New Member Beach Retreat Weekend
Writer, Graphics: Savannah T. / Chapter Submitted Video/Photos
At the end of February, the Spring 19.5 New Member class of Delta Zeta hopped on a bus to Destin, Florida for a weekend of sisterly bonding and quality time as a part of their semesterly new member retreat. They spent the weekend exploring Destin, participating in bonding activities, eating s’mores, and making memories that helped strengthen their sisterhood for years to come. The event was planned by the new member team, led by Kiana S., the VP of New Member Education.
“The new member retreat is extremely important. This is the time where new members are able to bond together as a whole in an environment outside of school. I believe that sorority truly gives you the friendships that last a lifetime and sometimes you can't see how strong those bonds are until you take a step outside (A.K.A. outside of meetings),” says Kiana. “The retreat creates those random moments of laughter that you truly can't get in a structured meeting. I also believe having a retreat out of the house/off-campus is extremely important. It allows new members to have a change of scenery and create new experiences.”
Planning a whole weekend of activities is a big undertaking, so Kiana utilized her assistants and Gems on the new member team. Assistants’ day-to-day task is to assist the VP of New Member Education while the Gems serve as mentors and lead small groups of new members. Kiana enlisted their opinions to arrange activities, configure schedules, and make presentations based on what kind of retreat the women would have enjoyed as new members.
“The biggest challenge planning this event was making sure there were enough activities/ things to do. I didn't want anyone to feel bored or as if they had too much free time. It was creating a balance between structured events but also giving that free time that they should have,” says Kiana. “The biggest reward was hands down seeing their faces and appreciation. This pledge class has no idea what they have done for me. They have shown me so much love and appreciation and truly made me feel like I am doing what they need. At the end of the day, I want to do anything I can to help them fall in love with DZ and panhellenic the way I did. They even surprised me with a gift basket on initiation showing their appreciation. It was so unnecessary but honestly, the thought and time they put into getting a gift and signing a card were truly heartwarming. I actually have the card hanging in my room. They truly don't understand how much they have touched me/ made my junior year. They may think they have me to thank but I truly have them to thank.”
After planning the event, the new member team and new members headed to the beach for the weekend. On Friday, they had a sexual assault/female safety workshop, then they went to an escape room, and had dinner together that evening. The next day, they played various bonding games, explored the resort to find landmarks, ate lunch together, and took advantage of some free time with their sisters. Later that night, they had a beach bonfire complete with s’mores, dinner, and a reflection on their upcoming initiation. The final activity the new members did was write notes to their fellow friends for them to read post-initiation.
“Since this event was an overnight trip it allowed for a lot of bonding time with everyone. We did so many activities and all of the rooms we stayed in were right by each other so it was basically 48 hours of non-stop time spent together,” says Gem Alex P. “Being in close quarters and having done so many trust activities you could feel everyone getting closer and closer together as the night went on. We were able to be in a space where everyone felt safe to be themselves and everyone had an opportunity to really get to know one another. In a chapter, some of the closest friends you will end up having are most likely the girls from your pledge class (PC). Having this intimate new member retreat really allowed this PC to bond like I have never seen before, and so quickly too. What really makes a chapter feel like home is having those sisters that really feel like family. So, this retreat really brought together this PC and gave them those sisterly bonds to hold onto. After the retreat, they always had a friendly face to sit with at meals, study with, and take pics with at date functions. The retreat also allowed for a space for all of the new members to really be open and vulnerable with each other. With that vulnerability came a lot of trust in one another. We all definitely left that weekend feeling much closer together and having many more sisters to turn too in times of need. Having this new bond with one another really makes everyone feel welcome and right at home. ”
Echoing that sentiment, assistant Bailey T. says, “Being able to spend time away from the house allowed Kiana and I to focus on the new mems and really listen to how they felt during the new mem process. We were able to talk with them one-on-one which was something the gems only did before. Being able to share my experiences with them and bonding over similar worries I had when I first joined allowed me to get a lot closer with the entire pc. Being away from the house and campus allowed the new mems to just relax and get to know one another as well as the gems, Kiana, and I. By getting closer with us in such a relaxed environment, I think they were able to destress and realize that at the end of the day we are all just women supporting women and have a good time with sisters regardless of where we are.”
Overall, the trip was a success and allowed the spring new members to feel more connected to one another and their chapter according to new members Madi G. and Tiffany B. Both felt like spending the weekend exclusively with their sisters allowed them to grow closer and learn more about each other. This trip allowed them to branch out to both women on the new member education team and sisters in their new member class that they normally wouldn’t have and create memories that strengthened their bond. Here are everyone's favorite memories from the trip.
“My favorite memory from the trip was probably the bonfire. We were able to watch the sunset, eat delicious sores and take some fun pics in our new matching sweatshirts,” says Kiana. “It was so fun just to relax and have that time to hang out.”
“My favorite memory from the trip was the night of the beach bonfire. It was nice to be able to relax and have more personable conversations with the new members that we didn’t really have much time for before,” says Bailey. “That night helped me realize just how diverse our new pc was and how much I loved them.”
“My favorite memory from the trip was the huge bonfire that we did at the end of the night. We had s’mores and music and it was just a great time to get to know everyone without any structured activities, and also a great time to take pics and relax after the long day,” says Alex. “It was really great to see the young women hanging out with who they got closer to during the trip.”
“My favorite memory from the retreat was definitely the bonfire. Who doesn’t enjoy s’mores and sunset pics?” says Madi G.
“My favorite memory from the retreat was our scavenger hunt,” says Tiffany B. “Going around the resort area with our sisters was so much fun. We took the shuttle around the area and went on adventures that we will never forget!”