"I had been waiting for June 22nd-26th to roll around ever since I had been elected President! Finally it was June 21st, and I was packing my bags, making sure I had enough “casual formal” outfits to last me the 6 days I’d be in Cleveland, Ohio for AEPhi’s 101st National Convention. The experience was truly irreplaceable, especially since I met my pledge sister, great friend and VP of Recruitment Jackie Tiongson. There are certain things you can only learn and realize when you’re put in the right setting--Convention was one of those events for me.
Like I mentioned before, Convention was VERY eye opening! I think it's hard to realize or even think about how many people are in AEPhi...until about 2 to 4 of them are in one place representing their Chapter. I met girls from everywhere (Atlantic to Pacific)--California, Iowa (?), Indianapolis (??), New Jersey, New York, and of course in our own city, Boston :) It was great to make connections, see how other Chapters function and most importantly how we have fun! I definitely took back some great ideas for our Chapter that I can’t wait to share with the sisters!
The convention days were tirelessly filled with workshops, speakers and meetings, but there was one workshop that kept me on my toes: Social Excellence! PHIred Up Productions is an education firm providing membership growth solutions to cause-oriented organizations. That's what the website says. More specifically, the VP of their Sorority Recruitment sector sent Jessica Williams to teach us Social Excellence. This is basically the concept of "being social." This may seem so simple, but how many of us have a hard time connecting with Rushes after the "What's your name? What's your major? Where are you from?" part is over? Jessica spoke about getting past that point by being honestly, curious, asking questions and truly listening to others in order to make connections. Sometimes it’s easy for us to talk to others, but what about those who we may not connect with instantly? I valued that workshop, not only for recruitment purposes, but for my personal benefit.
Most Important Lessons I learned
We also racked in some award! Look at US!
Awards we won: Phillip H. & Susan Rudd Cohen Award for Jewish Communal Service, #1 G.P.A. on Campus and Exceed All-Sorority GPA (meaning our cumulative GPA exceeds what the National Office requires of us.)
National Convention made me ever more anxious to get to work on everything AEPhi this summer! I can’t wait to show Emerson what we’ve got this year!
LML,
Darian Harvin
President
Like I mentioned before, Convention was VERY eye opening! I think it's hard to realize or even think about how many people are in AEPhi...until about 2 to 4 of them are in one place representing their Chapter. I met girls from everywhere (Atlantic to Pacific)--California, Iowa (?), Indianapolis (??), New Jersey, New York, and of course in our own city, Boston :) It was great to make connections, see how other Chapters function and most importantly how we have fun! I definitely took back some great ideas for our Chapter that I can’t wait to share with the sisters!
The convention days were tirelessly filled with workshops, speakers and meetings, but there was one workshop that kept me on my toes: Social Excellence! PHIred Up Productions is an education firm providing membership growth solutions to cause-oriented organizations. That's what the website says. More specifically, the VP of their Sorority Recruitment sector sent Jessica Williams to teach us Social Excellence. This is basically the concept of "being social." This may seem so simple, but how many of us have a hard time connecting with Rushes after the "What's your name? What's your major? Where are you from?" part is over? Jessica spoke about getting past that point by being honestly, curious, asking questions and truly listening to others in order to make connections. Sometimes it’s easy for us to talk to others, but what about those who we may not connect with instantly? I valued that workshop, not only for recruitment purposes, but for my personal benefit.
Most Important Lessons I learned
- We say "yeah, we're a national sorority", but how much do we understand this? We have connections that reach beyond Emerson and resources we can use to make our chapter grow not just in number, but in our connection with one another. For me, this concept is easy to grasp because I got to experience it at Convention. However, I’m going to try my hardest to convey this idea this school year in different ways, because I think it's important every sister understands.
- "Living the ritual"--What does that even mean? When I think of ritual, I think of the the binder of rituals we have, or when we initiate new members. But our Ritual is what we live by as sisters and why we are in AEPhi. It's about "Wearing your letters even more when not" and knowing (and being proud) of what we represent.
- Because we are national, we should be using it to make our connection and influence so much larger than ourselves. In a lot of ways I think we do this. Ribbons on the Runway is a great example. I want to do more. I don't want to say I was in AEPhi in college and it did nothing for me, or the world we live in. Yes, AEPhi is for us as sisters, but it's also about reaching others. We are given so much, and even being in AEPhi is a privilege. It's why we have a pledge process, why we go volunteer, have philanthropy events--to give what we have and share it with others, even in small ways. I want AEPhi to be something we're all proud to be apart of because we can make our reach so much farther than amongst ourselves.
We also racked in some award! Look at US!
Awards we won: Phillip H. & Susan Rudd Cohen Award for Jewish Communal Service, #1 G.P.A. on Campus and Exceed All-Sorority GPA (meaning our cumulative GPA exceeds what the National Office requires of us.)
National Convention made me ever more anxious to get to work on everything AEPhi this summer! I can’t wait to show Emerson what we’ve got this year!
LML,
Darian Harvin
President
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