great to see how a facilitator really should be facilitating. She taught us phrases to avoid to keep people engaged and questions you should be asking to keep the conversations in your teambuilders going.
Our showcase was with Jessica Pettitt on social justice... now before you stop reading... this was a) HILARIOUS! and b) not a normal "social justice" conversation... She was extremely inappropriate in my opinion but so truthful in the reasoning behind her word use. She taught us that social justice should be an evaluation of ourselves and knowing what we are doing... Tracking, Trigger, and Listen were the 3 steps to guarantee that we could be better and stop oppression of people. My favorite thing about Jessica... "We're all a hot mess, its so much easier being someone else than being you".
My Ed. Sesh 5 was about the Forgotten Pillars of Greek Life... and I am sure out of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Friendship you can probably guess what 2 I am talking about... yup.. Scholarship and Service. How many times do you hear that "Greeks are dumb" and "Greeks are lazy, all they do is party". This session was dedicated to focusing on new ideas for our chapters by using other's examples. So needless to say, I have some great ideas for our community service chairwoman, Lindsay and our philanthropy chairwoman, Kate and our scholarship chairwoman, Caitlyn... Get ready for some great ideas girls!
The last session I attended was about etiquette and protocol... although it wasn't what I expected it gave me some extremely helpful pointers on how to be more proper and how to look approachable and classy. At the end of the session Shelly told us that we need to Lie, Cheat and Steal... Lie in the arms of those who you love whether it be your big/little sister, family, friends or significant other, Cheat on your diet because, let's be honest, they don't exist and Steal all the kisses you can, whether real or Hershey because you may not know when your first or last kiss may be.
After that session was the closing key note on the whole reason behind our sessions... STOP BEING A BY-STANDER... Do something about it. We are Greeks for a reason; we ask for responsibility, we want the spotlight because we are trying to be better people in society. So if you see something that you know isn't right... say something.
We then had about an hour to get ready for the banquet, which we were obviously early for :) and got good seats for the dinner, awards and comedian. Congrats to all the organizations, campuses, and individuals who won awards! I was not impressed with dinner although Norman was satisfied and the comedian was more of a performer than actual comedian (if that makes sense). He did more tricks than jokes.
On the way back from the banquet we all started to get into our tired mode... if you see MB's facebook photos you'll know what I am talking about. We clearly had to take a nice formally looking picture for everyone to see the important side (which we do while having tons and tons of fun!) and that we looked absolutely FABULOUS again. Thennnnnn we got a little crazy with the escalator pictures and poor Aubree couldn't get down the escalator... Sarah saved her though. Then me and Katelyn obviously reenacted Beauty and the Beast on the beautiful red carpeted stair case in the Convention Center. On the way back MB also got a pensive picture... and then we decided she could totally be a therapist and all delegates acted out the many emotions of Greek life including sad, lonely, perplexed, stressed, etc... you get the picture.
Now we are in our jammy jams again in the lobby, yes the lobby, we look a little silly.
Well, I'm out... I need to stalk the pictures from earlier on Facebook...
PEACE LOVE & GREEK LIFE
-Lexi
Once again... this morning came realllllllllll early. Even after an early night of pajammy jam jam sesh, last night Aubs, Katelyn & I (obviously still in delirious sleep deprivation state) went back to our room and laughed for another ohhh 2 hours or so... Aubs got up and showered and Katelyn and I followed suit at around 7:20ish...
The day started with a Starbucks date and we got there before the crowd because we are the Bears... on time = being early. I got a delicious cinnamon cake thing... and then we went to the Greek Boutique where I can not lie I indulged and bought myself a really cute teal sweater... which you will be sure to see me wearing around campus next week. Then we arrived for the morning session and sat in the very front row... because we are Bears :) It's just how we roll...
The morning session was by Phired Up! (the spelling is correct)... a company that specializes in recruitment techniques and I absolutely LOVED it! Katelyn, Jess & I sat next to eachother and the entire time it was like a light bulb kept going off in our heads. He talked about a variety of things regarding recruitment. He taught us techniques to rope people into conversations and the two different types of people in our organizations who he referred to as... the work horse and the mule. The most prominent statement he made was "We can't recruit... who we don't know"... Katelyn's favorite statement was "Greek life is the filet mignon of student organizations".
Ed. Sesh 4 was interesting... it was a variety of techniques on "How to Train the Trainer" with Lori... a fellow Gamma Phi Beta sister!! She taught us how to be effective facilitators in our organizations. It was great to see how a facilitator really should be facilitating. She taught us phrases to avoid to keep people engaged and questions you should be asking to keep the conversations in your teambuilders going.
Our showcase was with Jessica Pettitt on social justice... now before you stop reading... this was a) HILARIOUS! and b) not a normal "social justice" conversation... She was extremely inappropriate in my opinion but so truthful in the reasoning behind her word use. She taught us that social justice should be an evaluation of ourselves and knowing what we are doing... Tracking, Trigger, and Listen were the 3 steps to guarantee that we could be better and stop oppression of people. My favorite thing about Jessica... "We're all a hot mess, its so much easier being someone else than being you".
My Ed. Sesh 5 was about the Forgotten Pillars of Greek Life... and I am sure out of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Friendship you can probably guess what 2 I am talking about... yup.. Scholarship and Service. How many times do you hear that "Greeks are dumb" and "Greeks are lazy, all they do is party". This session was dedicated to focusing on new ideas for our chapters by using other's examples. So needless to say, I have some great ideas for our community service chairwoman, Lindsay and our philanthropy chairwoman, Kate and our scholarship chairwoman, Caitlyn... Get ready for some great ideas girls!
The last session I attended was about etiquette and protocol... although it wasn't what I expected it gave me some extremely helpful pointers on how to be more proper and how to look approachable and classy. At the end of the session Shelly told us that we need to Lie, Cheat and Steal... Lie in the arms of those who you love whether it be your big/little sister, family, friends or significant other, Cheat on your diet because, let's be honest, they don't exist and Steal all the kisses you can, whether real or Hershey because you may not know when your first or last kiss may be.
