Friday February 20th, 2009
Values Institute Speaker
The first informative event for the conference was a speaker addressing the concept of leadership. She stressed the importance of the whole and leading by example. There was one thing she said that hit a chord with me, she said “A leader is not necessarily a person who holds some formal position of leadership or who is able to affect positive change for the betterment of others, the community, and society. All people, in other words, are potential leaders.” This statement pretty much summed up what the whole day was about; being a true leader by initiating change and setting a positive example.
Values Institute Small Group Work
The small group work that followed the speaker was kind of dry and we often broke into partners and small groups which was more of an ice breaking situation than talking about leadership. One concept they addressed was the idea of ‘servant leadership’ and there is a long, drawn out definition about what it is in the booklet I got the day before but to sum it up briefly: Servant leaders may or may not have official positions of power and choose to lead through their actions and influencing others to be leaders within the community by being a leader. The rest of the day consisted of identifying the traits of a true leaders and how to inspire others to be leaders with your own organization.
Saturday February 21st, 2009
Hazing on Trial – Opening Speaker
The speaker for this day was a highly influential individual who commanded respect with just his presence. He was a ‘no nonsense’ man who connected with all the people in the audience, especially the fraternity members. I pulled a few quotes from his presentation which I found most though provoking. The first quote flashed up on the running slideshow behind him, it said “Take the courage within you and confront the forces that will otherwise destroy your chapter.” As I was thinking about that quote I found myself being increasingly drawn into his speech. I started actually feeling the need to change things, to stand up and say something when I got back to campus, to take that first step. The next quote that stuck in my mind was “Example is not the best form of leadership, it is the only way.” Not only did it reinforce the purpose of yesterday’s speaker and small group discussion but it just made sense. The only way to lead effectively is to portray yourself in the way you want others to act. Leading by example plays a vital role in a true leader. The last quote that summed up the end of his discussion was “you don’t earn your badge once, you earn it every day.” Thinking like that would help a lot of members within organizations find the right path. Every single day you represent your organization from the first day you receive your bid till the day you die, unless you are disaffiliated of course. Membership in Greek organizations is for a lifetime and everyday someone will look at you and associate you with Greek organizations if not, more specifically, your individual chapter. Act as if your letters were tattooed to your forehead because they might as well be in some sense.
Workshops
The first workshop I went to was entitled ‘Hypnotic Charismatic Communication for Recruitment and Leadership’. This presentation was my first one of the day after the speaker and it was a lot of fun. We moved around a lot and we were practicing the good components of communication such as eye contact, body language, and how to approach a conversation. It was a great time and I even got the chance to but on a sari and a lei and dance where the moves were reinforcing what we should keep in mind. I absolutely loved it!
The second workshop was entitled “Growing a Viable Panhellenic Community through NPC Extension”. This was a highly informative section all about the step to take to pursue adding other organizations on campus and also provided tips and tricks for success. Julie Johnson, the Chairman of the Extension Committee ran the discussion and to sum it up went through step by step describing as much as possible, with the time allotted, and answering any and all questions. I went up to her and asked her about extension with a limited amount of statistics, and she basically said that if the population was growing rapidly, then we should not let the statistics hold us back.
The third workshop was called “Setting Up Success: Best Practices for College Panhellenic Councils”. This session was mostly about informing us about the NPC website and letting us know what resources were available for us on it. We also briefly described how to set up a short term goals to help the success of the organization and to get as much out of your position as possible. MB came with me to this session and we came up with two goals: Effective officer transition materials, and compiling statistics for extension.
After the third workshop Maribeth and I attended the NPC Area Update which is pretty self explanatory. They discussed the changes and updates within our region and they also talked a lot about the new website. One thing they suggested for the betterment of recruitment was to have ‘exit interviews’ where we ask women who decide not to go through with a new member process and collects information as to why they decided not to. Very interesting and I’ll be looking into having that in place for the next recruitment chair for the college NPC.
The fourth workshop, entitled “Where Can We Find Prospective Members”, was focused around a book that was given to the Advisors upon arrival called ‘I Heart Recruitment’. They suggested many creative ways to recruit as well as the most effective ways to recruit. One thing that stuck in my mind was this point: “’We’re about quality not quantity’ – this is said by sororities who are not performing well during recruitment; larger number of women = larger number of joiners”. Effective recruitment involves all members being on the same page and advertising what they want to be known for whether it is GPA/ academic excellence or community service.
The last session I went to was called “Everyone in My Chapter Hates Everyone Else”. This was a pretty straight forward presentation where a former chapter president shared his personal story of trial and tribulation. He identified what can go wrong with a chapter and then discussed the ways one can address those issues. The information was pretty basic and I wish he went more in depth and addressed the chapters who do not have a lot of money in the budget for a full out weekend retreat in the back woods of Maine.
