Feature Friday: Rosa Guzman, Coordinator of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs

Meet Rosa Guzman!  Rosa is the friendly face that greets you and the backbone of the OFSA!

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Why did you decide to work at Lehigh/in OFSA? I enjoy the interaction with the students. Not having a Greek background, I never thought I would work with fraternities and sororities but I have learned a lot and feel I can make a difference.

High points/Favorite memories during your time at Lehigh University? There are many but one of my favorite memories is of when I started here and how staff and students made me feel so welcomed. I knew immediately this was where I belonged.

Hopes for the Lehigh Greek Community? My hope for the Lehigh Greek Community is more unity among the different cultures here.

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing? I would have been a nurse because I love helping others but I would prefer to spend all my time with my grandson!

Feature Friday: Danielle Campbell, Pi Beta Phi

Dani Campbell, Pi Beta Phi, attended both LeaderShape AND AFLV!  Read on to see what she learned...

Over the past two months I have had the wonderful opportunity to attend LeaderShape and the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values Central Conference in Indianapolis.  During both of these conferences, I attended many workshops that taught me more about the world around me in college, and issues and dilemmas that I could be faced with in the future.  By learning about how to interact with other people, whether for professional or personal reasons, I was able to grow professionally and personally.  With various workshops on personal development, emotional integrity, conflict management, and many others, I am now able to take that with me into the future to better my friendships, my Greek chapter, and the campus community as a whole.

The best part of these two retreats was realizing the impact that the multitude of workshops was having on my perspective of the world around me.  At LeaderShape, we discussed how our vision should have a positive disregard for the impossible.   As humans, we have a tendency to believe that things are too immense for us to handle or too large for one person to make an impact.  I have taken up a new perspective that if we were all to set our minds to something we wanted to change, we could.  It may take time and a lot of effort, but it only takes one person with a voice or a vision to make a positive impact on our world.

Steps to making a difference look different for everyone. After attending AFLV, I was able to combine my knowledge from LeaderShape with my new knowledge from the workshops.  Since I am in a Greek chapter, I realized that I could start making a difference within my own chapter and within the Greek community.  This could hopefully create a domino effect to impact the entire Lehigh community.  One thing that I have decided to bring back to my chapter is a conflict management workshop to better our communication as individuals.  After talking with my chapter about confrontation and solving conflicts, hopefully they will then take this to their other peers outside the chapter, creating the domino effect for our community.

Everyone has a vision for a better world.  To make change, we have to act on this vision in any way we can, small or large.  It can begin with a small change in the activities or smaller communities you are a part of, ultimately impacting the larger community.   Additionally, holding our peers accountable for their actions and visions is an effective way to spark change in our communities.  It only takes one voice to change our world. 

Accreditation Reminders

Resources from the three Accreditation preparation workshops are available via google drive. To access the materials, please follow this link.

Report Guidelines

• Reports should not exceed 50 pages total.  The recommend length is between 25-35 pages. 
• Appendices should be limited and used only if absolutely necessary as supporting documentation
• Reports are to be submitted approximately two weeks before your scheduled presentation (see attached schedule with deadlines) 
• Reports are to be submitted by 4PM on the due date
• Reports are to be submitted as one document in PDF format titled “Organization Name_2017 Accreditation” in the following way:
• Shared as a google files with inaccred@lehigh.edu and grant editing rights
• Chapters are encouraged to highlight their year in the report, not to summarize everything that occurred in the past 12 months
• Reports should showcase action and results and not focus on future plans

Presentation Guidelines

• Presentations are to be no longer than 40 minutes.  Remaining time will be used for panelists questions (up to 60 minutes total)
• There is no limit on the number of members who may present.  Please note that the entire chapter membership is not required to attend the presentation. 
• The presentation is open to alumni and advisors
• Chapters are encouraged to use multi-media (PowerPoint, Prezi, Google slides)
• Chapters are responsible for setting up any technology needed at least 5 minutes before the start time
• Computer, projector and screen are provided

Feature Friday: Gray Schick, Psi Upsilon

       

    

Gray Schick of Psi Upsilon gives some insight into his LeaderShape experience this week...