After that session was the closing key note on the whole reason behind our sessions... STOP BEING A BY-STANDER... Do something about it. We are Greeks for a reason; we ask for responsibility, we want the spotlight because we are trying to be better people in society. So if you see something that you know isn't right... say something.
We then had about an hour to get ready for the banquet, which we were obviously early for :) and got good seats for the dinner, awards and comedian. Congrats to all the organizations, campuses, and individuals who won awards! I was not impressed with dinner although Norman was satisfied and the comedian was more of a performer than actual comedian (if that makes sense). He did more tricks than jokes.
On the way back from the banquet we all started to get into our tired mode... if you see MB's facebook photos you'll know what I am talking about. We clearly had to take a nice formally looking picture for everyone to see the important side (which we do while having tons and tons of fun!) and that we looked absolutely FABULOUS again. Thennnnnn we got a little crazy with the escalator pictures and poor Aubree couldn't get down the escalator... Sarah saved her though. Then me and Katelyn obviously reenacted Beauty and the Beast on the beautiful red carpeted stair case in the Convention Center. On the way back MB also got a pensive picture... and then we decided she could totally be a therapist and all delegates acted out the many emotions of Greek life including sad, lonely, perplexed, stressed, etc... you get the picture.
Now we are in our jammy jams again in the lobby, yes the lobby, we look a little silly.
Well, I'm out... I need to stalk the pictures from earlier on Facebook...
PEACE LOVE & GREEK LIFE
-Lexi
Early start to another great day!
Morning Interwebbers!!! (not a word)
I'll make this one quick as the crew and I are meeting up at 7:45am to avoide the lines at Starby's and head over to the Greek Boutique so we can continue to stimulate the economy with all things Greek.
Last night we had a great pajama jammy jam. As mentioned before.. the later it gets the loopier Mb gets, I told you...I'm a morning person... not a night person (Ask Mickey Howard- RE: OL Camp 2009) So I had multiple laughing fits and started making up my own language in BANANAGRAMS, which I am telling you is a fabulously fun game to play.
The discussions of what they are learning are amazing, my challenge to the crew is to bring this energy and enthusiasm back to campus and positively impact our campus to do better, work harder, and raise the caliber of Greek life at BSC.
Ok, gotta run, us Bears like to be early because you know... Mb does NOT run on Greek time... Greek time is just an excuse to be lazy and well... we're better than that right? ;)
GO BEARS!
~Mb
I'll make this one quick as the crew and I are meeting up at 7:45am to avoide the lines at Starby's and head over to the Greek Boutique so we can continue to stimulate the economy with all things Greek.
Last night we had a great pajama jammy jam. As mentioned before.. the later it gets the loopier Mb gets, I told you...I'm a morning person... not a night person (Ask Mickey Howard- RE: OL Camp 2009) So I had multiple laughing fits and started making up my own language in BANANAGRAMS, which I am telling you is a fabulously fun game to play.
The discussions of what they are learning are amazing, my challenge to the crew is to bring this energy and enthusiasm back to campus and positively impact our campus to do better, work harder, and raise the caliber of Greek life at BSC.
Ok, gotta run, us Bears like to be early because you know... Mb does NOT run on Greek time... Greek time is just an excuse to be lazy and well... we're better than that right? ;)
GO BEARS!
~Mb
Friday, February 19, 2010
this banana has SPLIT
Hi Friends!
After our blogging sesh in starbucks a little loopiness began. As the night progressed it only got worse and everyone knows that more loopiness = more fun!
We ventured back upstairs and changed into our jammies to kick off pajama jammy jams in style!!! Once we arrived in Sarah, Max, and Jess' room the party got started. We had a great little photo sesh (please see MB's FB for proof) It was a fabulous time trying to figure out MB's camera timer. Next was snack time! Chips and candies galore!
And then the best part happened... MB whipped out the BANANAGRAMS! This is the best game ever. Especially because, if you know me, I LOVE word games! We made fun words (such as peh-courtesy of Katelyn Rapoza) while yelling fun words such as Dump, Split, Peel, and Banana! This is the new scrabble, folks. I called the bf-sicle immediately upon arrival to 1519 and told him of my discovery. We must buy this game.
Oh and MB's tale of how she got said amazing game was captivating! She searched far and wide until she found a lonely bananagram bag with no directions or price tag. After speaking to many Target friends, she got the game for, you guessed it .37! Woot! I am jealous!
I think I have started to go a bit crazy with the sleepiness. No big deal.
Now We are back in the room blogging and listening to count on me. I miss my sisters and the boy <3
Happy Weekend!
Aubree
Day 2.5 in the life of Katelyn A. Rapoza
Hey Friends,
so I had to interrupt my usual blogging style to bring you this brief update. we had a pajammie jamma jam tonight! we took multiple self-time pictures, and played bananagrams! We made up multiple words such as "beez and peh." lexi is eating peh while i'm writing with my peh. We had so much fun and were constantly laughing, especially when MB told us her story of the 37 cent bananagrams, I've written a letter describing my feelings toward the target story:
Dear John Flakes,
I'm sure seeing your wife running out of target like she just stole a game would make you weary of the magic that just occurred in there but you have to admit that is one friggin awesome deal!
love it! bananagrams was AWESOME, can't wait to play again soon.
peace, love, PEH!
-Katelyn
ps. me and mb, the only people at NGLA.
so I had to interrupt my usual blogging style to bring you this brief update. we had a pajammie jamma jam tonight! we took multiple self-time pictures, and played bananagrams! We made up multiple words such as "beez and peh." lexi is eating peh while i'm writing with my peh. We had so much fun and were constantly laughing, especially when MB told us her story of the 37 cent bananagrams, I've written a letter describing my feelings toward the target story:
Dear John Flakes,
I'm sure seeing your wife running out of target like she just stole a game would make you weary of the magic that just occurred in there but you have to admit that is one friggin awesome deal!
love it! bananagrams was AWESOME, can't wait to play again soon.
peace, love, PEH!
