Feature Friday: Sarah Cohen, Kappa Alpha Theta

This summer I had the opportunity to represent the Epsilon Rho chapter at Kappa Alpha Theta’s Grand Convention in Orlando, Florida. Grand Convention occurs every other year as a chance for the fraternity to conduct business and celebrate all that we have accomplished. I was able to experience being a Theta on a much larger scale by attending leadership workshops and collaborating with women from across the US and Canada.

My weekend in Orlando was filled with learning and powerful connections. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn about the experiences women have in their own chapters and make new friendships. I left Orlando inspired by the leading women in my organization. We discussed how joining a sorority is about belonging, not fitting in. Belonging is being accepted for you, while fitting in is being accepted for being like everyone else. At Grand Convention they encouraged us to focus on having members feel like they belong and are accepted despite their differences.

I am now ready to tackle my role in the Greek community with a new perspective. Grand Convention reminded me that being in Greek Life is not always about the events or meetings but the community. As a Panhellenic community, we support women to become their best selves and encourage them to make an impact on campus. Serving on Panhellenic Exec this year as the VP Greek Relations, I hope to bring what I learned at Grand Convention back to the chapters on campus. It is important to remember and embody our chapter values to create a space where members can laugh and cry together. Grand Convention inspired me to cultivate a positive community and remind others why sororities are an important space for women today.

Feature Friday: Base Camp!

Base Camp is a three-day overnight retreat with Greek leaders fostering authentic dialogue and placing emphasis on Collaborative Connections and Inclusive Leadership. Participants develop meaningful relationships and support networks to aid them in creating positive change to move the fraternity and sorority community forward.

At Base Camp, participants with different experiences and backgrounds engage in a variety of exercises and activities, called to play the role of both the teacher and the learner at different times throughout the weekend. Authentic conversation about the reality for our students and our fraternity and sorority community is necessary for creating positive change, and requires participants to move from their comfort zone to their learning edge throughout the experience. Base Camp is a setting which fosters such conversations, while allowing participants to develop relationships and meaningful support networks to aid them through their present and future challenges.

Some thoughts from Aisha Abdulkarimu, sister of Mu Sigma Upsilon...

My biggest takeaway from Base Camp is that although Greek life is separated into three councils and we feel as if we are going to different experiences and challenges we are actually going through similar challenges as Lehigh students and Greek life.

One highlight or an unexpected experience from Base Camp was realizing how big and deep a lot of the issues surrounding Greek Life is. They cannot be solved with the snap of a finger or simply one event but requires a deep analysis of social norm or even culture.

I hope after Base Camp to collaborate more with organizations within IFC and Panhel for any events, see members of IFC and Panhel more where they know my chapter sisters and me more, and as the Cultural Greek Council find a way to connect more.

Jacob Dooley, Phi Sigma Kappa and IFC Exec member shares his experience...

Going into base camp I was honestly a little skeptical at what the participation from the greek leaders and execs would look like. For many of us this was the first time interacting with each other for more than an hour a week, so to expect us to act cohesively and engage in challenging conversations I believed was a stretch. But I was wrong to think that.

The weekend was scheduled from sunrise to sunset with discussion, problem solving, and team building. All of it productive and by the end of base camp I felt energized to tackle the rest of the semester. Everyone was so supportive of each other, felt comfortable enough in the space to speak honestly, and overall it was a surprisingly enjoyable albeit chilly experience.

Moving forward I believe that we have the opportunity to enact sustainable proactive change within the greek community. I personally have an ambition to make greek life at Lehigh more inclusive which everyone in greek leadership can agree with, but beyond that I think that the councils are going to more actively look into what being a part of the Lehigh and Bethlehem community means to them and how they can give back. I am looking forward to meaningful collaboration not only within and between the councils, but also outside of greek life incorporating organizations that exist throughout the entire student body.