This past winter, I was selected to be a participant in LeaderShape, a weeklong conference that aims to strengthen confidence, integrity, and leadership skills. I didn’t have much knowledge about the program when applying, but I heard such great things about it. And after going through it, I can now be another voice encouraging anyone and everyone to apply.

The first day was a bit tense. We were fifty strangers in a large meeting hall that had little idea what the week would look like. And after getting acquainted with everyone, I realized that we all had our differences. It seemed impossible that we would all get along; however, through the various activities and open conversations during the week, we all created a strong bond with one another. Sure, there were disagreements, but everyone remained respectful and open-minded. We established an atmosphere of tolerance, which allowed for genuine and meaningful discussions.

A few of these discussions involved Greek Life, specifically the divide between Greeks and non-Greeks. Before LeaderShape, I wasn’t too aware that there was a “divide,” but after listening to various people’s stories, experiences, and opinions, I realized that a separation exists. I think this is due to a prominent mentality that fraternities and sororities do everything together. There is limited outreach from Greek to non-Greek communities, and it is essential that we break this exclusivity.

LeaderShape did help me build my confidence and leadership skills, but I got out something much more. I learned that we all are entitled to our opinions and our voice, but more importantly I learned how to set opinions aside and listen to others. Instead of being dismissive of those who think differently, I welcomed the opportunity to learn why. Understanding differences teaches more than blindly following sameness. Especially when considering the Greek/non-Greek divide, we must remember that there is more to life outside our comfort zone.

I left LeaderShape with a fresh outlook on my college life. I love being involved in my fraternity, but I also look forward to the various opportunities that are ahead to me. I also left LeaderShape with an entirely new friend group that supports me every step of the way. To whomever is reading: take some risks, get involved, and meet new people.

We're Almost at Spring Break!!

Feature Friday: Nicole Lando, Alpha Gamma Delta

Thanks to Nicole Lando, Alpha Gamma Delta, for her Feature Friday thoughts on Leadershape!

My LeaderShape Experience: Leaning in to Discomfort

As a Greek student, I’ve attended my fair share of team building and leadership-focused facilitations. That being said, I had no idea what I would experience when I applied to attend the LeaderShape Institute. At the start of the Institute, I was in a place of transition. As a student who also planned to study abroad in the Spring 2017 semester, I wasn’t entirely sure how my narrative would fit in with that of everyone else’s. Unlike the rest of the group, I wouldn’t be returning to Lehigh after the week.

I arrived on campus already unsure of how my experience would go. The week before, I was placed in a cumbersome plastic air cast due to a chronic foot injury that I had been ignoring for far too long. Seeing as the Institute would take place at a camp in the Pocono mountains, I also wasn’t sure how much this would limit me from participating in group activities. Thankfully, I was quite wrong.

In just six days, LeaderShape helped me foster some of the most amazing relationships with other Lehigh students that I otherwise would have never known here on campus. (Shout out to my Lit Lemons cluster family; you are all forever in my heart.) LeaderShape enhanced my abilities to lead with integrity, both as a member of the Greek community, as well as a Lehigh student. Thanks to a team of incredibly dedicated staff members and some great late night conversations with other LeaderShapers, I’ve broadened my perspective on where Lehigh’s existing culture thrives, as well as problems that have arisen over time. Our group was so incredibly diverse in thought and backgrounds; allowing me to see unique perspectives on issues I had discussed in the past.

LeaderShape gave me confidence that there are some incredibly powerful students here at Lehigh who have the ability to enact lasting change. As a junior surrounded by many first and second year students, I couldn’t believe how brilliant and welcoming this group was.

I’m positive that the skills and lessons I’ve gained through LeaderShape will take me far in the rest of my time at Lehigh, as well as through my career aspirations beyond college. Additionally, I now see so much room for development that I can’t wait to bring back to the organizations to which I’ve dedicated my time: as a member of my chapter, as a past GEM mentor, and other roles beyond those in Greek life.