-Katelyn
ps. me and mb, the only people at NGLA.
Second Day at NGLA!- Post Pajama Jammy Jam Jams?
Hey friendssss,We blogged as a group and were being umm... "tech nerds" I believe was the terminology that was used haha. Any who, after that fun little escapade we were going to check out the entertainment provided but because we are tired we decided to head up for an early night & some pajama jammy jam fun.
So we all changed into our fun jammy jams as shown... we learned to use the timer on MB's camera... which was interesting... on timer's I always seem to manage the most absurd faces...
We then skipped over to 1519 where the Pajammy Jam fun began. We had snackies (Snickers, Jr. Mints, Chippies, and other assortments of delicious treats). Then MB broke out the .37 Bananagram game which was GREAT! We made fun words which included drapes, water, quad, quintuple, fords, and the ever famous peh.
We had a fantastic time laughing hysterically and laying on the floor in the hotel room... Hopefully there is another Bananagram date in our NGLA future! Until next time followers!
PEACE LOVE & GREEK LIFE
-Lexi
"PEH"
Hello Friends!
Pajama Jammy Jam was a success!!! It was so much fun and an AWESOME way to become closer with the cool bears that came with us to the conference. We all put on our best jammies and came to my room for some fun and excitement. MB and Jess had matching cupcake jammies.
Are you ready for the secrets to having your own successful Pajama Jammy Jam?!?!?
Step 1: You must have an AMAZING advisor who doesn't mind getting a little silly for
some fun times.
Step 2: You must have a wicked cool group of leaders who love to have fun in their
jammies.
Step 3: Snackies are a MUST HAVE!! Preferably junior mints, snickers, and chips :)
Step 4: BANANAGRAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Put all of these things together in one hotel room and you will have a fun night jam packed with memories! A photo-shoot is also always a necessity when you have a group that is as good looking as ours is :)
We also learned that MB is a very savvy shopper and was able to get her Bananagram game for only $0.37 with it should really cost $15.00. Its a long story but the general overview goes a little something like this (its is a lot more funny and entertaining when she tells it in person of course so ask her about it when you see her because it is her FAV story):
MB's sister-in-law got the game for Christmas and MB played it with her and FELL IN LOVE ♥. She wanted to find the game so she looked online to see what stores carried it. She saw that the Target in Taunton had one in stock and went to go buy it for herself. Upon arrival she found that the website had unfortunately lied to her and to her dismay there was no Bananagram to be found. So she went online yet again and went to the Target in Stoughton because it said they had one. When she got to the game section of that store she was upset to see that there was no game on the shelf. But ALAS!!! MB found spotted a very lonely banana hiding behind some other games. When she found what she had been looking for there were no directions and no price tag. A worker told her the lady at the front would help. At the register she explained her sad story not only to the cashier but also to the manager. The cashier worked her magic on the register and to MB's surprise said "Happy Holidays!!! That will be $0.37" MB was so psyched she ran out of the store and told her hubby all about her excellent experience!!! AWESOME TIMES!!!
I also learned that I am not the best at bananagrams but it is definitely a great game to play. Aubree won twice, Max, MB and Katelyn each won once. We had a grand old time tonight and we definitely bonded as BSC Bears!!! GGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRR!
Good night friends. Can't wait for all of the fun things tomorrow has in store for me and my fellow Greeks! I am also totally psyched to finally shop at the Greek Boutique!!!
TTFN ♥
Delta Love,
Sarah
Pajama Jammy Jam was a success!!! It was so much fun and an AWESOME way to become closer with the cool bears that came with us to the conference. We all put on our best jammies and came to my room for some fun and excitement. MB and Jess had matching cupcake jammies.
Are you ready for the secrets to having your own successful Pajama Jammy Jam?!?!?
Step 1: You must have an AMAZING advisor who doesn't mind getting a little silly for
some fun times.
Step 2: You must have a wicked cool group of leaders who love to have fun in their
jammies.
Step 3: Snackies are a MUST HAVE!! Preferably junior mints, snickers, and chips :)
Step 4: BANANAGRAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Put all of these things together in one hotel room and you will have a fun night jam packed with memories! A photo-shoot is also always a necessity when you have a group that is as good looking as ours is :)
We also learned that MB is a very savvy shopper and was able to get her Bananagram game for only $0.37 with it should really cost $15.00. Its a long story but the general overview goes a little something like this (its is a lot more funny and entertaining when she tells it in person of course so ask her about it when you see her because it is her FAV story):
MB's sister-in-law got the game for Christmas and MB played it with her and FELL IN LOVE ♥. She wanted to find the game so she looked online to see what stores carried it. She saw that the Target in Taunton had one in stock and went to go buy it for herself. Upon arrival she found that the website had unfortunately lied to her and to her dismay there was no Bananagram to be found. So she went online yet again and went to the Target in Stoughton because it said they had one. When she got to the game section of that store she was upset to see that there was no game on the shelf. But ALAS!!! MB found spotted a very lonely banana hiding behind some other games. When she found what she had been looking for there were no directions and no price tag. A worker told her the lady at the front would help. At the register she explained her sad story not only to the cashier but also to the manager. The cashier worked her magic on the register and to MB's surprise said "Happy Holidays!!! That will be $0.37" MB was so psyched she ran out of the store and told her hubby all about her excellent experience!!! AWESOME TIMES!!!
I also learned that I am not the best at bananagrams but it is definitely a great game to play. Aubree won twice, Max, MB and Katelyn each won once. We had a grand old time tonight and we definitely bonded as BSC Bears!!! GGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRR!
Good night friends. Can't wait for all of the fun things tomorrow has in store for me and my fellow Greeks! I am also totally psyched to finally shop at the Greek Boutique!!!
TTFN ♥
Delta Love,
Sarah
NGLA... A Fraternity Man's Perspective :p
Good Evening Bears!
