As many of you may have heard, Sigma Kappa is colonizing at Arizona State University. After spending two weeks on the road visiting chapters, I made the trek to Tempe, Arizona to spread the Sigma Kappa love to the ASU campus!
Throughout the week, I had the pleasure of spending all of my time with two of my other teammates, Francesca Gomes and Heather Milton. For the first time, I worked side by side with my amazing teammates who are normally my support from a distance. Also, we spent the week making new friends and telling them what Sigma Kappa means to us and why they should be a part of the new colony. Being able to tell women why Sigma Kappa is the best organization to join and seeing their faces light up as they realized that this opportunity was perfect for them was priceless. Since words cannot describe this week, I am hoping the pictures below will do the trick. The week was full of surprises (like me getting sunburned in January), but everything was completely worthwhile. I am so excited to return in April for initiation and installation and see how the colony has grown!
xoxo,
Elizabeth
The Sigma Kappa letters are as tall as me!
Yard signs are very popular at ASU
Making friends with others passing out flyers!
Mini granola bars (my favorite) and water for Zumba day with Sigma K
Swag table for information night, courtesy of Fran and Eliza
Beautiful PR table for information night, courtesy of Heather
In the spirit of a new year, I thought I’d share with you some new perspectives. If you’re reading this blog, you are probably aware that Sigma Kappa currently has ten leadership consultants traveling the country (and I think I speak on behalf of the team when I say that any of us would be happy to share with you our amazing experiences we’ve had on this journey!).
Well, just like Sigma Kappa, almost every sorority and fraternity has some sort of program similar to our leadership consultant program. This group of young professionals is an incredible group of people and many of us have become great friends. When one of my fraternity consultant friends asked me to contribute to this blog he was putting together, my answer was “of course!”
Being a leadership consultant for the greatest sorority ever comes with a bit of baggage – 50 lbs. to be exact. While I was getting ready to pack for the upcoming semester, I found myself in a bind, staring at my suitcase and thinking, “How in the world do I pack appropriately for places like Miami and then New York in the winter?!”
Now, I’m here to say that I am no wuss when it comes to cold climates. The wonderful mitten state I like to call home, good ol’ Michigan, has loads of snow and cold weather to play in! I am a big fan of my Uggs, scarves, mittens, tall socks and long underwear (yep, I said it), but I could not possibly fit that all into my suitcase and show up in Miami…hmm. I decided to get creative, and sister friends, I am here to say it can be done and with one word: layers!
Who knew that my tank top style dress can be paired with a long sleeve shirt, scarf and tights? And that great skirt that doesn’t wrinkle in my oversized suitcase? Still got it! Just pairing it with tall boots, tights, a sweater and callin’ it a day. It’s like learning to love your old wardrobe in all new ways! Now if only the same concept could work for shoes…
I hope y’all enjoy everything that 2012 is about to bring, and I’m so blessed to be spending it with sisters from around the country! A big “whoop, whoop” to my gals at Lenior-Rhyne University (Alpha Epsilon chapter) for making quota during formal recruitment!! SO PROUD of y’all!
Keep that motivation strong ladies, and make 2012 Sigma Kappa’s best year yet!
The Kappa Mu chapter at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh eats lunch and dinner in the dining hall together almost every day. As we walked through the many tables I wondered how they found each other in the sea of college students (over 1,000 students live in the dorm where the Sigma Kappa sisters have a wing). Then they showed me their bolster. The fraternities and sororities at Duquesne each have a large block that they decorate and place on a table in the dining hall. These bolsters currently serve as a visibility tool for the chapters and a point of pride for each one. When I got the chance to ask the Fraternity/Sorority Advisor about the history behind them she told me that the bolsters actually open! They were used to distribute chapter meeting minutes and pass notes between sisters before we had email and text messaging. I had a great time working toward recruitment with the ladies of Kappa Mu and I really enjoyed stumbling on this piece of our community’s history.
Hoping you are in a warmer place than I am!
❤ Michelle
Sigma Kappa table and bolster Delta Zeta bolster Delta Chi bolster
Who else still thinks of a year beginning in August, breaking in December, and ending in May to prepare for a three month hiatus?? If you are like me, then you all are probably thinking “Where did the time go?” I cannot believe that my travels as an LC are half over already and, wow, is it going to be a great semester ahead!
