Guest Blogger Chelsea Clements, Gamma Kappa, Reflects on her UIFI Experience

Delta Zetas attending UIFI - Taylor Hansen (Xi Psi, Grand Valley), Bridget Coppola (Xi Psi, Grand Valley), Annie Black (Gamma Delta, Penn State), Amanda Devane (Pi Beta, Hartford), Chelsea Clements (Gamma Kappa, Kent State), and Jessa Knust (Iota, Iowa)

Leadership. Values. Character. Ritual. By the end of the week, these four words hung in the front of the dining room at the Alpha Omicron Pi house at Indiana University. If I had to describe what I learned in my five days at the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute (UIFI), those four words easily sum it up. The North-American Interfraternity Conference offers 11 sessions throughout the summer of UIFI to any student involved in fraternity/sorority life. I had the honor of receiving a scholarship from the Delta Zeta Foundation to attend UIFI and I could not be more grateful. Without the Foundation’s assistance I would not have been able to have this once in a lifetime experience.

The week began with breaking into small groups and getting to know each other through team building activities. The next four days then consisted of large and small group meetings. These meetings were full of debate, reflection, and the sharing of ideas. We discussed the negative stereotypes that are placed on fraternities and sororities and what we can do to eliminate them. We were then given time to personally reflect on our chapters and come up with a plan on how we can make them better. On the third day we put one of our values, service, into action and spent time volunteering at various charities throughout the city of Bloomington. One of the most powerful as well as my favorite activities was one evening when we shared our creeds and mottos.I realized that although the words are different for each organization, there are common themes that all motivate us to be better women and men. The seven Delta Zetas in my session stood and recited our Creed and I was truly moved and listened to our words with a new perspective.

The two parts of UIFI that were most valuable to me were the people I met and the new perspective I was given. This experience gave me the opportunity to meet and network with incredible facilitators as well as with other students. The facilitators were all inspiring and completely dedicated to bettering the lives of fraternity men and sorority woman. Each had different ideas and perspectives to offer, and their advice about how to elevate our chapters was invaluable. Connecting with other collegiate members was just as rewarding. Being around students with similar goals and expectations for their organizations was inspiring. Through encouragement, we inspired each other to make a difference. I’m confident that I will remain in contact with these people for the rest of my life and will seek their advice and encouragement in times of need. Attending UIFI also gave me the confidence that, although I am one person, I still have the ability to make a difference on not only my Delta Zeta chapter, but on the entire fraternity/sorority community. This newfound perspective has really sparked me to recommit to the values that Delta Zeta instills in its members. UIFI has inspired me to inspire my sisters to rethink what it means to walk in the light of the flame.

Thank you again to the Delta Zeta Foundation. Without your scholarship I would have never had this amazing opportunity. I hope that more and more Delta Zetas are able to have this experience. It truly does change your life.


In the Flame,

Chelsea Clements

Gamma Kappa

Kent State University

What to Prepare for Convention: And we don’t mean just clothes!

In about two weeks over 500 Delta Zetas will converge on San Antonio for the 50th National Convention. While many of you might be concerned about what to wear, there are many other things just as important to prepare for your trip. Planning what to pack is important, and you can find examples of what to wear for each different Convention session here, but we wanted to take a few minutes to talk about six non-clothing items that you should add to your suitcase or be aware of before coming to Texas.

1. Extra spending money – Whether you plan to shop in DZ DeZigns, or stop by the DZ Marketplace to learn more about Delta Zeta Licensed Vendors, you will be able to get your fill of pink and green gear. Another way to spend money - but to support Delta Zeta at the same time – is by visiting the Foundation Silent Auction.

2. Follow the feed – Make sure to download Twitter to your smart phone to follow the #DZ2012 feed for the latest announcements and post your reactions to all the happenings in San Antonio.

3. Review the schedule – The schedule for Convention Events is posted to the website. If you have a smart phone you can download the schedule using Guidebook. Check out the desktop version here http://guidebook.com/g/DZ2012/.