Overall, I am very happy that I had the opportunity to go and am very grateful that I was chosen by my peers to represent BSC along with 2 other phenomenal people. Not only did I receive a lot of useful information, I also met other leaders that I could connect with that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. Thank you to all those that made this amazing experience possible for me!
~Melani Gerenia
Phi Sigma Sigma
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
3 Students, 1 Great Conference!
Northeast Greek Leadership Association
Hartford, CT - 2009
Being chosen to go to NGLA, was both exciting and nerve racking--this was the first time that our school was attending in quite a few years. But as soon as we arrived, I knew it was going to be a great experience. During the first night at Playfair, I realized that there are so many more organizations out there than just the ones that we have on campus but we are all connected by our passion and love for Greek life.
On the second day, the first speaker, Lori Hart Ebert, really set the tone for the whole day. She got me to realize that a leader doesn’t have to hold a position. A leader is just someone who is able to “affect positive change for the betterment of others, the community and society. All people, in other words, are potential leaders.” If all the members of our organizations believed in this, each chapter would be able to strive and continue to grow to be the best it can be. Lori also stressed the importance of our core values. We all joined an organization, not just because we liked the people, but because we believe in the values that those organizations upheld. She wants us to go back to our chapters and pick out those few members that are just on the roster and tell them they stink and hope that it puts a fire under their butt to either get more involved, or get out.
The rest of the day we spent time talking about the core values of all organizations—scholarship, service, and leadership. I was able to listen to what other organizations around the northeast do with their organizations, which gave me ideas to bring back to Bridgewater in hopes of making our chapters better and stronger. During this time we got to know the people in our break out groups and discuss the successes of our organizations. I turned the girl next to me and sure enough, not only was she in Gamma Phi Beta at Colgate, but she was Ashley Kirby’s cousin. That was something that meant so much to me. It made me aware of the fact that we are all more connected to each other than we think.
The last day was the one that impacted me the most. The speaker that morning, Dave Westol, told a chilling and eye opening story about the hazing that he had to endure when he pledged. He now goes around to different schools and puts “Hazing on Trial.” Whether you had to endure hazing or not when you new membered your organization, his speech really hit home for everyone in that room. We were all silent and his words made us angry. We never wanted anyone ever to go through an experience like that ever again.
We then proceeded to go to different seminars for the rest of the day. Each seminar was one that I felt our Greek life, and more importantly my chapter, would be able to gain knowledge from. I first learned how to bring a sense of class back to all our sorority women. I then learned all about transitions and how important it is to do them correctly and efficiently. After that was one about people who sometimes hated their chapter, because let’s be honest, we all have had that time when we felt that way.
After the third seminar, I went to another speaker—Dave Stollman. He was by far the best part of the day. He spoke of his experience in Greek life and taught about how you are wearing your letters at all times, whether they are worn on your clothing or not. When you stood there and got initiated, you were promising to uphold the values of your organization at all times. And if those values are not where your heart lies, then get out! We do not want people in our organizations if your heart is not really there. So hopefully, Dave will be coming to Bridgewater to impact all the organizations.
I then attended a heartfelt and eye opening seminar about drinking and driving. I know that by me retelling the story it will not have the same effect, but I hope I can at least change the lives of a few people. His presentation about how he killed his 3 best friends is one I will carry with me forever and made me never want to drink again.
Overall NGLA was one of the best experiences of my life. I got the chance to not only meet many Gamma Phi Betas, but I was also able to make lifelong friendships with students from all over the northeast from different organizations. Every seminar that I went to enabled me to acquire different tactics and ideas to bring back to my chapter in hopes of changing for the better. My only hope is that our organizations accept the ideas that all three of us are bringing back. I know that whoever goes to this conference in the future will have an amazing time.
~Janelle Howard
Gamma Phi Beta
Hartford, CT - 2009
Being chosen to go to NGLA, was both exciting and nerve racking--this was the first time that our school was attending in quite a few years. But as soon as we arrived, I knew it was going to be a great experience. During the first night at Playfair, I realized that there are so many more organizations out there than just the ones that we have on campus but we are all connected by our passion and love for Greek life.
On the second day, the first speaker, Lori Hart Ebert, really set the tone for the whole day. She got me to realize that a leader doesn’t have to hold a position. A leader is just someone who is able to “affect positive change for the betterment of others, the community and society. All people, in other words, are potential leaders.” If all the members of our organizations believed in this, each chapter would be able to strive and continue to grow to be the best it can be. Lori also stressed the importance of our core values. We all joined an organization, not just because we liked the people, but because we believe in the values that those organizations upheld. She wants us to go back to our chapters and pick out those few members that are just on the roster and tell them they stink and hope that it puts a fire under their butt to either get more involved, or get out.