I am really excited to have seen that we have over 15 followers! Now I will have to make sure I spell check!
NGLA has be absolutly fantastic so far! I have meet about 6 fellow Sigma Pi's and this makes me really excited! I got the chance to talk with each of them, exchanged some phone numbers, event ideas, and even took a picture! (call me lame, but I think its cool) I am really proud to be a Sigma Pi and seeing others who represent what I (and we as HH Chapter) stand for really puts a smile on my face.
The car ride yesterday was a little cramped, 7 people in a van is not the most ideal traveling conditions, but nonetheless we got here safely in just about 2 hours!
Currently we just got back from a long, jam packed day of fun, very interesting people and topics, and a wonderful Irish Pub dinner a little while ago, it was really good and we had some great convos at the dinner table about what Greek Life means to us, as well, what we want to see our fellow BSC Greeks strive to become.
I think that the hard part about leadership conferences are that, we all get to go to all of these AMAZING sessions about leadership, hazing awareness, conflict management, recruitment, values, etc, but our chapters dont get to see and experience all that we have.
The challenge shall be to properly educate our chapters and fellow Greeks on the importance of community relations and how powerful true brother/sister hood can be. I have learned that education must start from the top (governing boards) and trickle down to each and every new member class and every delegate. We must find a way to instill in our chapters the true meanings of our values and creeds and teach them (for example) that FIPG Guidelines are for our benefit, not just another policy. It will be these things that I will take back to my brothers and fellow IFC peeps in an attempt to get us all on the same page and make sure that we are making choices that represent what our founders intended for hundreds of years ago and not comply and give into peer pressure or perpetuate negative stereotypes.
I could sit here and tell you all about my day, and how many awesome young leaders and professionals we all have connected with so far but for me I feel it would be more beneficial to tell about my feelings and thoughts so that you can hopefully understand why we all are so damn proud to be Greek!
I have done a lot of thinking today. Not just any thinking, but good thinking. The kind that makes one question who they are, what their core values are, how I can be better, but most importanly, how I can get others to "get it". By "get it" I mean, to understand that you dont join greek life to drink, you can do that with out letters. Fully understanding that our founding fathers/sisters mean far more than just four or five names on a piece of paper that "pledges" have to memorize. That men and women can be united as one for a common cause, a common good, and a common goal not because of how many beers they can drink, or how fast they can say the greek alphabet but because they genuinly believe that the 4 pillars of greek life, when done right, are the best leadership developmental and personal growth tool we have!
I think I can speak on behalf of myself, the BSC greeks here (who are all currently sitting next to me right now blogging away), as well for everyone at NGLA that we are sick of Greek Life Stereotypes and people who give us a bad name!
Step up and take ownership for your actions, and dont be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, becuase if you dont...who ever will?
On a closing note, Yes, I do miss my gf (Hi Katelyn :p ), I do miss BSC and my comfy bed, and of course I miss my brothers, but I am really enjoying myself here and I quite possibly may be on the verge of a life changing experience. We shall see what tomorow brings!
Stay Tuned...
Max
HOO-RAH
I am really excited to have seen that we have over 15 followers! Now I will have to make sure I spell check!
NGLA has be absolutly fantastic so far! I have meet about 6 fellow Sigma Pi's and this makes me really excited! I got the chance to talk with each of them, exchanged some phone numbers, event ideas, and even took a picture! (call me lame, but I think its cool) I am really proud to be a Sigma Pi and seeing others who represent what I (and we as HH Chapter) stand for really puts a smile on my face.
The car ride yesterday was a little cramped, 7 people in a van is not the most ideal traveling conditions, but nonetheless we got here safely in just about 2 hours!
Currently we just got back from a long, jam packed day of fun, very interesting people and topics, and a wonderful Irish Pub dinner a little while ago, it was really good and we had some great convos at the dinner table about what Greek Life means to us, as well, what we want to see our fellow BSC Greeks strive to become.
I think that the hard part about leadership conferences are that, we all get to go to all of these AMAZING sessions about leadership, hazing awareness, conflict management, recruitment, values, etc, but our chapters dont get to see and experience all that we have.
The challenge shall be to properly educate our chapters and fellow Greeks on the importance of community relations and how powerful true brother/sister hood can be. I have learned that education must start from the top (governing boards) and trickle down to each and every new member class and every delegate. We must find a way to instill in our chapters the true meanings of our values and creeds and teach them (for example) that FIPG Guidelines are for our benefit, not just another policy. It will be these things that I will take back to my brothers and fellow IFC peeps in an attempt to get us all on the same page and make sure that we are making choices that represent what our founders intended for hundreds of years ago and not comply and give into peer pressure or perpetuate negative stereotypes.
I could sit here and tell you all about my day, and how many awesome young leaders and professionals we all have connected with so far but for me I feel it would be more beneficial to tell about my feelings and thoughts so that you can hopefully understand why we all are so damn proud to be Greek!
I have done a lot of thinking today. Not just any thinking, but good thinking. The kind that makes one question who they are, what their core values are, how I can be better, but most importanly, how I can get others to "get it". By "get it" I mean, to understand that you dont join greek life to drink, you can do that with out letters. Fully understanding that our founding fathers/sisters mean far more than just four or five names on a piece of paper that "pledges" have to memorize. That men and women can be united as one for a common cause, a common good, and a common goal not because of how many beers they can drink, or how fast they can say the greek alphabet but because they genuinly believe that the 4 pillars of greek life, when done right, are the best leadership developmental and personal growth tool we have!
I think I can speak on behalf of myself, the BSC greeks here (who are all currently sitting next to me right now blogging away), as well for everyone at NGLA that we are sick of Greek Life Stereotypes and people who give us a bad name!
Step up and take ownership for your actions, and dont be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, becuase if you dont...who ever will?
On a closing note, Yes, I do miss my gf (Hi Katelyn :p ), I do miss BSC and my comfy bed, and of course I miss my brothers, but I am really enjoying myself here and I quite possibly may be on the verge of a life changing experience. We shall see what tomorow brings!
