"it's the end of the world as we know it and i feel fine..."

R.E.M. is a group of music geniuses. Ok, so maybe the 'end of the world' is a tad over-dramatic, but it's the end of the quarter nonetheless and I feel better than fine, I feel GREAT.


I feel so prepared to be a Recruitment Guide- we have an incredible network that we have created. I have learned a lot about my strengths and my weaknesses, as well as those of my fellow recruitment guides, and more specifically my partners, Jenn and Heidi. I really feel as though I've gotten a sincere insight on how the three of us will interact with our PNMs and one another. We all have a lot to offer, but in very different, yet complementary ways and I feel as though we have been well prepared, so that we can fully articulate our love and passion for our chapters and for the Greek Community at large.


On a more personal note, many of the preconceived notions I had regarding individual chapters in our community have completely changed over the course of the quarter. I think it is very ironic that women like myself, who were chosen to represent PHA as leaders and confidants share many of the same intrinsic prejudices and competitive characteristics that we are trying to counter. This is one of the greatest lessons I have learned throughout our classroom sessions and through learning and practicing the Social Change Model--- in order to foster change and build excitement around a cause or an objective one must fully commit themselves to that belief and practice it.


As a senior, I  want to commit myself to being a more positive member with the time that I have left. Honestly, as of late, I have been feeling rather disenchanted with my chapter. One of the reasons I joined my chapter and why I continue to contribute to its aims and ideals is because in the past, every single member took ownership and had proprietorship over the organization. I no longer feel a though this is the case and I would like to commit myself to bringing the importance of understanding and appreciating each individual's contributions and characteristics.


Lastly, I would like to mention that I could not be more excited for what lies ahead with respect to recruitment and furthermore, change for the better in the Greek Community. We have the resources at our fingertips, we have strong alumni support and academic and social backing as part of the greatest university in the world and most of all, we have a few committed individuals who believe in the power of collaboration and the high ideals and principles our community was founded upon.


GO BUCKS. GO GREEK.

the quarter is winding down, but we are just getting fired up...

Today I was thinking a lot about my last two quarters at Ohio State and how I could make them special... my roommates and I of course made the typical "Bucket List" as a means of not only documenting our senior, but also as a way to make sure we didn't miss out on anything in the "BUS" before we had to be real people and leave our college days behind...

1. Get PJ's for the first time (Check)
2. Visit the Orton Hall Bell Tower
3. Have a drink at Woody's Tavern
4. Jump in Mirror Lake for the 4th time (Check)


The one thing about the list however that really resonated with me was the fact that everything we chose, we chose with the mentality that we wanted to branch out, meet new people and experience new things (and a few old traditions as well). I think being a Recruitment Guide is a lot about stepping outside of your box and putting yourself out there, so that others feel at ease doing the same and following your lead. That's not to say that I think it's time to start taking the PNM's to PJ's, but ultimately, it's important that we practice what we preach so-to-speak.


So if your chapter for instance struggles to motivate its membership to get involved in the community and take part in service events, but seems to have the majority of women at a TG--- how can we aid them in branching out? It might be time to try joining forces with a fraternity to visit the Boys & Girl's Club or the Humane Society. 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It's not very often that I consciously think about making profound changes in my community or in the world.  Don't get me wrong- it's not like I'm not actively looking for ways to pad my resume... CLEARLY I would love to be able to say,

 "Sure, I found the cure for cancer. I CHANGED the course of modern medicine as we know it. Oh, yeah and I also solved the socio-economic disparity problems that plague our country and I found a way to make higher education more affordable for people in my generation. On top of that I run marathons, maintain a 4.0 cumulative grade point average and teach immigrants english while communicating with them through their native tongues of Farsi, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese..."


But that's just not realistic. I like to think of myself however, as someone who can make change happen. Not to toot my own horn or anything [toot toot], but I view myself as having a contagious enthusiasm and mass appeal, which makes it possible for me to articulate my ideas and cultivate change by fostering momentum on terms that people can understand.

In order to be a change agent, I think that self-awareness and awareness of others is absolutely vital. It's imperative that you ask yourself, "how can I portray this idea/aspiration/cause in a way that will make others believe in it and want to consciously work towards it, as a means of achieving something different?" For me, that is what change is all about--- being new and different, not for difference's sake, but as a means of growth and continuous improvement. 