The LC Team after Secret Santa
Packing up my suitcase felt like riding a bike for the first time in three years – you remember exactly how to if you just do it or ‘just suz it’. After a quick reunion with the amazing LC team and meeting our newest member, Francesca ‘Fran’ Gomez, we were all ready to hit the road. My first stop was Kappa Iota at University of Pennsylvania (Hi, ladies!)
After arriving in Philadelphia, the chapter welcomed me to pre-recruitment on Penn’s campus. Let me just take a moment to tell you how much I LOVE RECRUITMENT and couldn’t wait to begin work with the chapter!!
Martha, Suz and Aileen
The VPM, Martha Lee, and President, Aileen Palmer, rocked out the workshops and I got to facilitate a few specifically for the chapter!
Throughout the week the chapter worked really hard and had very positive attitudes during practice, practice, and, finally, the real deal!
While I love recruitment, something I found I loved just as much was the restaurant scene on and around the campus! Everything from Greek food to modern Mexican, vegetarian to crepes, and the best vanilla chai latte I have had outside of Carrollton, Georgia (shout out, Kappa Tau!). I loved getting to experience everyone’s favorite restaurant.
Independence Hall!!
Lucky for me, I didn’t just get to experience the food in Philly, but also a bit of history. And remember everyone, this is the history major in me coming out! On the last day we had a little farewell brunch with Aileen, Martha, and Ellen near Drexel University’s campus followed by a mini-tour. We joked about the irony of my Bermudian friend, Ellen, and me, the tourist,
Ellen and I at the Liberty Bell
navigating the subway and roads. I am extremely directionally challenged, and Ellen was an amazing tour guide! We did the quickest tours known to man – a skill you need on the road – of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. SO. MUCH. FUN.
After a great five days in Philadelphia, I hopped on a plane and headed back to Kappa Tau, University of West Georgia. I truly have missed the campus, town, and even the train that goes by at 3am. This semester is off to an amazing start – get ready, ladies!
As the 2012 travel season began for me on Sunday, I thought this was the perfect time to look back at my 2011 adventures and pick my top memories. Here are some of my favorites!
1. Receiving a phone call that the Alpha Gamma chapter, Washington State University, had 20 quota additions and would be welcoming 65 new members on bid day!
2. Experiencing a new culture in New Wilmington, PA (Alpha Sigma chapter), and seeing my first Amish person in the flesh while helping the women plan their upcoming formal recruitment. As a social studies education major, this was a major nerd moment for me!
3. Eating at a wonderful local restaurant, T. Bar and Fusion Cafe, in Chico, CA, (Delta Iota chapter) prior to a visit full of lots of local eateries (Rubicon Deli, Bibo Coffee Co.) in “The Biggest Little City in the World”, Reno, NV (Kappa Xi chapter)
4. Feeling like a student again by learning the ins and outs of the Gengras Student Union at the University of Hartford (Theta Sigma chapter)
5. Eating a world famous Primanti Brothers sandwich in Pittsburgh and seeing a shooting
star while experiencing Allen’s Haunted Hayride with the women of Kappa Mu (Duquesne University)
6. Watching the women of Gamma Theta (California State University, Long Beach) compete in the Deltiki dance competition, where they placed third!
7. Sleeping on my first sleeping porch at the Upsilon chapter, Oregon State University, and celebrating with the chapter as they made quota during formal recruitment!
8. Participating in a campus tour at the University of Washington, Mu chapter, with six other Panhellenic consultants
9. Touring Golden, CO, and learning about all the traditions of the Colorado School of Mines (Zeta Pi chapter), especially the M Climb
10. Showing myself around the city of San Francisco for the day then spending a wonderful week with the Lambda chapter at the University of California, Berkeley
11. Riding the New York, New York hotel roller coaster on a three hour tour de the Las Vegas strip with a member of the Theta Eta chapter (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
After the wonderful memories from fall semester, I look forward to all that 2012 has to offer!
Sigma Kappa Leadership Consultants 