2017 Flint Service Trip

In 2017, I had a really bad year mentally, socially, and academically. Toward the end of the year, I received an email that stated that my LEAD Team got shut down and if I didn’t attend a Flint Service Trip then I would be on probation for my scholarship. After everything else I had going on, I’m going to be honest, I went into this with a really negative attitude. I had to take a day out of my busy schedule to attend a service trip that had no prior planning or knowledge of. During the trip, it was very unorganized and the leaders were in the dark on everything by the organizers. I tried to turn my attitude around and it wasn’t until we finally began volunteering I realized that my small issues and annoyances were so miniscule compared to the conditions and challenges that face everyday people of Flint. The water crisis is still happening, homelessness is increasing, crime is evident, and there wasn’t much being done to help. Prior to this trip, I knew that I would be interning in Flint for the summer but I never have been there before. It opened my mindset to what exactly I would be working in. Since I was working with law enforcement, I knew that I had to be out in the field and now I have a preface of what type of atmosphere I would be working in. I learned that I need to keep a positive mindset even in the darkest of times and think of everyday as a fresh start. It turned out to be exactly what I needed at that time in my life. 

Community Relations

As VP of Administration and EVP of the Panhellenic Council, I got the opportunity to sit on a group of people who consisted of students and community members to talk about issues that we have with the Mt. Pleasant community and how students are hindering or helping them. I got to represent the Greek Community during these talks and inputted in matters that concerned us. With the growing dislike of Greek Life all around the nation, this was a challenging task. We discussed and identified the miscommunications and the expectations that were of Greeks. Later in meetings we tried to create events to attempt to mend our two sides. We met with city officers, Greeks, and law enforcement and decided that the first step would to create community service opportunities and events that could bring us together on a good note. We planned on continuing our Greeks Clean the Streets with once a year celebrations that included the community and students to improve relations. We also have been sending students to city commission meetings and we have been in the works of creating a welcome back to school celebration downtown and inviting community members.

Senior Year of AST

In October 2014, I joined Alpha Sigma Tau. As older post read, I have had many memories and experiences with this organization. I have held a number of leadership positions and have served on executive board twice. After eight semesters in a chapter that feels like home, there hasn’t been a day that I regret joining this chapter and community. It has pushed me to hold many roles in the Greek Community and around campus. I have met so many amazing sisters who have encouraged me to be my unapologetic self and I am very thankful for that. In my time in AST, we have done so many amazing things as a chapter that I am so proud to be apart of. We have held the highest sorority cumulative GPA since I have joined, won Greek Week twice, raised about $4,000 a year for Pine Mountain Settlement school, sent a group of sisters to volunteer at our national philanthropy every year, have every sister involved in at least one other RSO on campus, had the highest volunteer hours per sister in a long time, and improved member retention. I have been so proud of the accomplishments we have has. My learning experiences in this chapter has been beyond what has been in any other organization.  I have learned how to be self motivated to balance my social life, academics, and school involvements. I have learned time management to balance my involvements with my personal life. I have learned confidence from the affirmation of succeeding in my positions and following in the footsteps of our older members. Overall, this organization has given me so much and I’m glad I  have gotten the opportunity to give back to it.