Come Together to Be Better!
Writer: Bella B. Editor: Kyla M. and Grace C.
On the weekend of March 12 members from Florida State’s Fraternity and Sorority Life attended the Southeastern Greek Leadership Association (SGLA) conference that invites all leaders within Greek organizations to come together in order to collaborate and not only learn from the speakers, but from each other as well.
“It [was] a fantastic way, across the four days in Atlanta, to learn how you can be impactful in your own collegiate community, but also within your own life beyond the leadership title,” says Cait C., who serves as the Director of Potential New Member (PNM) Education on Panhellenic Recruitment Staff. Participants heard from experts in leadership and personal development throughout the course of the conference. Sessions were geared towards specific leadership roles and personal development.
“We heard speakers from all around the United States who are experts in leadership and personal development and it was also a great networking opportunity to speak to these individuals as well as the leaders from other colleges,” says Ella E., Director of Recruitment Logistics and Operations for Panhellenic who attended the event.
“Each session was beneficial either to a specific position you were in or towards your development as a person,” she continues. Ella recounts that she participated in discussions that were more geared towards Recruitment since that is her focus for the year, and made sure to reach out to other women participating in a position similar to hers. “We also had an affiliation luncheon where we sat with members of our specific organization from all over the southeast and it was really interesting to see how different our chapters were from other schools.”
Conversations on gaining confidence, taking up space in the world, and empowerment skills as leaders for women impacted all who attended.
Along with the Panhellenic Executive Board and Recruitment Staff, a variety of chapter leaders, like Panhellenic Delegates, attended the event and recounted their memories and lifelong lessons they hope to implement into our community! One, in particular, is the Director of Panhellenic Relations for Alpha Omicron Pi, Gabby D.
“There were so many great keynotes that we could listen to that not only made us better leaders but better Greek members as well,” says Gabby D., Director of Panhellenic Relations for Alpha Omicron Pi. “I [then attended] some keynote’s that were not geared towards Panhellenic women but were geared towards the IFC men where they would talk about things like how to work efficiently as a team and how to work with finances and things like that. I thought those were some important aspects of our Executive Board that I wanted to understand better.”
Through Gabby’s rich activity and attendance at the conference, she was able to better understand different perspectives and is excited for the opportunity she was given to not only better Panhellenic and her chapter, but herself as well.
“Without this trip, I would have never gotten the chance to bond to that extent with a group of people from NPHC [National Pan-Hellenic Council] fraternities as well as IFC [Interfraternity Council] fraternities,” Gabby says.
While the integral part of attending SGLA is discussing the issues facing Greek Life communities all around the world, another aspect of the trip is the people you meet and the new things you get to experience. Cassie E. is the Director of Recruitment Counselors for Panhellenic and also attended the conference. While she portrays how she attended important sessions pertaining to leadership as a woman, body positivity, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) discussions, what stood out to her the most was an experience she will never forget.
“My favorite part was Friday night when members of NPHC and MGC had the opportunity to stroll with other schools and it was super high energy and amazing to watch,” Cassie says.
“I had never had the chance to go to a Market Wednesday, it was super cool to see the different members of different schools come together and the energy was so high, our entire Panhellenic and IFC community was there watching and I took away the amazing sense of community and culture in NPHC.”
Other women, such as Avery L., the Pi Beta Phi Panhellenic Delegate, comments that the strolling was also one of her most memorable experiences from the weekend!
Not only were the participants able to network with leaders across the country, but they were also able to form deeper bonds with each other.
“My favorite part was bonding with the men and women from our community. Friday night was particularly my favorite because we all got to dance together and members from NPHC were participating in stepping and strolling. It was an awesome way to bond and learn more about all of our Greek councils,” Avery says.
Through gaining real-life experience and having the opportunity to understand a variety of perspectives, the women of Panhellenic who attended SGLA can confidently say they are exhilarated to not only teach and discuss what they have learned and to further the message of the community, but also to implement what they have experienced.