Stay Tuned...
Max
HOO-RAH
Second Day at NGLA! (It still rhymes...haha)
Hey, hey, hey!
Ready to hear about another exciting day at NGLA!? I know you are... that's why we have 15 followers on our blog and I am sure more will join the "I wish I was at NGLA" train.
So last night... Playfair = Good time. It could have been more.... ughh... I don't know what the word is... but I met a really great Gamma Phi (Caitlynn from Union), a couple of Delta Gamma's and some Tri Delts. We then ventured up to bed and discussed the day and after hysterically laughing with Aubree and Katelyn (in addition to taking pictures, please see my Facebook) we got to bed around 1 o'clock. Needless to say 6:30 came REALLY early. But none the less I awoke to Aubree asking in a very perky voice if we were ready to start the day.
Our day started at 6:30, we got our Starbucks... yummmm Vanilla Latte! We then went back up to the room and got ready for the day.. dress to badge and we were all looking FLY. We OBVIOUSLY arrived early for the Keynote speaker however I won't lie when I say I was sort of disappointed that it was RESPONSE ABILITY due to the fact that at our chapter retreat last semester we watched this video. The lecture was all about the By-Stander affect and how that affects our values, but like any human we have natural barriers. But it is always great to get the lecture with the video and it was a good start to the day with Mr. Dilbeck.
Today was a day focused to our values in our organizations and as a greek community. It was filled with 3 education sessions and 2 chapter meetings (by number, I was number 8- WOOT!). We also had an affliation lunch where I sat with 11 other lovely Gamma Phi's and also met some great Alpha Sigma Taus!
My first ed. sesh was with Andrea Mosby called "From Friends to Foreplay" and don't let the title mislead you because we definitely talked about "Friends with Benefits". Her entire session was dedicated to talking about how we view relationships, who you decide gets your "best friend" title and what it means to be committed. She has a theory that you have Friends, Foreplay then Friends Forever... I'm not sure how I feel about that statement... I don't foreplay with my friends but I am sure I have them as friends forever... anyone else find that weird? She also brought up a great point that everyone should be asking yourself, "Define friendship". What does it mean? What does it make your friend responsible for? If you need help with this she gave us an acroymn to help define your relationship "PIESS"... Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social and Spiritual. On what levels do you and your friend agree? disagree? She quoted Barry Moore at the end of her session and it was definitely something that stuck, "A person is old when regret takes the place of dreams". You're friends should be pushing you forward and supporting you... not holding you back.
I had the pleasure of sitting through a second ed. sesh with Lehigh University's Jessica Diehl and Brian Casey called the Group Auction: What your Chapter Bids on their Reputation Everyday. This was a lot more interactive and I went through the session with Lori from Gamma Phi Beta at Ruckers. We had a mock auction and we bidded on several items (all for play of course) including Emeril, a new Chapter house to our design, free tution and books for the entire chapter, a new wardrobe, $50,000 for your organization's national philanthropy, etc. My group ended up winning a minimum of 10 years of world peace and a maid to clean up after our parties/our houses... I'm not a particular advocate for maids because I think you can clean up after your piggy self. Regardless, we touched upon several topics about our values and one that stuck was a question posed to us... "Do you think it is fair that we are the first ones targeted on our campuses?" While most of the group responded with a no, we were then presented with the question, "Well... what are we pledging to, what are we making as our oath?" and we could agree that we were bettering ourselves and our communities and to be leaders. So if we want to be above the crowd and stand out amongst everyone else then wouldn't it be expected that we be targeted first? Aren't we setting the examples for our campus?
Session 3 was the most entertaining, it was a session on how to master stress as a greek leader. It was facilitated by Hajii Otto... say his name out loud... it makes you smile :) And his session was definitely something to smile about... I sat with a girl from a local sorority Omega Beta Nu... she was really cute, her name was Brin. Hajii taught us several destressing factors, got us moving in our seats and played "All the Single Ladies". Just remember these 5 steps, Stop, Breathe, 1-2-3-Drop, Relax, SMILE! I have 2 things for this session, 1) My new mantra (which I am borrowing from Hajii) is called Loving it! x3... you say it even if you are not because it makes you feel better. 2) "Make your Greek experience an investment, not a horror" -Hajii Otto.
Chapter meetings with group 8 were okay, we had a fairly deep discussion about our values and hazing and I can honestly say I was very proud at where Bridgewater State College Greeks stand. I feel that although we are not perfect we are growing and developing each day and am thankful that I had helpful advice from other organizations and was also able to provide advice.
After the long day we got a lovely dinner at a local Irish pub. I got a ceasar salad and some clam chowder and it was very delicious. Although it was REALLY loud in there. Sarah fed Norman again. :)
Dinner was followed by a trip to the Greek Boutique- which was closed- woops missed the memo on that one! So we just decided to grab our laptops and come blog.
Well, my dear friends I have had quite the day. It will be another fantastic day tomorrow and am looking forward to tomorrow... can't wait for tonight's Pajammy Jam... pics to follow on FB.
PEACE LOVE & GREEK LIFE
-Lexi
Ready to hear about another exciting day at NGLA!? I know you are... that's why we have 15 followers on our blog and I am sure more will join the "I wish I was at NGLA" train.
So last night... Playfair = Good time. It could have been more.... ughh... I don't know what the word is... but I met a really great Gamma Phi (Caitlynn from Union), a couple of Delta Gamma's and some Tri Delts. We then ventured up to bed and discussed the day and after hysterically laughing with Aubree and Katelyn (in addition to taking pictures, please see my Facebook) we got to bed around 1 o'clock. Needless to say 6:30 came REALLY early. But none the less I awoke to Aubree asking in a very perky voice if we were ready to start the day.
