Thursday, February 25, 2016
Day 1 of NGLA 2016
Day 1 is done! I am so excited to be here with my fellow Bears and to experience this amazing leadership opportunity. After getting some insight into the weekend, including choosing sessions and listening to our very animated opening night speaker, I am beyond ecstatic to get started! Getting to look through the list of the sessions for the weekend was a highlight for me today (besides seeing a dog in a restaurant). I love having the opportunity to learn about how to improve our chapters, but even more so on how to improve the community as a whole. I am super excited about this because the Panhel sessions they are offering this year will give me the opportunity to gain the information to do so. Being a member of the Panhellenic community and E-board is one of the things I am most proud of in my Greek affiliation, and my goal is to be able to discover new ideas through this conference which could help challenge the Panhellenic community and make it grow even more as one strong, cohesive unit. With all of that said, most of my sessions are NPC based (YAY!). I look forward to my session tomorrow on Circle of Sisterhood, our newly established philanthropy, in hopes that I can learn ways to raise as much money and awareness and help it grow on the BSU campus. This philanthropy is aimed at helping more young women receive and education and have the same opportunities that we all have, and I want to be able to help anyone at all have the chance that I did to receive an education and even become a sorority women. I'm hoping the session will provide me with some new ideas on how to effectively launch the philanthropy on our campus and how to get others to support it. I am also looking forward to my session tomorrow on Redefining Sisterhood, because we are bringing it to campus in just a few short weeks! I am hoping that experiencing this session before it comes to campus will help me better understand my own definition of sisterhood first and how I can improve my own experiences, and then experiencing it again on campus I can help more effectively identify how we can improve the sisterhood experience at BSU. I feel like this is an extremely important session to attend because sisterhood and how we view it is a major aspect of being in a sorority. Being able to identify what sisterhood means to us at BSU can help us improve our experience as sorority women and the bonds between not only members of our chapters but the entire Panhellenic community. I am eager to get started tomorrow with my Starbucks in hand (there is one right around the corner: BLESSED) and can't wait to gain some awesome new info to share with everyone at home!
Day One: Bears on a Plane
Today, we were all up long before we normally were. We all got on a bus, to get on a plane, to take a shuttle, to get to a hotel, to go to a conference in PA. Now, I know, that sound like it should be a lame day. But fear not, a dozen BSU Greeks are never dull.
Our lovely driver picked us up at the crack of dawn, and made that fastest trip to Logan I have ever been a part of. MB was waiting for us with our boarding passes; we were all very quickly on a plane after that. Once on the plane, I realized it is a bad idea to nap and hold an ice coffee. The flight was short and went just fine, though I'm sure the rest of the passengers were concerned when us, and other groups of loud college students got on the plane.
Finally we land in Pittsburgh.Then we get to meet the shuttle driver, who was definitely not our favorite part of the day since he nearly killed us as soon as he started driving, and then tried to insult our generation as a whole. But really, who actually knows that the city in the world with the second highest number of bridges is Venice??
Fast forward through the check in, the free time (aka nap time), lunch and dinner, taking pictures in a security camera, and seeing what sessions would be offered. Time for the first session of the weekend. The big event. The thing that sets the whole tone of the weekend. It was great! This guy was wonderful. He was goofy, and loud, and funny, but he still had a clear point that he get across. And his rapping was pretty cool too.
Today is a short blog, it was a day that was not heavy with things to do. the biggest thing we did toady was wake up at 5AM and have to decide what to eat for dinner. Once sessions start tomorrow, entries will be filled with more things. I am looking forward to the sessions tomorrow since some o them are specifically related to local organizations, so I hope they are helpful to Phi Pi Delta.
Day #1 = Success
Our lovely driver picked us up at the crack of dawn, and made that fastest trip to Logan I have ever been a part of. MB was waiting for us with our boarding passes; we were all very quickly on a plane after that. Once on the plane, I realized it is a bad idea to nap and hold an ice coffee. The flight was short and went just fine, though I'm sure the rest of the passengers were concerned when us, and other groups of loud college students got on the plane.
Finally we land in Pittsburgh.Then we get to meet the shuttle driver, who was definitely not our favorite part of the day since he nearly killed us as soon as he started driving, and then tried to insult our generation as a whole. But really, who actually knows that the city in the world with the second highest number of bridges is Venice??
Fast forward through the check in, the free time (aka nap time), lunch and dinner, taking pictures in a security camera, and seeing what sessions would be offered. Time for the first session of the weekend. The big event. The thing that sets the whole tone of the weekend. It was great! This guy was wonderful. He was goofy, and loud, and funny, but he still had a clear point that he get across. And his rapping was pretty cool too.
Today is a short blog, it was a day that was not heavy with things to do. the biggest thing we did toady was wake up at 5AM and have to decide what to eat for dinner. Once sessions start tomorrow, entries will be filled with more things. I am looking forward to the sessions tomorrow since some o them are specifically related to local organizations, so I hope they are helpful to Phi Pi Delta.
