my time with the greeks
Last week I started off my summer at UIFI, the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute led by the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values. This was a 4 day institute that had representation from universities, councils, and chapters from all over the country. This experience was a huge blessing to me, and I cannot wait to better serve our chapter and panhellenic community from what I have learned! Here’s just a small glimpse:
This conference taught me that leadership is not management. We dug deep into making leadership a group process, team trust, and vulnerability. I got to hear about how my peers did this in their chapters ranging anywhere from 20 to 150 men or women and share how we do this in a chapter as big as ours. We walked through major leadership styles and read some thought-provoking quotes and passages. One of my favorites is from Mother Teresa: “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”
We also talked about going beyond doing our ritual and learning how to be it. This was a very special part of the conference where we all shared why we joined Fraternity and Sorority Life and our chapters specifically. Out of everyone at the conference, there was only one other Chi Omega there - Anna from UNC at Wilmington. Anna and I stood together and told everyone about our symphony. We talked about how special it is to us as individuals and our chapters. Anna was an immediate friend + sister at this conference and sharing our symphony with others made us both love and appreciate Chi Omega even more.
Meeting students from schools I had never heard of and in sororities and fraternities we do not have was so beneficial to realize that everyone’s greek experience is different. I love how easy it was for us all to connect, to grow from each other, and to see that although we have extremely different atmospheres or circumstances, we have more in common than we think. We all were founded to make positive, everlasting change and to foster lifelong brother or sisterhood. That is what we did at UIFI, and that is what we’ll do when we return to our campuses in the fall.
Above all else, I am so thankful that I got this opportunity from Chi Omega National Headquarters. I so evidently learned this past week that Chi Omega has given us an abundance of resources to succeed not only in our individual chapters and universities, but everywhere else as well!! We at Phi Delta are blessed to inherit a chapter filled with legacy, relevance, and wisdom. We are sitting in the shade under a tree that was planted far before we even imagined, and we are still working to keep it all alive and growing.
I am so thankful for every opportunity Chi Omega has given me. From my bid day buddy showing me how to navigate my class schedule to going on my very first plane ride to an Institute in Indiana, our chapter has taught me SO much. I’m beyond excited to get back in the fall and tell both my Phi Delta chapter and Mississippi State Panhellenic all about my special adventure and everything I learned.
