A New Member Development Memoir
Writer: Grace C. / Photographer: Olivia E. / Graphics: Savannah T.
Like all Panhellenic organizations, the Epsilon Zeta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma is invested in the betterment of their members and members of their community around the nation. In doing so, Kappa has recently implemented a new structure, resulting in the creation of many new positions. One of these new positions is Vice President of New Member Development which Nikki P., a junior majoring in Hospitality Management, has taken on this exciting new role.
Some of Nikki’s responsibilities as VP include educating members, planning programming chapters, having guest speakers and organizations visit, and enforcing academic incentives. There are three directors under her, the New Member Educator, Senior Experience Director, and the All Member Experience Director, whom she works closely with to program. This position, as it is new, has encouraged her to learn more about personal branding, individual purpose, and empowerment, all of which are ideals that she wishes to incorporate further in the chapter’s programming.
Because she has not held a position before, transitioning to a VP, let alone an entirely new structure, required a lot of trial and error. “Everyone is learning the ropes as they go,” she says.
Though being the first to serve in a new position comes with pressure, Nikki strives to set the standard for those who take on the role after her. Going into this position, she knew she wanted to make programming one of Kappa’s strengths. Since before she was elected, Nikki aspired to host more chapters with speakers and organizations from on and off-campus. Knowing that Florida State has valuable resources on campus that many students aren’t aware of, Nikki made it her goal to bring some of them to her chapter and better educate her sisters.
“[These resources] benefit us not only in our college years but in our futures and our personal development within them.” She feels that this position was “made for her,” and in a way, it was.
To kick off her role as VP, Nikki recently brought in two guest speakers, Lisa Richardson and Michelle Homoky, both of whom hope to aid young women in discovering their purposes in life through empowerment and personal branding. Michelle and Lisa stressed that “success comes in ‘cans’ and ‘cannots’” and reminded the women of Kappa that they are the authors of their own stories, lessons that did and will continue to benefit Nikki’s fellow sisters.
In reflection of their mission, these speakers came to emphasize the importance of finding your ‘why’. They elaborated upon what they call “the three powers”. The first is the power of your attitude, which deduces that attitude impacts everything you do and dictates whether you are living life or if life is living you. The second is the power of your brand, which highlights one’s ability to embody the best version of themselves. Lastly, the power of your passion, which communicates the significance of doing what you love and loving what you do and determines that empathy is arguably the most important trait in successful leadership.
Having successfully coordinated this event, Nikki reflects upon what empowerment and personal branding mean to her. In being elected VP of New Member Development, she seeks to better both herself and women in her chapter. This desire to fulfill people’s wants and needs is, in part, why Nikki wants to go into the Hospitality industry. She accepts that “knowing I am making people happy makes me happy” and that there are many parallels between her position and what she wants to do professionally.
For Nikki, empowerment “is one of those things that you can’t really identify until you experience it” and she feels empowered by her sisters and by the fact that we, as Panhellenic women, are powerful in and of ourselves. She is confident in her ‘why’ and finds that it drives her to be a better person for herself, her chapter, and every person she crosses paths with. As “everyone experiences different highs and lows in life,” spreading kindness is important because “at these highs and lows, it can be hard to see the bigger picture.” Nikki encourages everyone to figure out their ‘why’ and individual purposes because it will drive them in all they do.
As much as this experience has impacted Nikki, it has also impacted the women of Kappa. Sister Kathryn E. explains “I came to the programming event exhausted after a busy week with a test the next day, but left feeling inspired and renewed,” as these women were able to validate her stress and turn it into motivation. Kathryn was ultimately reminded that she needs to own who she is and use her uniqueness to her benefit. Alternatively, Lauren K. enjoyed the event because it emphasized the inspiring nature of girl power and female empowerment in the professional world.
For Nikki, empowerment is a way of life, an ideal that is also extremely apparent throughout the Panhellenic community. Nikki verbalizes that seeing her sisters succeed in all they do has allowed her to develop an “if you can do it, I can do it too” mindset, motivating her to become even more involved in Kappa and Panhellenic. “These experiences make us forget that we are in different chapters,” an important perspective in creating a sisterhood greater than the sum of our 17 chapters.
“When I was a new member, I never thought I would have a position, but seeing my sisters so involved made me want to go after what I wanted.” Nikki, like many Panhellenic women, truly wants to develop this sense of purpose within her sisters and spread values of love, friendship, and loyalty, all of which are integral in her own life.
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