Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Recruit-spiration: Door Stacks

Its August, so that must mean RECRUITMENT SEASON!

...quick hand me that curling iron..... GIRLS STOP TALKING...... anyone have a mint?....... what do you mean this isn't the right shirt?........ I BLEED PURPLE AND GOLD AND HAVE HAD TOO MANY REDBULLS BUT WHATEVS!

Tomorrow I head down to Georgia Southern University to volunteer for the Gamma Omicron chapter of DPhiE's Recruitment week. Having heard nothing but amazing things about these women, I can't wait to meet them.

For those of you in the thick of Recruitment, here are some fun door stacks to set the mood:

Peppiest!

Sweetest

Bounciest

Best Choreography




Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Moving Along


Pardon my mess. I'm moving this week, and won't be able to post my convention wrap up until next week. Thank you so much for reading and following me on my alumna journey! 

Posts on their way:
  • Convention Day Two
  • Convention Day Three
  • Unpacking: Networking Toolbox
  • Unpacking: Innovative Leadership



Saturday, July 26, 2014

International Convention 2014: Day Three

Beautifully humid morning for a quick run with my fellow Runner Deephers. 
DPhiE Runners Photoshoot: 
I woke up early this morning, excited to start the day with a run with women from all around the US. Our sorority magazine, The Triad, is putting together a story about our little Facebook Group, DPhiE Runners. This Facebook page has brought together women from across the country to encourage each other in our training for various races, and to meet up and run together at some notable runs like the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend. We donned our favorite unicorn running shirts and posed for a few quick pics... SANS MAKEUP if you can imagine. 
 We are hoping one of these will be the cover of The Triad coming out soon.

 Ready for another exciting Grand Chapter!
Grand Chapter Part Two: 
In the second half of Grand Chapter today, Donna Von Bruening gave the Educational Foundation report. 
Some important details included:
  • $55,000 in scholarships were awarded. 
  • They have rolled out the LPI: Loyalty Pledge Initiative. This program is a sisters-only giving opportunity, allowing sisters to sign up for monthly donations as low as $10/month. You get a very cool pin if when you pledge too! 
  • $1000 donation by Mary Marbach... you have to hear this story. She was on a flight to Orlando for Convention when she saw a group of collegiate women on the flight with her. She told them if they will sing DPhiE songs on the plane, she would donate $1000 to the Ed Foundation. They did, and so she did. Amazing. 
The National Development Corporation reported:
  • 1 full-time staff member has been selected. 
  • Land was purchased for the Gamma Omicron chapter at Georgia Southern University, to break ground Fall 2014
New International Governing Board members were slated and approved! The 1917 Club chapters were recognized. And last, and most excitedly, Convention 2016 was announced to be in Philadelphia! See you there! 




Disney Institute: "Disney's Approach to Leadership Excellence" Lunch:
This lunch and learn was incredibly insightful in regard to developing a vision through shared values. We talk a lot about our values in a sorority, but to begin to think about your leadership as values-based is pretty smart stuff. Carmen from the Disney Institute talked to us about the word "leader". Its not a noun, its a verb. Leaders are leaders because they act. As leaders, we must take our values of Justice, Sisterhood, and Love, and apply meaning and interpretation. These values mean different things to different people, but it is the leader's job to bring it on home. 

And, from this lecture, my favorite new word is overmanaging. This is not micromanaging, rather the attention to even the smallest detail to make sure all continues to align with the values of the organization.  

As a token from this session, our table was given little treats for volunteering to speak. Mine's the Mickey!



Ritual:
Its always so fascinating to see what chapters consider ritual attire. Our girls at the Phi Lambda chapter have set a strict dress code for all rituals to include a modest black dress, closed toed black shoes, pearls and pin only. When it was announced we could wear anything from dress-to-pin, to ritual, to our evening wear for the banquet, we were a little concerned. The idea of ritual is not to stand out in the crowd, but to focus on the words and actions of the ritual itself. Cheryl Lamb, International Ritualist, put it perfectly in order for me to understand the leniency of this particular ritual. She said cared less about what the women were wearing, and more about them attending and being a part of the special ceremonies. Preach it Cheryl. Thanks for always reminding me that sisters come first, and process comes second. The ritual was beautiful, and it was so wonderful to see over 600 women participating together in one room. 

2014 Convention Awards Banquet:
And now, the moment we have all been waiting for... DINNER! Such a nice spread for our fancy banquet dinner, to celebrate the hard work of he past biennium, and to share in the glory of each winning chapter and member. 

As the food was blessed, a special guest was announced... first Donald, then Goofy, then Mickey and Minnie! I swear, I have never seen so many sorority women excited about mascot-sized cartoons. I almost fell out of my chair, I jumped up so fast to take pictures. 


Myself and Carla spent about 30 minutes of dinner standing in line to get a shot with the characters. What an amazing surprise! 


As the award ceremony began, I was floored by receiving an Outstanding Alumnae of the Biennium mention. Myself, along with three other Alpha Epsilon grads were on the list. To be on the same list as Carolina Yera, my superstar advisor-crush, I was absolutely speechless.