Day #1 = Success
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
It's your turn!
Now having learned so much information at NGLA, we are all super excited to bring it back. I cannot believe the amount of information I learned that will help benefit both my chapter and my Greek community. Of course everyone that attended intends to change the world, but we will only be able to do so much on our campus! Do you see yourself being a good leader in the Greek community? Are you looking to help us move forward, and be the best versions of ourselves that we can be? Not only do we need to be focusing on our campus, but do you think you'll be able to reach out to other schools and offer your support in helping them as well? If so, it's YOU that should be considering going to NGLA next year. I cannot speak highly enough of this opportunity, and how much I have learned while bonding with my fellow bears on this trip. I know that together we can make a difference, but we'll need you to help us keep moving forward. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to absolutely anyone that went on this trip including Maribeth! :) Great bears go Greek, and great Greek help us get better!
Final Reflection
Overall, I would say I had a blast at NGLA. I was more than honored to be chosen to go and already have so many new ideas on how to apply what I learned to our campus. I am hoping to stay on Panhellenic eboard and will definitely try to implement some of these ideas in order to improve our campus as well as Greek life.
I would highly suggest to anyone to take the opportunity to go. I learned so many things from how to recruit better, how to apply you leadership on a resume, how to prevent sexual assault on campus, what is going on with the National Panhellenic Conference, how to be a better eboard officer, and so much more. Meeting with other Greek communities and learning what their doing was very helpful especially when we such a rapidly growing Greek community. It was insane to learn some campuses' Greek life is so huge. One person said they had 1300 girls come out for this past recruitment and yet Molly and I were ecstatic about having 100 girls register for ours.
Not only was it helpful to learn how to better our campus, but the memories I made with the delegates I went with were priceless. We stayed up late talking about life, bonding over the embarrassing pictures we took of each other and ordering domino's 20 minutes before it closes. I became so much closer to people in Greek life who I don't necessarily talk to that often and even some people in my own organization. These are memories and lessons that you can't always have within your own campus. Go outside your comfort zone and take the opportunity to be a better leader. NGLA was an experience I will never forget!
I would highly suggest to anyone to take the opportunity to go. I learned so many things from how to recruit better, how to apply you leadership on a resume, how to prevent sexual assault on campus, what is going on with the National Panhellenic Conference, how to be a better eboard officer, and so much more. Meeting with other Greek communities and learning what their doing was very helpful especially when we such a rapidly growing Greek community. It was insane to learn some campuses' Greek life is so huge. One person said they had 1300 girls come out for this past recruitment and yet Molly and I were ecstatic about having 100 girls register for ours.
Not only was it helpful to learn how to better our campus, but the memories I made with the delegates I went with were priceless. We stayed up late talking about life, bonding over the embarrassing pictures we took of each other and ordering domino's 20 minutes before it closes. I became so much closer to people in Greek life who I don't necessarily talk to that often and even some people in my own organization. These are memories and lessons that you can't always have within your own campus. Go outside your comfort zone and take the opportunity to be a better leader. NGLA was an experience I will never forget!
Final Day (sorry its late, oops!)
The last day of the conference was really eye opening. I went to a lot of sessions that I enjoyed. The first one was another Panhellenic focused one where we learned about the updates going on in the NPC world. I learned how important it is to the NPC to keep women and men separate when it comes to governing boards and keeping IFC and Panhellenic separate. I was also told about some judicial changes that were made which was interesting to learn about, especially since they will definitely affect me throughout my Panhellenic career in the near future.
The second session I went to was by the far most helpful. It was all about how to highlight your Greek leadership on a resume. The professor really capitalized on a lot of good points that I never would have thought about. I think its really important to understand how to appropriately utilize the leadership experiences we all have through Greek life. We have such unique opportunities as Greek leaders that can potentially be helpful and set us a part from the rest of candidates when it comes to landing a job and it would be a shame to not be able to properly use it for that reason. I emailed the professor asking him to send me the PowerPoint so I can share it with my chapter because it was very, very helpful information.
I joined Emma, our current Panhellenic President, and our Greek Adviser, Maribeth to meet with our area adviser. Ours was not present at the conference so we sat in with a different one but was able to share things going our in our Panhellenic community at BSU. We helped other chapters with some of the issues they are having by telling them things that have been working for us, such as the Murder Mystery Party that was held a few weeks ago.
