Engage U Kennesaw Edition

An incredible perk of being a Delta Phi Epsilon sister is opportunity for continued growth as a leader within our organization. Our International Headquarter hosts regional conferences each semester open to all sisters to attend to sharpen their leadership skills. Engage U was dreamed up after several years of hosting DLC (District Leadership Conference) biannually. DLC would be held over a weekend, limiting the number of sisters able to attend because it was an expensive commitment. Engage U was born, meant to engage the members throughout the year in a way that is innovative, enlightening, and cost effective. 

Fall 2013, International Headquarters selected Kennesaw State University to host Engage U. I was super excited when the announcement happened, as it is my alma mater and hometown. I couldn't wait to host my friends from IHQ in my home state! 

At this conference, women from the Georgia chapters and some women from Illinois and Texas joined together to learn from alumnae leading a myriad of presentations throughout the day. I joined my Phi Lambda Chapter President for several of the morning sessions. We learned about the Chapter Assessment Program, Values Based Recruitment, and Risk Management. It was wonderful to be there with my President as she was exposed to new ideas with which to lead the chapter towards great things. 

After lunch, I had the honor of leading a Chapter Advisory Board session. We discussed everything from what is required of a Chapter Advisor or Advisory Board Member, to how to place women in these positions. We spent the majority of the time fielding questions as a group from the collegiate women and other advisors in attendance. Of the women in the room, the level of support from advisors ran the gambit. One chapter has two Chapter Advisors, neither of which was able to be as active as the chapter feels they need. An advisor from another chapter is serving remotely from across the country. Several challenges were presented in both cases, and I found it really interesting how the group worked to field the questions and concerns of the women in the room. That's something that is so incredible about being in a sisterhood as strong as ours. We may have never met each other before Engage U, but when faced with questions and challenges we dropped the questions of our own and came up with collective solutions. Pretty powerful stuff in only a 40 minutes session. 

To close our day, I lead a keynote discussion about the importance of the Senior to Alumna transition. My key take aways from this discussion were that seniors are really the hardest audience in your chapter. They are set in their ways, don't like change, and can easily become disenchanted with the entire experience. The women who stick it out to senior year need to be rewarded for the legacy they are leaving behind. Engage these women throughout the year, and have their final sorority experiences be topnotch. If they leave the collegiate chapter with good memories they will be more likely to return to help with Recruitment, Homecoming, Greek Week, volunteer for your international organization, or even make monetary contributions to your chapter or foundations.

Here are some ideas for engaging your senior members throughout the year:

• Senior Celebratory Chapter Meeting - Give the seniors special seats in chapter, decorate "We Love Our Seniors" signs, and generally just love on 'em!
• Senior/Alumnae Mixer - Get your chapter alumnae together with your seniors to talk about their opportunities to stay involved in the sorority beyond graduation.
• "Senior of the Week" - Highlight a senior every week on social media, and give them a small gift at chapter. 
• Senior Retreat - Plan a weekend retreat for seniors only so they can have one last HOO-RAH!
• Cap Decorating Party - Bring on the glitter-glue! Provide the supplies for seniors to decorate their graduation caps. 
• Resume/Cover Letter workshop - Talk to your career services office on your campus about hosting a workshop for graduating members where they go over their resumes.