Until they started to read the nomination essay for the Excellence award. I was cool, calm, and collected as they talked about this special alumnae and how she was so dedicated to the chapter she advises. I was even calm when they read out my personal motto, "Not Four Years, But for Life" thinking everyone here believes in that motto. Then when Nicole read my name out loud, I couldn't help but jump up and down. I am honored to have received such a beautiful award, and blessed to have chapter women in my life that thought to nominate me. 

 Me and my fellow Outstanding Alumnae of the Biennium, Carla Walker and Angie Villalba from 
Alpha Epsilon chapter. 

Me and International Governing Board President Tricia Carlin. 

Me and my nominating collegian, Stephanie Van Gelder. Thank you for thinking of me and saying such sweet things. Love you! 

What was the biggest win of the night in my opinion, and most deserved, went to Phi Lambda for Most Improved Recruitment Program. These women worked insanely hard this year to turn around the chapter image and recruitment standards at Emory University. With Angie Villalba as their Recruitment Advisor (talk about bleeding purple and gold), and Diane Sun as VP of Recruitment, there was no way they weren't going to get this award. HUGE congratulations to my chapter women on an excellent job well done. 


Together all three chapters of Georgia in one photo. Gamma Omicron, Alpha Epsilon, and 
Phi Lambda.

 From the outside looking in you can't understand it, from the inside looking out you can't explain it. Sisterhood defies all distance and logic. 





Friday, July 25, 2014

International Convention 2014: Day Two

Good morning sisters!

Went on a quick run this morning to wake myself up. It was beautiful here at the Coronado Springs Disney resort. 


 Watch out, I'm visioning...
Envisioning the future with Amanda Pouchot from Levo League: 
Amanda led us through a series of questions to help us visualize our future. Some of the questions she asked really opened my eyes to what my life could be like if I could not fail. She talked about how we should eliminate the word "failure" and replace it with "mistake". I have always thought about learning from my mistakes to make myself a better woman. And believe me, there have been plenty of mistakes in my life. I believe college life really sets you up to fall flat on your face sometimes, but learning to pick yourself back up and start again is a truly valuable lesson. Resilience... its an important skill to learn. 

Leadership Panel:
I was fortunate enough to be asked to moderate a panel of inspirational sorority women during the Leadership Panel discussion today. The women at the table were entrepreneurs, International Headquarters Staff, a Chapter President, and a School Principal. Sitting at that table, I learned a great deal about the different types of leaders. It is important to identify what kind of leader you are, in order to operate most effectively in your role. I believe I am a "let me do it" kind of leader, in which I lead by example, but that sometimes can lead to me working myself to death to get things done. I am going to work towards being a type of leader that encourages people to come up with ideas and systems on their own, even if it was first my idea. People will become more invested in the task or event if they believe they are the true driving force behind it. 


Celebration of Service Luncheon:
At this lunch event, collegiate and alumnae chapters were recognized for their outstanding service to our philanthropies and sorority as a whole. This biennium, Delta Phi Epsilon raised $207,000 for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation combined. Over $243,000 was raised in the last two years for the Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation, with $102,000 of that sum coming from the Dimes for DPhiE campaign in March. That's a staggering amount of money being out towards bettering our sisters and the world through scholarships, research, and awareness. 

Proud shout out to the Alpha Epsilon chapter at Kennesaw State University for bringing home (for the 3rd biennium in a row, I believe) the Outstanding Hospitality Certificate. Just some good ole fashioned southern women running the show in Kennesaw. Well done, ladies. 


Grand Chapter Part One: 
Some great information about the sorority was given during the State of the Sorority and other reports. We are expanding at a rapid pace. 
In this Biennium:
  • # of chapters grew from 80 to 90 chapters plus 3 colonies. 
  • average chapter size went from 56 members to 71 members.
  • 9% increase in active membership
  • 87 ANAD events were held, 84 CFF events were held. 
  • average chapter GPAs was 3.12
  • 30+ recognized Alumnae Associations
  • 8 Engage U sessions were held.
  • 50 chapter visits
That's some incredible growth in only two short years. Snaps to us! 

Here I am preparing to represent the Georgia Alumnae Association beside my counterpart at the Metro Atlanta Alumnae Association. Thanks to Carla Walker for being a soccer mom and snapping this pic!


Time to hit the parks! 

 Here we are at Epcot. There are no words... only memories. 


Thursday, July 24, 2014

Convention Countdown: It's here! It's here!


7am and we have hit the road. Got our snacks, coffee, even Jessica is coming along for the ride! 


10:30am: Just closed the Florida state line, and had to stop off for a quick bathroom/water break. Some kind gentleman took this photo for us. Excited for #disneydeepher moments all weekend! 

12pm: A great playlist for the trip is the original recording for On the Record, which is basically a mashup of the most popular Disney songs sung by broadway level performers. YouTube has a playlist, or click here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL71E8503E3E194BD9

1:30pm: WE MADE IT! 



4pm: uh oh, Dphie Designs has a whole room! I definitely walked out spending more than I should, but where else would you get a spirit jersey with "international convention" written on the back?! 

