Sidney Ro, Alpha Gamma Delta, shares her thoughts this week...
My first day on campus was the day I began my Lehigh experience in
the prelusion program, OAP (Outdoor Adventure Program). I was far from
being an outdoorsy person at the time but thought a trip to meet my
peers before actual school started would be helpful in navigating my
first experiences at college. I walked into Lamberton late to discover
hoards of students in different colored t-shirts sitting in circles and
eating bagged lunches together. I was overwhelmed but knew that I wasn't
alone in my fear so I sat and mingled. Doing OAP became one of the
things throughout my Lehigh experience that I know I'll never forget or
regret in any way. I met my best friends and several other amazing
individuals through this program and had the opportunity to become a
leader for the next two years, and ultimately a coordinator this past
August. Aside from being a participant in the program, being a leader
has allowed me to make countless connections with other leaders who come
from different circles all over campus. Working with such different
individuals who want to provide the best transition and unbiased
information for first-year students has been an experience that can
never be replicated. The passion and diversity of each individual leader in OAP, in my opinion, has had positive and influential lasting effects
on the students we have led. I've learned invaluable collaborative and
leadership skills while gaining the friendships of some of the most
incredible individuals on our campus.
In the
same way, my employment at Lamberton has given me a similar opportunity.
I joined the staff my sophomore year and have been working there ever
since. The employees at Lamberton Hall, like OAP leaders, come from
extremely different spaces on our campus and I've created relationships
with individuals that I most likely would not have had if I had not
worked at Lamberton. Communication, collaboration, and initiative are
essential at Lamberton and these skills combined with the ones I've
learned over the course of the four years through OAP have helped me in
my leadership in my Greek chapter whether it was as social coordinator
or a new member coordinator.
My Lehigh
experience has been a perfect combination of participation not only in
my Greek chapter's activities but also activities outside of the Greek
sphere here at Lehigh. I think this experience has been extremely
formative and critical in my development as a student here at Lehigh and
is something from which others would definitely benefit.