Our day started at 6:30, we got our Starbucks... yummmm Vanilla Latte! We then went back up to the room and got ready for the day.. dress to badge and we were all looking FLY. We OBVIOUSLY arrived early for the Keynote speaker however I won't lie when I say I was sort of disappointed that it was RESPONSE ABILITY due to the fact that at our chapter retreat last semester we watched this video. The lecture was all about the By-Stander affect and how that affects our values, but like any human we have natural barriers. But it is always great to get the lecture with the video and it was a good start to the day with Mr. Dilbeck.
Today was a day focused to our values in our organizations and as a greek community. It was filled with 3 education sessions and 2 chapter meetings (by number, I was number 8- WOOT!). We also had an affliation lunch where I sat with 11 other lovely Gamma Phi's and also met some great Alpha Sigma Taus!
My first ed. sesh was with Andrea Mosby called "From Friends to Foreplay" and don't let the title mislead you because we definitely talked about "Friends with Benefits". Her entire session was dedicated to talking about how we view relationships, who you decide gets your "best friend" title and what it means to be committed. She has a theory that you have Friends, Foreplay then Friends Forever... I'm not sure how I feel about that statement... I don't foreplay with my friends but I am sure I have them as friends forever... anyone else find that weird? She also brought up a great point that everyone should be asking yourself, "Define friendship". What does it mean? What does it make your friend responsible for? If you need help with this she gave us an acroymn to help define your relationship "PIESS"... Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social and Spiritual. On what levels do you and your friend agree? disagree? She quoted Barry Moore at the end of her session and it was definitely something that stuck, "A person is old when regret takes the place of dreams". You're friends should be pushing you forward and supporting you... not holding you back.
I had the pleasure of sitting through a second ed. sesh with Lehigh University's Jessica Diehl and Brian Casey called the Group Auction: What your Chapter Bids on their Reputation Everyday. This was a lot more interactive and I went through the session with Lori from Gamma Phi Beta at Ruckers. We had a mock auction and we bidded on several items (all for play of course) including Emeril, a new Chapter house to our design, free tution and books for the entire chapter, a new wardrobe, $50,000 for your organization's national philanthropy, etc. My group ended up winning a minimum of 10 years of world peace and a maid to clean up after our parties/our houses... I'm not a particular advocate for maids because I think you can clean up after your piggy self. Regardless, we touched upon several topics about our values and one that stuck was a question posed to us... "Do you think it is fair that we are the first ones targeted on our campuses?" While most of the group responded with a no, we were then presented with the question, "Well... what are we pledging to, what are we making as our oath?" and we could agree that we were bettering ourselves and our communities and to be leaders. So if we want to be above the crowd and stand out amongst everyone else then wouldn't it be expected that we be targeted first? Aren't we setting the examples for our campus?
Session 3 was the most entertaining, it was a session on how to master stress as a greek leader. It was facilitated by Hajii Otto... say his name out loud... it makes you smile :) And his session was definitely something to smile about... I sat with a girl from a local sorority Omega Beta Nu... she was really cute, her name was Brin. Hajii taught us several destressing factors, got us moving in our seats and played "All the Single Ladies". Just remember these 5 steps, Stop, Breathe, 1-2-3-Drop, Relax, SMILE! I have 2 things for this session, 1) My new mantra (which I am borrowing from Hajii) is called Loving it! x3... you say it even if you are not because it makes you feel better. 2) "Make your Greek experience an investment, not a horror" -Hajii Otto.
Chapter meetings with group 8 were okay, we had a fairly deep discussion about our values and hazing and I can honestly say I was very proud at where Bridgewater State College Greeks stand. I feel that although we are not perfect we are growing and developing each day and am thankful that I had helpful advice from other organizations and was also able to provide advice.
After the long day we got a lovely dinner at a local Irish pub. I got a ceasar salad and some clam chowder and it was very delicious. Although it was REALLY loud in there. Sarah fed Norman again. :)
Dinner was followed by a trip to the Greek Boutique- which was closed- woops missed the memo on that one! So we just decided to grab our laptops and come blog.
Well, my dear friends I have had quite the day. It will be another fantastic day tomorrow and am looking forward to tomorrow... can't wait for tonight's Pajammy Jam... pics to follow on FB.
PEACE LOVE & GREEK LIFE
-Lexi
Day 2 in the life of Katelyn A. Rapoza
hello friends. (:
Katelyn here, today I totally have something to blog about.
First order of business, playfair! it was fun at welcome week 2 years ago, it was fun at welcome week this past year and it was awesome last night. i've never been in the presence of so many greeks before it was awesome! I was brushing up on my greek alphabet by being a super creeper and looking at everyone's chest. hahaha. so many different organizations, it's awesome. there are about a million and 20 phi sigs it's crazyyyy! but sweet that we saw so many of them! We got to play the "sit on each other's lap" game and a few other weird games, a little weird but a good way to sart the conference. we got out of that early and headed back up to the rooms at around 1030. we all chatted for a bit, then I showered, i'll spare the steamy details. ;) before going to bed, it wouldn't have been right if we just went straight to sleep without being ridiculous, so lexi and I made fun of aubree and her extremely tired muscles from clapping. Then we decided to take an action jumping shot onto the bed. it looked a little something like this:
Katelyn here, today I totally have something to blog about.
First order of business, playfair! it was fun at welcome week 2 years ago, it was fun at welcome week this past year and it was awesome last night. i've never been in the presence of so many greeks before it was awesome! I was brushing up on my greek alphabet by being a super creeper and looking at everyone's chest. hahaha. so many different organizations, it's awesome. there are about a million and 20 phi sigs it's crazyyyy! but sweet that we saw so many of them! We got to play the "sit on each other's lap" game and a few other weird games, a little weird but a good way to sart the conference. we got out of that early and headed back up to the rooms at around 1030. we all chatted for a bit, then I showered, i'll spare the steamy details. ;) before going to bed, it wouldn't have been right if we just went straight to sleep without being ridiculous, so lexi and I made fun of aubree and her extremely tired muscles from clapping. Then we decided to take an action jumping shot onto the bed. it looked a little something like this:
we're so classy. ;) after picking our breakfast for the next day, like the romantic couple that we are, it was time to go to beddy-bye.