Some of us may have broke them bank... *cough cough Chloe!*. Not going to lie though, I'm a little jealous of her swag. She's a brave one, and told them not to even tell her the total. "Just swipe the card," she said. 

4:30pm: A little visit from Phi Lambda President Udoka Okafor with a sweet goodie bag thanking us for our service and for coming to convention. ADORBS! 

6pm: The official welcome speech from our very own International Governing Board President, Tricia Reed Carlin. Thank you for making us feel loved and inspired to start the weekend out right! 



6:15pm: Amanda Pouchot, founder of Levo League, delivered the opening keynote and literally got us up to our feet. I think we were all so exhausted from travel and potentially Disney-magic, so it was a tough crowd. She have us some very active things to do, which I appreciate from my theatre background. Some thoughts that stuck out to me include:
▫️multi-million dollar ideas don't just happen, you have to work for them step by step building on your experience. 
▫️borrow/steal ideas someone else has laid the path for. 
▫️we run the world..... GIRLS
Any speaker that starts the conversation with a dance party gets an A+ in my book! 


6:45pm: Lynn Strigh took us through some valuable networking tips, and started a dialogue for us to continue throughout the weekend. 

What I find most interesting about her points is that in order to effectively network, you have to know why. Why are you networking? I always assumed it was just the thing to do, but if it has no direct purpose behind it, you probably won't follow through or be very successful at it. 

For me, I think my main objective for networking this weekend is to promote the use of this blog as a resource for women in the active chapters and alumnae. Secondly, but more importantly, I am looking to connect with new sisters and spread my spirit (while feeding off others' spirit) for the sorority. To revitalize or rejuvenate my experience as an alumnae and advisor. 

7:45pm: TSHIRT AUCTION! This was fun because I got to lead the auctioning for the second Convention in a row. My first experience auctioning was at a District Leadership conference back in maybe 2008 or 09 in St. Louis. Remember DLC? We were staying in a hotel that was also hosting an auctioneering school on the same floor. Walking from my hotel room one day, I ran into this boy, maybe 17 years old at the most, wandering the halls and drinking a beer (him, not me). He tried to spark conversation with us, and we were polite to oblige him however disinterested we were at the time. We asked him what he was doing there and he told us about the Auctioneering School. I got a private lesson, along with a sister from Texas, in the elevator that day and have been talking super fast ever since. 


The highlight for me was when a unicorn patterned stitched letter shirt was up for bidding. I happened to mention, like you do, that this was a $1000 stitched tee and was magical and so on. We started the bidding and from what may have been a $50 bid hiked to a $1000 bid from our very own International Ritualist, Cheryl Lamb. She said to me, "Olivia, did you say that was worth $1000?" I said, "I believe it is." Cheryl said, "I'll take that bid, only if you'll wear it." My jaw dropped. Cheryl donated $1000 for a shirt that I loved to support my unicorn obsession, but also our astounding Educational Foundation. I hope someday I could be successful enough to impact the sorority like Cheryl does so gracefully. 


10pm: finally to dinner at Maya Grille on the Resort. That's a wrap from these four advisors at Phi Lambda. A quick drink to catch up...

...dip our toes in the pool...

...and I bid you goodnight sisters. Until tomorrow, where more magic, inspiration, and innovation are sure to prevail. 













Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Convention Countdown: 1 day - Travel Playlists

Got a long ride ahead of you? The Chapter Advisors from Phi Lambda Chapter in Atlanta will be driving abotu 8 hours to get to Disney World in one day. To get through the long hours of open road, I've compiled a few playlists from several sources. Click the following links for some great Disney tunes to get you in the mood for the most magical place on earth... and to pass the time.









Monday, July 21, 2014

Convention Countdown: 2 Days- Top 5 Things You'll Forget to Pack

Its inevitable. You'll prepare and pack early and triple check 10 packing lists and yet, still, you will forget to pack something really important. Here are the top 5 things I hope I don't forget when traveling to Delta Phi Epsilon International Convention in Walt Disney World. #disneydeepher

1. Sisterhood Badge: 
This is one of the greatest opportunities to wear your badge with pride and in solidarity. You don't wear it daily, so its most likely in a jewelry box with all your other insignia, or in a cute shadow box you created after graduation. Smash that glass and pack that pin! You'll regret it if you don't.

2. Phone Charger:
Selfies on selfies on selfies during Convention are going to wear down your battery. You can't always rely on someone else in your room having a phone charger that matches your version of IPhone or Google Phone or Android or whatever else is out there now. Be responsible and bring it!

3. Eye Glasses:
As you travel to Disney, you'll probably already be in your contact lenses and could easily leave behind your specs. I don't personally wear glasses, but having a fiance who constantly complains about the contact lens process makes me thing he would hate to forget this item at home.

4. Prescriptions:
For me, I only take one daily pill... that good ole oral contraceptive. It does more for me than blocking babies, and pretty much keeps me sane with clear skin. If you miss a day or two of that pill you could run the risk of having to start over with a new pack, doubling up on dosage, or feeling the consequences of not taking your pills. Yikes!

5. Umbrella:
Don't get caught in the rain! Your hair could get flat, your dress could turn see-through. It's bad news bears!