What it means to be a Greek President
In January 2013, when I first took
over the role of President, I was excited to lead the chapter. I knew I could
be the face of my organization and lead both chapter meetings and exec
meetings. I could make hard decisions. I knew I could be a role model for
younger women. I knew I would be able to do all this, and I knew I would be
able to do it well.
But being a Greek president, as I
soon learned, was much more than this. Being a Greek President means I was not
only acting as myself, I was now the main face of my chapter. If I did
something, it was a reflection on my chapter more-so than if I were any other
member. I became the contact person on all issues. I became a source of
knowledge, an email forwarder, a delegator, and a manager. I became responsible
for 100 women. I became a spokesperson for 100 women. I became a therapist to
100 women. I also became the decision maker for 100 women. I was making
decisions that would benefit the chapter as a whole while sometimes being
largely detrimental to myself or my time. I made decisions that benefited the
chapter that also caused my best friends to stop talking to me. There were days
that I couldn’t believe what I had gotten myself into and there were days that
I was so stressed that I just wanted to quit. There were also days that I was amazed with
myself and my chapter. I am amazed with all the positive change that we make on
campus, and that we are continuously striving to do more.
Some days I absolutely loved my
chapter and other days I hated Greek life as a whole. I love the support I get
from my sisterhood, the bonds we share, the traditions we have, what we stand
for and how we strive to live up to that. I get so incredibly frustrated by the
social scene and by recruitment. I know personally, sorority recruitment is the
point in my life that my self-esteem was at its lowest. I absolutely hate that
a community that I am so involved in can do that to a person, and that it did
that to me. I will be the first to admit that the Greek system is far from
perfect. But the leaders of the Greek community are working at every meeting on
improving what it means to be Greek at Lehigh. I will also be the first to
admit that the Greek community can be very supportive. When one of our members
passed away, we received sympathy cards and flowers from every single Greek
chapter. It was an outreach of support that I never would have imagined.
Being a Greek president has taught
me how to truly live my values. I can recite pieces from our ritual and apply
it to my life. The younger members are amazed when I do this, but its now so
ingrained in me that it’s second nature. I can truly say that I live up to my
founder’s expectations and that I live my ritual. I actually look forward to
rituals and enjoyed leading them, because it are these ritual ceremonies that
remind us why we joined and what we should strive for. I share that with the
younger members and hope that they too will start to see that when they act to
reach their fullest potential, they are being the best Greeks we can ask for.
Being a Greek president overall has
been an amazing and transformative experience. While it, like Greek life in
general, is not for everyone, it was definitely an experience that I am
grateful for. I have made great friends in the other sorority presidents and I
am proud of the progress we have made. I am proud of the change I have made in
my own chapter and how new initiatives are now ingrained in chapter culture. Now
as my term comes to an end it is bittersweet. In the past 10 months, I have
learned so much about my sisters, Lehigh, Greek Life, myself, and how they all
fit together.
So what does it mean to be a Greek
president? It means knowing when you are right and when you are wrong. It means
making your chapter the best it can be, while allowing your chapter members to
show that to the community. It means communicating your strengths and
weaknesses to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and realizing how
many resources there are available. It means truly living your values and
ritual. It means endlessly giving your thoughts, your time, your mental
capacity, and your self to your sisters.
Julie Stomel, 2014
Kappa Alpha Theta President
