Each Friday, we'll be featuring a different member of the Greek community and sharing their reflections on their Lehigh experience! Check out our first, Molly Bankuti from Zeta Tau Alpha!
I've
noticed over my past two years as a Lehigh student that it’s really easy to
forget that we’re part of a larger community outside of this campus. It’s pretty common to see students turning
their nose up at people in the South Bethlehem community who haven’t been
afforded the same opportunities that us Lehigh students tend to take for
granted. As a student coordinator in the
Lehigh Community Service Office, I’m really lucky to work in an office centered
on reminding people how important and enjoyable it is to stay engaged with the
surrounding community. The CSO works not
only to create opportunities to become active members in our community, but
also to emphasize how much we as people stand to benefit through building these
relationships and looking beyond the Lehigh bubble.
But
I think if we’re honest with ourselves, it’s also really easy, as members of
the Greek community, to even forget we’re a part of a bigger community on
Lehigh’s campus, let alone South Bethlehem. We become focused on building a strong
sisterhood or brotherhood, creating opportunities for leadership and growth
within our chapter, contributing to our philanthropy, and building a strong relationship
with our national organization. This leads us to overlook, or maybe just not
realize, how much our chapters and the Greek community as a whole stands to gain
through integrating ourselves with the rest of campus and other groups and
organizations.
Almost
everyone who knows me is well aware that I participated in The LeaderShape
Institute last January because I really haven’t stopped talking about it
since. The whole idea behind LeaderShape
is getting comfortable with being uncomfortable: it’s about having tough
conversations and forcing yourself to confront any reservations,
misunderstandings, or assumptions you might have. While I was at LeaderShape, and as I have
ever since, I chose to prioritize confronting the lack of inclusivity on
Lehigh’s campus. When we compared the
diversity statistics of students at LeaderShape to the statistics of Lehigh’s
population, the discrepancies were shocking.
Without the numerous backgrounds and perspectives that were part of
LeaderShape, the connections made, the personal growth, the development of confidence,
and the increased understanding of all participants wouldn't have occurred. The experience made me realize I don’t have
the ability to reach my full potential, as an individual or as part of a group,
if I’m limited to a very specific population and one way of thinking.
It
was this diversity of perspectives and varying backgrounds that enabled us at
LeaderShape to have real, honest conversations about why the student population
at Lehigh feels so divided, and what we as members of the community can do to bring
the campus together. A lot of the
conversations that we had blamed the campus divide on Greek Life. But rather than turning me against my
chapter, it inspired me to become more invested in its growth and more invested
in working to break down any unspoken barriers between Greek life and the rest
of campus. While I could talk forever
about the leadership opportunities, philanthropic involvement, and the strong
sisterhood I find in my sorority, I could talk just as much about growing as a
leader and as an overall person through LeaderShape.
My
experiences at Lehigh have made me realize that creating a more inclusive
Lehigh community, both on campus and as a part of South Bethlehem, is a goal we
all need to focus on in order to strengthen our chapters and every other
organization on campus. Sharing our
viewpoints and listening to the perspectives of others enables us to learn and
grow instead of allowing these divides to remain. A main way we can do this is by becoming
further involved in the South Bethlehem community; through service we can
create a more positive, inclusive, and welcoming atmosphere on and off campus. My
work at the CSO and my experience at LeaderShape have shown me that an
increased sense of unity would only stand to enhance every student’s Lehigh
experience—even if we don’t realize it.