Farewell Brigette Gardner

I’m writing to share bittersweet news. As many of you know, Brigette Gardner will be leaving us next week for an incredible opportunity as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at York College of Pennsylvania. In this new position, Brigette will be responsible for planning and implementing alumni events; working with undergraduate students and young alumni through the Student Alumni Association, Senior Class Officers, and Young Alumni Council; and managing marketing and communication efforts.

During Brigette’s tenure at Lehigh, she has served as the advisor to the Panhellenic Council alongside a dozen fraternities and sororities. Under her guidance, the Panhellenic Council worked to foster a more inclusive community; strengthened partnerships with the Center for Gender Equity to explore women’s leadership and empowerment; and made a conscious effort to dig into difficult conversations and make unpopular decisions that strengthened the sorority experience. She has been incredibly instrumental in supporting a student-driven Trans-inclusion Task Force that’s committed to creating an environment where transwomen feel welcomed and supported in pursing membership in our Panhellenic chapters. Brigette is also the leading expert behind OFSA’s social host training and risk reduction efforts, and she’s redeveloped curriculum for social host training alongside prevention messaging to students during high risk times across the year (e.g. Lehigh Lafayette Rivalry, Halloween Spring Break, etc.)

Brigette involvement also extends far beyond the fraternity and sorority community, as she’s worked closely with others across campus. Most notably, she’s participated in a collateral assignment with the Center for Gender Equity to gain a better understand feminist theories and engage in dialogue about gender equity. Through this work she has facilitated conversations regarding feminism, sexism, and gender equity as well as questioned policies, systems, and structures that perpetuate gender inequity. Her increased knowledge, awareness, and understanding in this area has greatly informed her work and several of our office’s signature programs.

We don’t know what we’ll miss most about Brigette. Perhaps watching her growth as she transitioned from an unpaid summer intern to professional staff member. Perhaps her #bosslady skills in event planning that grew the Fraternity and Sorority Leadership Awards program to a scale which rivals the Oscars. Perhaps her love of assessment and willingness to nerd out with others on measuring learning outcomes and capturing students’ insights to better inform our work. In short, we’re incredibly grateful to have called Brigette a colleague and friend.

Please join us in congratulating Brigette on this well-deserved opportunity. Her last day will be Friday, September 21, 2018.

We'll be in touch with details shortly regarding transition plans to cover Brigette's responsibilities following her departure.

Best,

Team OFSA

Feature Friday: Meet Erin Andersen!

Meet Erin, the newest addition to our team!  She'll be advising IFC so stop by and say hi!

Name: Erin Andersen
Position: Assistant Director
Hometown: Savannah, Georgia
Educational Background: B.A in English and a M.Ed. in English Education from the University of North Georgia
Affiliation: Delta Zeta

Professional Highlights: For the past four years, I served as the Director of Member Education for Chi Phi Fraternity’s National Office in which I designed curriculum for national programs, worked with Chapters in regards to risk management, and helped to create a standardized new member education program. Previous to that I taught Freshman Composition courses at the University of North Georgia.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in fraternity and sorority affairs? While I was teaching on campus, I began serving as an advisor to a couple of different organizations. I found very quickly that this was my passion: working with students outside of a classroom setting where I could truly mentor them personally, professionally, and academically. And, given that my undergraduate Greek experience was a positive one, I knew I wanted to give back and help others see all the positives that Greek life had to offer (especially in regards to alumni support and networking).

What do you hope to do during your time at Lehigh University? I hope to build strong partnerships with students, faculty, and fellow staff as well as work with as many people as possible to help achieve the goals identified by OFSA, the Greek Councils and individual Chapters. My hope is that I can play a small roll in growing Greek life on campus along with showing the community the benefits that Greek Life has to offer.

What has been your impression of the Lehigh Greek Community so far? I have been incredibly impressed by everyone’s passion and energy! The one-on-one conversations I’ve had have shown that students are aware of their challenges, proud of their successes, and looking forward to this year being one of positive change. I am really looking forward to diving in and working with everyone, sharing ideas, and making this year a great one!