Now is the time to ask ourselves what we as engaged citizens can do to change the world.
As a group we have the opportunity to foster change in our community, through our presence in it, and through the work of our able minds, as well as our kind hearts.

my inner SUPRHERO? da da da da

WOO * COMMUNICATION * STRATEGIC * POSITIVITY * ACHIEVER


This is the second time I've taken the StrengthsQuest assessment- the first time was nearly 3 years ago... 3 years ago, if I remember correctly my Strengths were nearly identical.


StrengthsQuest has taught me that the strengths, of which I most identify are intrinsic to who I am and how I interact with those around me. 
"WOO," or winning others over is my #1 strength. It's all about reaching out, and make others feel welcome and appreciated. This is how I plan to reach out to my PNM's and help to cultivate their leadership skills as well as instill in them a self-confidence and self-awareness to put their 'best foot forward' so-to-speak, during recruitment. 


"Communication" also drives me. I have the ability to articulate myself honestly and professionally, but I also have a mass-appeal, which makes me approachable. I have always known that one of my greatest assets was to be able to get to know people for who they are. For the past quarter, I have been interviewing for numerous full-time positions. The process has made me realize that I aspire to pursue a career in consulting. 


Consulting, not only builds upon the two strengths I have previously mentioned, but also upon "Strategic," "Positivity," and "Achiever." Consulting is all about opening people's eyes to process improvement, change implementation and corporate restructuring in order to drive better results in the long-term. One of the key elements or successful accounting however, is instilling in others a sense of comfort, purpose and responsibility even though most people are highly resistant to change. 

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

The point is... these "metaphorical monkeys" are the individual and isolated aims for one member of a group, rather than the shared purpose and vision of the group at large. In our own groups where do we see the existence of monkeys--- in what context do we work independently of one another rather than having a shared investment of the tasks at hand?


The greatest example of "monkeys" I have personally experienced is within our individual chapters. Each chapter was created to perpetuate certain ideal and principles that are spoken of in our rituals, however, this is not always (or usually the case). There are many chapter women who do not choose to be learn about our Common Purpose---this is the primary problem. Uneducated chapter women leave the membership without clear direction, and therefore, some women may choose to compromise our values for personal gain.
--------------> The next step is the executive board and the committees and chairwomen under them. Once again I have found that these women often work separately, rather than as a united front. Too often do we get tied up in the next big social, or recruitment event, or philanthropy that we forget to incorporate ALL aspects of our chapter (service, sisterhood, philanthropy, education, etc.) into every single event. Each committee and each executive board member will often get caught up in their own tasks and responsibilities, relentlessly trying to prove that their facet needs the most attention and money; and is of the upmost importance...

WE FORGET THAT OUR CHAPTERS ORIGINAL WEB IS ONE THAT WAS WOVEN IN A MUCH LESS LINEAR MANNER... MUCH MORE CYCLICAL IN FACT, WITH OVERLAPPING STRINGS, BUT WITH A SHARED DIRECTION. 

Always on the brain...

CHECK IT:

Degree Winners & Losers

...and the interview process continues.

PHA Info Seshhhhh

Did anyone else find the PHA Info. Sesh super exciting??!!! For the first time I felt like a recruitment guide... I was actually surprisingly nervous. I kept reminding myself not to slip up- making special note of the "lingo" I was using and making sure to give each girl equal attention and to be genuinely interested in learning about them.

The Info Session reinforced a lot of what we have been discussing in our class---especially engaged citizenship and how we represent ourselves to the rest of campus. Seemingly overnight I had become aware of misrepresentations that we are giving ourselves and how there is a need to educate all of our membership on the "do's" and "don'ts" of self-promotion. It's the simple things that we can work towards first like referring to the bid process as "recruitment" rather than "rush" and ourselves as "recruitment guides" rather than "rho gammas." If our own leadership is not educated as to why we should not be using these terms, it is unrealistic to expect our new members to understand the reasoning behind it.

As a business student, I am constantly going into interviews and feeling as though I need to over-promote myself and explain my qualifications due to the fact that the bulk of my leadership experiences in college have stemmed from Sorority and Fraternity Life. How great would it be to not have to explain myself, but rather for the population at large to understand the social, philanthropic, and service-oriented aims of our community? THAT WOULD BE FABULOUSSSS.