Now, onto today! 6:30 am came a little quicker than I had hoped but we got our butts out of bed and headed down to starbucks. I got a venti hot chocolate, with whipped cream, obvi and a croissant. we went back to the room and I enjoyed my cute little breakfast in bed. Then we all got ready to leave, today was a good hair day, toot toot. We left the room at 8:20 because us bears are always the first ones there!
We got to the ballroom a little earlier than we were supposed to so we just relaxed until we went in and sat in the very first row, totally casual. The speaker was Mike Dilbeck, he was really great, I was a little tired while listening but still, I was intrigued. It really made us think as to why we aren't doing more things in our organizations as bystanders.
After the speaker was our chapter meetings, I met a girl from Syracuse! and she totally knew Gamma Phi Beta originated there! Snaps to her. I also med a girl who knew what the rivalry was like with only have two organizations represented on campus and we were able to really talk about how it is sad. =(
After finishing the chapter meetings we went to the Affiliation Lunch, meeting Gamma Phi's from other places is so great! it's so nice to have a connection with someone without even really knowing them, not to mention throwing in a delicious lunch, just ask Maribeth. ;) We also took a big Gamma Phi Beta picture, see below:
Now, onto today! 6:30 am came a little quicker than I had hoped but we got our butts out of bed and headed down to starbucks. I got a venti hot chocolate, with whipped cream, obvi and a croissant. we went back to the room and I enjoyed my cute little breakfast in bed. Then we all got ready to leave, today was a good hair day, toot toot. We left the room at 8:20 because us bears are always the first ones there!
We got to the ballroom a little earlier than we were supposed to so we just relaxed until we went in and sat in the very first row, totally casual. The speaker was Mike Dilbeck, he was really great, I was a little tired while listening but still, I was intrigued. It really made us think as to why we aren't doing more things in our organizations as bystanders.
After the speaker was our chapter meetings, I met a girl from Syracuse! and she totally knew Gamma Phi Beta originated there! Snaps to her. I also med a girl who knew what the rivalry was like with only have two organizations represented on campus and we were able to really talk about how it is sad. =(
After finishing the chapter meetings we went to the Affiliation Lunch, meeting Gamma Phi's from other places is so great! it's so nice to have a connection with someone without even really knowing them, not to mention throwing in a delicious lunch, just ask Maribeth. ;) We also took a big Gamma Phi Beta picture, see below:
After lunch we went to our first ed session! yay! I love ed sessions! my first one was great! it was called "SNAFU: Greeks and Grades." It was a great session to show how we need to realize that people view us differently than we view ourselves. one of the quotes from the presenter was "What you do in college is setting the banquet table for the feast or famine of the rest of your life." I thought it was a great quote because he explained how being greek is going to give you a great layout for how to continue your life, I agree Mark Hartley I agree. =) He also talked about a special program we can layout for our organizations to improve our GPA's...hmmmm...
The Next Ed session was a session about membership. Me and Aubree met girls from Rider University who were very nice. We all went through a list of PNMs and decided which one's we would take for what reasons. It was very interesting to see who values what in new members. It was a good session but didn't make me want to jump for joy, that's all i'm sayin'.
My last session was SO great. It was about rituals. Did anyone know that only 7% of alumni actively participate, 7% that's crazy pants! and it needs to change I think! but the point of the session was to discuss how rituals in our organization effect our lives, during and after our undergraduate time. We also made a list of everything that we sacrificed for our organization and everything we get out of it. It was weird to see what we sacrificed but the way the presenter was explaining it, it truly reminded me why I love greek life so much and why I call Gamma Phi Beta home. It was a great session and I hope my crazy notes can be translated by everyone else. Another thing the presenter said was that when we became initiated we vowed to judged at a higher caliber than the rest, and I highly believe that, The 6 of us, 7 counting MB(obvi) are some of the best of the best to ever come through Bridgewater State College, we should WANT to be judged highly. (that sounds so strange I apologize.)
after our ed sessions we went back to the rooms to get read for dinner. we went to an irish pub place, the waitress asked twice if we were drinking...TWICE. and there were several remarks made to us regarding us drinking and the letters on our shirts, grow up people! jeeshe. BUT i got a delicious sandwich and we all vented about current issues within the BSC greek life perimeters and we all left the pub feeling completely satisfied.
Sarah, Lexi, Aubree, Jess and I tried to go to the greek boutique but the little buggers closed shop early, so you bet we will be marching our butts up there in the morning to order some fun things. (= including this sweatshirt I just saw on some girl, can't wait to spend the money that I probably shouldn't be spending haha. After a little disappointment we chilled in the bathroom on the couches and then visited the pool. so pretty. :)
After the pool visit, we headed back to the room, grabbed our lap tops and here I am talking into a screen, while everyone is waiting for me, ahaha, oh well, I'm in a bloggy mood.
tata for now!
peace, love, greek life.
-Katelyn
The Next Ed session was a session about membership. Me and Aubree met girls from Rider University who were very nice. We all went through a list of PNMs and decided which one's we would take for what reasons. It was very interesting to see who values what in new members. It was a good session but didn't make me want to jump for joy, that's all i'm sayin'.
My last session was SO great. It was about rituals. Did anyone know that only 7% of alumni actively participate, 7% that's crazy pants! and it needs to change I think! but the point of the session was to discuss how rituals in our organization effect our lives, during and after our undergraduate time. We also made a list of everything that we sacrificed for our organization and everything we get out of it. It was weird to see what we sacrificed but the way the presenter was explaining it, it truly reminded me why I love greek life so much and why I call Gamma Phi Beta home. It was a great session and I hope my crazy notes can be translated by everyone else. Another thing the presenter said was that when we became initiated we vowed to judged at a higher caliber than the rest, and I highly believe that, The 6 of us, 7 counting MB(obvi) are some of the best of the best to ever come through Bridgewater State College, we should WANT to be judged highly. (that sounds so strange I apologize.)
after our ed sessions we went back to the rooms to get read for dinner. we went to an irish pub place, the waitress asked twice if we were drinking...TWICE. and there were several remarks made to us regarding us drinking and the letters on our shirts, grow up people! jeeshe. BUT i got a delicious sandwich and we all vented about current issues within the BSC greek life perimeters and we all left the pub feeling completely satisfied.
