This past summer, seven Lehigh Greeks attended sessions of the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute (UIFI) on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. UIFI, sponsored by the North-American Interfraternity Conference, is a 5-day experience designed to challenge participants to explore, define, and enhance their leadership skills, personal awareness, commitment to their fraternity or sorority, and grow to expect values-based action from themselves and those they lead. Throughout the weeks ahead, we will be featuring testimonials from several of the students that attended this summer's UIFI sessions.
Steph Albano, Alpha Gamma Delta
Attending UIFI gave me a unique chance to share ideas with Greeks across the country. We had structured group meetings that taught us important information about hazing and the general perceptions of the Greek community, as well as informal conversations with students in positions similar to ours that gave us the chance to hash out our ideas, goals, and dreams. I learned how to not only improve my chapter through philanthropy, alumnae relations, and ritual events, but also how to improve the Lehigh Greek community as a whole by proving the negative stereotypes to be false. However, the most important thing I learned at UIFI was having Greek pride: that no matter how bad the stereotypes are, how many times select individuals mess up, or how many problems we face, we are a community united by fraternity and ritual - and that is something worth fighting for.
Steph and her UIFI small group