Many of you probably know that I spent the past year serving as my sorority's Chapter President. My term ended a little over a month ago, and it was an experience that I will forever cherish. I decided it would be fun to share with y'all an overview from my term, some things I learned, and some tips for those of you who are currently serving your chapter or have dreams to. So where do I begin? It is difficult to put the past year and what I learned into a few short paragraphs, but I'll do my best. The year was filled with a roller coaster of emotions and events that are unforgettable.
If you told me two years ago that I would eventually serve my newly founded chapter as President, I would have laughed. When I transferred schools sophomore year, I had a negative first impression of what Greek life was like here, but with a little convincing from my mom I decided to give it a chance. Upon joining my chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, I immediately got involved by serving as one of the Vice Presidents on our first ever Executive Board. This task was a daunting one as there was nobody, in the chapter that had previously served in this role. This meant that there was nobody I could base my decisions off of. After the first semester, I realized how passionate I became about my sorority. In the summer of 2014 I attended Alpha Delta Pi's leadership conference for emerging leaders where I realized how dedicated I actually was to helping my chapter continue to succeed. It was during this summer that I knew I wanted to run for President in the upcoming elections.
Initially after being elected I was equally nervous and excited to see what the next year would have in store for me. I spent all of winter break educating myself on the policies and procedures, so that I would know what to do in all situations. Well, it turns out the Chapter Operations Book and Officer manuals don't prepare you for every situation you will encounter...
It gets a little lonely at the top. You go from being part of a large group to being the one that everyone looks to in all situations (both the good and the bad ones). You are the one that has to enforce the rules and live with the consequences when something goes wrong. It's kind of like going from the student who sits towards the back of the classroom to being the teacher. While your Executive Board becomes your support system, they aren't viewed by the rest of the chapter the same way that you are.
I like to say being Chapter President is a blessing and curse all wrapped up into one bundle. You get to be the one that everyone loves when things are going well and the one they hate when something goes wrong. You are under the firing squad 24/7. You can pretty much count on someone always having something to say about your every action. However, it's how you react to these situations that makes you an okay President or a great one. It's up to you to decide how you let these people make you feel. If you allow others to make you feel inferior, then your term is going to be a long one. From my personal experiences, I think it is best to compromise while staying true to who you are and what you think is best. Despite the challenges, I still love my sisters and am grateful that they helped make me a better person than I was prior to my term.
Serving in this position gave me the best leadership experience I have ever had. I was able to grow as an individual and as a leader through the challenging/rewarding experiences. I also enjoyed all of the positives that came with the role too. Like when the chapter survived our first night of formal recruitment, nailed our Preference round ceremony, won awards, when younger members stepped up into larger roles, or being able to have watched sisters grow as passionate as I am about our organization. My favorite part of the position was having the ability to empower women to become more involved and develop more leaders.
I gained some awesome mentors who helped coach me through every step of my term. I definitely owe my advisors and close friends for keeping me sane at times. If it weren't for them, I honestly don't know if I would have been able to have such a successful Presidency.
Overall, serving in the role as Chapter President was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life thus far. I had more meetings, met so many accomplished people, received more emails on a daily basis, and dealt with more difficult situations than ever before in my life. However, I enjoyed the roller coaster ride and enjoy sharing the knowledge I gained along the way.
XOXO