"I am a citizen. Not of Athens, Greece, but of the world." -Socrates

Being a productive citizen is not about merely being present, but about taking an active role in one's environment. It's about reaching out: cultivating leadership and perpetuating "Tikkun Olam," the perfection of our world.

I am an active citizen in many regards. I am a citizen of all groups, organizations, communities, ehtnicities, nationalities and regions of which I associate myself with or feel a connection to. On a personal level, I don't feel as though citizenship must be dictated by ownership or proprietorship over some tangible entity or physical region, but rather is more of a choice, a purposeful one at that.

As the book said, there are multiple skills and knowledge that can make one's civic contributions more beneficial to a group at large, but unlike some of the ideas which the book presents, I think that these skills cannot be taught nor learned, but rather must be obtained over time through active engagement within said group.

As a "citizen" of Ohio State's campus I definitely feel empowered (which is probably obvious due to the fact that I have chosen to be a RG in addition to participating in various other organizations on our campus). However, just as the book discussed there are many members of the Ohio State community who feel disenfranchised. I feel as though one of our jobs as RGs is to reach out to these people (in particular freshman women) and show them how they too can become empowered.

Another group of which I consider myself a citizen is the Jewish community. One of the greatest knowledge bases I have and one, which has shaped me into becoming the women I am today is the basic understanding of the issues surrounding our community in the past a present. Oppressed Jewry is still a major concern in our society and as the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor I can better empathize with other groups who are not able to practice their beliefs as freely as I am able to today.

Finally, the third group of which I would like to discuss my citizenship of is that of a business major as part of the Fisher College of Business. The section of the book which referred to coalition building distinctly reminded me of the necessary networking and communication skills that being a business student requires. It is important that all business units support and understand the contributions of one another and that problems are solved through the use of cross-functional teams.

Rho Gam Review: The 5 W's

WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? and WHY?


I  chose to become a Recruitment Guide because I have an unparalleled passion for Greek life and I know that my enthusiasm is contagious. I am proud of my chapter and the steps we have taken to become a vital force in the Greek Community and I think it is important to have Recruitment Guides like myself who have been in a chapter on the ‘ins’ and the ‘outs.’ I have learned of importance of accepting and recognizing the contributions of every single member and have come to understand that it’s not about a number; IT’S ABOUT THE PEOPLE. I think this makes me unique because I come from a medium to large sized house, which prides itself on having a small-house mentality. Every single one of our members has played a role in shaping our chapter and as a recruitment guide I think it is my responsibility not just encourage PNMs to go greek, but to get involved and take an active role within their chapters.


My involvement in the Greek community has provided me with leadership opportunities that have allowed me to become more self-reliant, confident and ultimately, more willing to step up and take initiative in my own endeavors. I hope that my involvement as a Recruitment Guide will further enable each and every PNM to have the same positive experiences. The responsibilities of recruitment guides are essentially three-fold: 1) To aid the recruitment team in executing informative and organized recruitment events, 2) To maintain open, honest and effective lines of communication with PNMs while providing them with valuable knowledge regarding the Greek community and 3) To be un-affiliated, but positive representatives of Greek life at large and to understand and perpetuate its goals. 


In my mind however, the ultimate purpose of a recruitment guide is to engage potential new members and display benevolence and sisterhood, which they hopefully can one day emulate within their own chapters. 


Recruitment Guides are vital to the success of Pan-Hellenic Association not only in part to recruitment efforts, but because Rho Gams show the entire Greek Community that stereotypes and discrepancies amongst chapters are unfounded and counter-productive. Competition is essential, but there is a big difference between a bit of friendly competition and the tirades on Juicy Campus, and through other mediums, which have been threatening sorority life at Ohio State for the last couple of years.


As a Recruitment Guide, I think I could help foster meaningful inter-Greek relations between chapters during recruitment. We should develop an open-forum system between the Recruitment Chairs. By eliminating the secrecy and creating a programming database for chapter Recruitment Guides to conduct more meaningful and productive Recruitment Practice Sessions, our chapters will be better prepared to recruit the most motivated, passionate and enthusiastic women that they possibly can.

We're in Business!!!!

WOOHOOOOO!!

My first blog ever :) So so so so excited. Almost as excited about this as I am about our boys demolishing the competition at the game today. GO BUCKEYES AND GO GREEK!!!!