Reflecting on my leadership journey thus far seems short when looking at the span of time but living and experiencing this growth seems like a lifetime. Day to day leadership feels so serious, a daunting task. Looking back on it, every thing seemed so natural. Yes, it's not always easy and I probably could have slept a lot more or have done 1000 other things with my free time, but it felt right.
The social change model in a way has already affected Alpha Chi Omega. As a passionate member of my organization I wanted to give my sisters the opportunity to find their passion, I just didn't know how. In January I attended Leadership Academy, hosted by AXO headquarters, to learn how to be a good president, how to make sure my chapter succeeded. And then Paula walked into my life... Paula presented Alpha Chi Omega and its ritual in a way that I never could have imagined on my own. She related exactly what our ritual is meant to portray but delivered it in a totally relate-able way. Paula invigorated my passion, and I was determined to share my love/excitement/passion for this organization.
I took office and then I thought: why aren't girls excited about events? Do they need material incentives? Why don't women want to volunteer to go above and beyond on a semi-frequent basis? Are they having fun? Why do people keep using the phrase, "I pay a lot of money to be here.... [and proceed with a complaint]"? A flood of questions addressing why members weren't totally psyched to be an Alpha Chi came rushing at me. And then I thought.... how do I fix this?
The solution was a preliminary attempt at the Social Change Model. I realized that the problem wasn't incentives or creating events that were fun in an obvious way (more on the lines of wild and crazy) but that as women of a large chapter, we had a handful of true sisters. Each member could count on one hand a group of women who would jump in front of a bus for them if that were the case. The problem was that a woman had 95 surface level relationships. How could I get past this obstacle? What united EVERY single Alpha Chi across the country and over time? Ritual.
Paula flew in from Fort Worth, TX to visit with Alpha Omicron. Paula bonded my chapter. Paula recommitted us and our relationship with Alpha Chi and each other. And what do you know? The first chapter of the year, even before that, women started reaching out of their comfort zones to form relationships with new people. Women were happy to be at events... even the mandatory ones. Women volunteered to help quickly and without asking multiple times. Of course this is just the beginning and Paula can't "fix" our problems as a chapter. But the Social Change Model, while I didn't realize it was called that, helped get to the root of some serious chapter issues to make Alpha Chi a better sorority as a whole, and help shape its women into better sisters.
The social change model in a way has already affected Alpha Chi Omega. As a passionate member of my organization I wanted to give my sisters the opportunity to find their passion, I just didn't know how. In January I attended Leadership Academy, hosted by AXO headquarters, to learn how to be a good president, how to make sure my chapter succeeded. And then Paula walked into my life... Paula presented Alpha Chi Omega and its ritual in a way that I never could have imagined on my own. She related exactly what our ritual is meant to portray but delivered it in a totally relate-able way. Paula invigorated my passion, and I was determined to share my love/excitement/passion for this organization.
I took office and then I thought: why aren't girls excited about events? Do they need material incentives? Why don't women want to volunteer to go above and beyond on a semi-frequent basis? Are they having fun? Why do people keep using the phrase, "I pay a lot of money to be here.... [and proceed with a complaint]"? A flood of questions addressing why members weren't totally psyched to be an Alpha Chi came rushing at me. And then I thought.... how do I fix this?
The solution was a preliminary attempt at the Social Change Model. I realized that the problem wasn't incentives or creating events that were fun in an obvious way (more on the lines of wild and crazy) but that as women of a large chapter, we had a handful of true sisters. Each member could count on one hand a group of women who would jump in front of a bus for them if that were the case. The problem was that a woman had 95 surface level relationships. How could I get past this obstacle? What united EVERY single Alpha Chi across the country and over time? Ritual.
Paula flew in from Fort Worth, TX to visit with Alpha Omicron. Paula bonded my chapter. Paula recommitted us and our relationship with Alpha Chi and each other. And what do you know? The first chapter of the year, even before that, women started reaching out of their comfort zones to form relationships with new people. Women were happy to be at events... even the mandatory ones. Women volunteered to help quickly and without asking multiple times. Of course this is just the beginning and Paula can't "fix" our problems as a chapter. But the Social Change Model, while I didn't realize it was called that, helped get to the root of some serious chapter issues to make Alpha Chi a better sorority as a whole, and help shape its women into better sisters.
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