Sarah, Lexi, Aubree, Jess and I tried to go to the greek boutique but the little buggers closed shop early, so you bet we will be marching our butts up there in the morning to order some fun things. (= including this sweatshirt I just saw on some girl, can't wait to spend the money that I probably shouldn't be spending haha. After a little disappointment we chilled in the bathroom on the couches and then visited the pool. so pretty. :)
After the pool visit, we headed back to the room, grabbed our lap tops and here I am talking into a screen, while everyone is waiting for me, ahaha, oh well, I'm in a bloggy mood.
tata for now!
peace, love, greek life.
-Katelyn
No Matter the Letters We're all Greek Together!
Hello Friends!
Today has been nothing but fun!!! I am enjoying myself so much at NGLA and I am honestly so grateful to be here!
Today I woke up at 7:30 (I honestly don't remember the last time I saw the world that early). I'm totally pumped that I showered last night because that would NOT have happened this morning. Today we had to dress up in pin attire and I looked darn good if I do say so myself :) (just in case anyone was wondering). My room was not the group who woke up at the crack of dawn to eat breakfast so we snagged some of our healthy treats from the room to fill our bellies for the morning.
We started of the day today with Response Ability with Mike Dilbeck. The main purpose of this was to tackle the "tough subjects" and the bystander effect. This was a GREAT presentation. I would love to see him at BSC because the topics he covered are so important and influential. He talked about how it is so much easier to be the person who stands on the sideline and watches the negative actions take place but never speak up about them to make a change. Even though these people may know these actions are not appropriate they are just as bad because they do not take a stand. The bystander effect was our theme for the day.
The next session we did was a "chapter meeting" where we met with a group of people from assorted organizations and tackled the important topics that Mike Dilbeck spoke about previously. This was a major eye-opener for me. It was at this point that I saw the people who are on the same page as me and my other bears and "GET IT" as MB would say and then there were the ones who just haven't seen the bigger picture yet. My favorite part of this session was one brother who wants to take a stand in his chapter against the hazing and negative things that have been occurring but continues to get shutdown by his brothers who don't see their problems. He reached out to myself and the other Greeks in this chapter meeting for help and guidance for his chapter. This really pulled on my heart strings and I just wanted to help him and his chapter. I am so happy that we were able to offer advice and hopefully he will be able to make the change he wants to when he returns totally empowered. What advice would you give to my new friend? It was totally AWESOME to hear people talk so openly about these topics that are generally hush hush so openly and be able to pinpoint where we can make changes in our assorted organizations.
We had an affiliation lunch where we got to sit with people from our organizations. Seeing that Phi Pi Delta is a local organization I was able to sit with some friends from other local organizations. This was GREAT! It was so much fun to hear about how their chapters were run and be around people who are fighting the same fight as me and my organization. They also struggle with having large numbers in their chapters. The largest organization at my table has 20 members (Phi Pi we're half way there!!!) It was also nice to see how they work their Rush Events, New Member process and even Chapter Meetings. I am so happy I made some friends and I can't wait to make so IFC friends tomorrow!!!
The first educational session I attended was called Living Your Values. I really enjoyed this session too. We talked about the difference between a ritual and a tradition which relates very well to what my chapter has been going through. As a local chapter we do not have the guidelines that national chapters have to follow so we are working really hard to take large steps to make the changed that will make our chapter the best it can be. It was nice to talk to other fraternities and sororities and hear the values they were founded upon and compare and contrast how similar they are to ours. We also talked about how we can hold our members responsible for living out the values in our daily lives, whether it be in large or small ways. I also learned that other organizations have a creed and a motto which is something Phi Pi Delta doesn't. I am hoping that I can bring this idea to my chapter and maybe we can make one for our chapter.
The second educational session I attended was called Re-evaluating Your Traditions. This was another PERFECT session for Phi Pi Delta. I can't wait to share with my chapter all the fun things I learned about evaluating traditions and the growth of your chapter. The main idea of this session was to look evaluate your personal values, the values of the other members, and the values of the chapter and make sure EVERYTHING your organizations does can apply to those values. They also stressed that although change can be a hard thing when it comes to tradition positive change can be some of the best things that happen to a chapter. We touched upon different program ideas that can be themed around some of our values. Are there any programs that you would like Greek Life to put on? What value would you like to see more on the BSC campus?
The last educational session I attended today was called 36 Ways to Detect Hazing. This one was AMAZING. Dave Westol was the presenter and he was an absolute DOLL!!!! He was so interesting and touched upon so many interesting topics in regards to hazing I don't even know where to start. He had an awesome hand out with tons of different examples of hazing and some witty comments to say to those who think hazing is necessary. He had so many stories about things he has seen different chapters do. He kept my attention for the full hour and I would love to talk to him and be his BFF because he is just that cool!!
After that we went back to our "chapter meetings" to talk about all the different sessions we went to today. I was cool to hear about the different sessions I was not able to go to. It made me wish that everyone blogged here so I could read about all of the sessions.
The wicked cool bears went out to dinner tonight where I fed Norman some yummy clam chowder and macaroni and cheese. It was so much fun to go out to dinner with some fellow leaders and share our stories from the conference as well as from our own chapters and councils. It really helps a lot to hear how other chapters do things because it gives me some great ideas to bring back to my chapter and help us through out transformation!
We tried to venture to the Greek Boutique to buy some awesome Greek stuff only to find that it was closed. Instead we had a photo shoot on the was back to the room which was so much fun!! Check facebook for our awesome modeling!!! :)
Can't wait for our Pajama Jammy Jam tonight!!!! :)
TTFN ♥
Delta Love,
Sarah
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