The rest of the day we spent time talking about the core values of all organizations—scholarship, service, and leadership. I was able to listen to what other organizations around the northeast do with their organizations, which gave me ideas to bring back to Bridgewater in hopes of making our chapters better and stronger. During this time we got to know the people in our break out groups and discuss the successes of our organizations. I turned the girl next to me and sure enough, not only was she in Gamma Phi Beta at Colgate, but she was Ashley Kirby’s cousin. That was something that meant so much to me. It made me aware of the fact that we are all more connected to each other than we think.
The last day was the one that impacted me the most. The speaker that morning, Dave Westol, told a chilling and eye opening story about the hazing that he had to endure when he pledged. He now goes around to different schools and puts “Hazing on Trial.” Whether you had to endure hazing or not when you new membered your organization, his speech really hit home for everyone in that room. We were all silent and his words made us angry. We never wanted anyone ever to go through an experience like that ever again.
We then proceeded to go to different seminars for the rest of the day. Each seminar was one that I felt our Greek life, and more importantly my chapter, would be able to gain knowledge from. I first learned how to bring a sense of class back to all our sorority women. I then learned all about transitions and how important it is to do them correctly and efficiently. After that was one about people who sometimes hated their chapter, because let’s be honest, we all have had that time when we felt that way.
After the third seminar, I went to another speaker—Dave Stollman. He was by far the best part of the day. He spoke of his experience in Greek life and taught about how you are wearing your letters at all times, whether they are worn on your clothing or not. When you stood there and got initiated, you were promising to uphold the values of your organization at all times. And if those values are not where your heart lies, then get out! We do not want people in our organizations if your heart is not really there. So hopefully, Dave will be coming to Bridgewater to impact all the organizations.
I then attended a heartfelt and eye opening seminar about drinking and driving. I know that by me retelling the story it will not have the same effect, but I hope I can at least change the lives of a few people. His presentation about how he killed his 3 best friends is one I will carry with me forever and made me never want to drink again.
Overall NGLA was one of the best experiences of my life. I got the chance to not only meet many Gamma Phi Betas, but I was also able to make lifelong friendships with students from all over the northeast from different organizations. Every seminar that I went to enabled me to acquire different tactics and ideas to bring back to my chapter in hopes of changing for the better. My only hope is that our organizations accept the ideas that all three of us are bringing back. I know that whoever goes to this conference in the future will have an amazing time.
~Janelle Howard
Gamma Phi Beta
Monday Morning!
This past Friday was M.I.B.s (Men Integrated in Brotherhood) Valentine’s Rewind Party! The event was a dance party, and all cans collected went to My Brother’s Keeper. Attendance was off the charts! There was a steady flow of people coming in, but no one was leaving. Amazingly, the doors didn’t have to close before midnight but the dance floor was full. If you were there, like I was, then you know it was an fantastic event… if you weren’t there you need to make sure you keep up with M.I.B. and go to their next event!These men are a great group of guys dedicated to promoting brotherhood and education. They are always looking for new members, if you’re interested stop by OSIL.
I’d like to warn everybody who is thinking about becoming an Orientation Leader for summer 2009 to fill out your application! Time is Running Out! Applications are due March 5th, but it’s better to get them done early so you don’t forget! Also, if you have any questions stop by The Open House. It is tomorrow, February 24th, 2-4 in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership; Campus Center, room 103. There will be music, free food and OLs to answer any questions you have. This is also a great opportunity to get to know some of the past OLs and this summers Student Orientation Coordinators.
One last thing I’d like to mention for today, WOW. What’s on Wednesdays. Every Wednesday afternoon from 3:30 – 4:30 in OSIL, something is going on! This Wednesday it’s free chips and salsa! Last week it was milk and cookies! Can’t really get any better than that. So, stop by OSIL this Wednesday for some free food! And maybe meet a few new people.
Student Announcements are your friend! Keep an eye out and stay involved!
I’d like to warn everybody who is thinking about becoming an Orientation Leader for summer 2009 to fill out your application! Time is Running Out! Applications are due March 5th, but it’s better to get them done early so you don’t forget! Also, if you have any questions stop by The Open House. It is tomorrow, February 24th, 2-4 in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership; Campus Center, room 103. There will be music, free food and OLs to answer any questions you have. This is also a great opportunity to get to know some of the past OLs and this summers Student Orientation Coordinators.
One last thing I’d like to mention for today, WOW. What’s on Wednesdays. Every Wednesday afternoon from 3:30 – 4:30 in OSIL, something is going on! This Wednesday it’s free chips and salsa! Last week it was milk and cookies! Can’t really get any better than that. So, stop by OSIL this Wednesday for some free food! And maybe meet a few new people.
Student Announcements are your friend! Keep an eye out and stay involved!
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