The final session was very serious but I did enjoy it. Two women shared their stories about their experience with sexual assault. One girl was kidnapped by a stranger during high school and another was attacked on campus by someone she went to school with. What I found intriguing about the conversation, was that neither of these women were Greek when this happened. The one who was attacked in high school was never Greek. The one who was attacked on campus, joined Greek life 3 weeks after her attack. She said she never felt more safe anywhere other than a Fraternity house. This just further proved to me what we've been trying to show people: that Greek life is not the problem when it comes to sexual assaults. Yes, it happens within Greek life on some occasions but people are always so quick to judge when it comes to this topic and Greek life. Just because we are Greek does not mean we fall into the stereotypes of being alcoholic, crazy party-goers who drug girls and take advantage of them and haze their new members. We are some of the most distinguished leaders on campus who take our academics and reputation very seriously. We joined a sorority or fraternity to better ourselves and our community and surround ourselves with people who value the same things that we do. Greek life is not the problem, however we are trying to become a part of the solution.
The second session I went to was by the far most helpful. It was all about how to highlight your Greek leadership on a resume. The professor really capitalized on a lot of good points that I never would have thought about. I think its really important to understand how to appropriately utilize the leadership experiences we all have through Greek life. We have such unique opportunities as Greek leaders that can potentially be helpful and set us a part from the rest of candidates when it comes to landing a job and it would be a shame to not be able to properly use it for that reason. I emailed the professor asking him to send me the PowerPoint so I can share it with my chapter because it was very, very helpful information.
I joined Emma, our current Panhellenic President, and our Greek Adviser, Maribeth to meet with our area adviser. Ours was not present at the conference so we sat in with a different one but was able to share things going our in our Panhellenic community at BSU. We helped other chapters with some of the issues they are having by telling them things that have been working for us, such as the Murder Mystery Party that was held a few weeks ago.
The final session was very serious but I did enjoy it. Two women shared their stories about their experience with sexual assault. One girl was kidnapped by a stranger during high school and another was attacked on campus by someone she went to school with. What I found intriguing about the conversation, was that neither of these women were Greek when this happened. The one who was attacked in high school was never Greek. The one who was attacked on campus, joined Greek life 3 weeks after her attack. She said she never felt more safe anywhere other than a Fraternity house. This just further proved to me what we've been trying to show people: that Greek life is not the problem when it comes to sexual assaults. Yes, it happens within Greek life on some occasions but people are always so quick to judge when it comes to this topic and Greek life. Just because we are Greek does not mean we fall into the stereotypes of being alcoholic, crazy party-goers who drug girls and take advantage of them and haze their new members. We are some of the most distinguished leaders on campus who take our academics and reputation very seriously. We joined a sorority or fraternity to better ourselves and our community and surround ourselves with people who value the same things that we do. Greek life is not the problem, however we are trying to become a part of the solution.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Final Reflection
Now that I’ve gotten back to Weygand and taken a much needed
nap, I’ve had time to reflect on NGLA. And although I’m still recovering from
the long days and early mornings, I’m grateful that I got to experience this
wonderful opportunity. Before this conference, I was honestly a little
concerned that I wouldn’t belong among all the other student leaders. After
all, I’ve been taught since grade school student government elections that
leaders are the people who jump up on stage and give long, inspirational
speeches. They’re the people who talk to everyone, know everyone, and while
that’s certainly a valuable skill (which I sometimes wish I had) that’s not who
I am. But at NGLA, what I learned above everything is that leadership isn’t all
about going over to the student sitting alone at lunch, striking up a
conversation and changing their lives. There are so many more ways to lead, and
being at NGLA validated that for me.
At the end of the day, I love my organization and will do
whatever I can to move it forward, to make it even better. NGLA gave me so many
new tools to make that happen, whether that’s something I can do myself or
something I can teach to my brothers who can build on it and carry it into the
future of our fraternity. For those in my chapter who also applied this year,
please, please apply again next year, the year after, every year that you are
eligible. You all have so much leadership potential and this is such a
fantastic opportunity to bring that out.
Thank you so much to MB and everyone else who made this
opportunity possible for me.
Reflection
I can't believe how much I have learned from NGLA, not only about leadership but also about myself. I learned that in order to be a great leader it is important to experience, reflect, evaluate, and then act. I've experienced and now is the time to reflect. The variety of knowledge available to student leaders at NGLA is incredible. All of the speakers have experienced success, sadness, disappointment, and dedication; it's wonderful how a large part of their life's work is communicating their stories to students, their only wish being that they educate students who act upon it. For those who say it's not easy to be Greek because of all the stereotypes and judgements, think again. We have an amazing support system from our Greek communities, our advisors (s/o to MB, you the real MVP), to people at headquarters. All of these people are apart of this to watch you and each other succeed. Going Greek has been one of the best decisions I've made and attending NGLA has supported this idea. I have been offered an amazing amount of opportunities to better myself and my community, words can't express how thankful I am (but they can try). The dedication I have seen from my fellow leaders was absolutely inspiring. I really wish that everyone could experience NGLA because there is so much invaluable knowledge there. My hope now that I'm back is to spread this knowledge. I'm very lucky to be part of such an exemplary Greek community and I can't wait for all of us who went to educate our peers on how to be the best we can be.
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