4. Don’t forget photo ops – We have some very special events planned, from Fun Night on the Fourth of July with Phi Mu to our Community Purpose Dinner with Ginny Carroll, so you’ll want to take photos. And share them with us on the Convention Facebook Event Page.

5. Notebook and pen – Even though you may be used to taking notes with your iPad, its always useful to have a notebook and pen so you can jot down a note, give someone your phone number or take notes during Convention business sessions. Be aware, there are some sessions where computer, smart phone and tablet use will not be allowed.

6. YOU! The most important thing about coming to Convention is to make sure you are present. Yes, we know you are coming. But what we mean is that you should come with an open mind, ready to learn, connect and experience one of the most amazing sisterhood events Delta Zeta has to offer.

Life After College

For many, the transition to life after college and one’s early 20s in general, while often full of excitement can also be a time of great stress. Huge changes often happen – finding a job, moving to a new city, living on your own for the first time, purchasing health insurance, budgeting including paying student loans, and even perhaps becoming engaged or married – all of which necessitate personal and financial responsibility. But for some of us, the transition to life after college is defined even more basically with the questions “Who do I want to be?” and “What do I want to do in my life?”

Delta Zeta Life Skills App
Delta Zeta’s recently updated Life Skills App, available for iPhone/iPad, Android, and Blackberry, is a great place to start and continually reference as you are starting out after college. The app includes information on a wide variety of topics. As you transition out of college, some great topics to take a look at are:

• Housing – moving, apartments, renter’s insurance
• Money – credit, taxes, retirement
• Health – insurance, health spending accounts, life insurance

Turning Point in Your Life
It is common to compare your current situation in life with those of your friends, family and acquaintances. But always comparing can result in feelings of inadequacy or jealousy. It is important to recognize that each of us takes an individual journey and we must persevere towards our dreams, however we have defined them. A fun, short read for new graduates that emphasizes this idea is When They Were 22: 100 Famous People at the Turning Point in Their Lives by Brad Dunn. Here are a few tidbits he shares:

• When she was 22, Jane Goodall quit her job as a secretary, waited tables for 10 months, and saved enough money to visit a friend’s farm in Kenya. Her thirst for zoology impressed an acquaintance who offered her a job studying wild chimpanzees.
• When he was 22, Richard Branson re-branded his small mail-order business by opening a recording studio and launching Virgin Records.
• When he was 22, after several disappointing professional ventures, Billy Joel was playing lounge piano at a bar in Los Angeles. His experiences there let him to write his signature tune “Piano Man” which one him a contract with Columbia Records and a hit album less than 2 years later.
• When she was 22, Estee Lauder was learning to make facial cream in her uncle’s laboratory. She began selling her products to salons and even while walking on the beach. Within 30 years she had turned her tiny home business into a multimillion dollar cosmetic company.

What is service?

Many times our chapters use philanthropy and service as interchangeable ideas. We say we are holding a philanthropy event, or completing community service. While both are equally important, the words actually have different meanings. Miriam Webster’s online dictionary defines philanthropy as 1. goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially : active effort to promote human welfare, 2. a : an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes b : an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes. If you pick the noun service, one of the definitions is of a helpful act. Over the years the word philanthropy has been associated with monetary donations which benefit others. Service, on the other hand, can happen with or without monetary support.

Delta Zeta chapters perform both philanthropy and service. We find that chapters have very creative events which both raise money and awareness for our National philanthropies. From Hamburgers for Hearing and Pancake Breakfast events, to the ever popular Turtle Tugs, our chapters have contributed close to $1,500,000 this year alone in dollars and gifts in kind to worthy organizations. Sometimes, though, the events we hold for charity can become a little more like a social event with the people, music, and party like atmospheres we create. 

Service tends to be a little harder to convince individual members to participate in. Events that are hands-on community service projects, such as volunteering at local elementary schools or taking part in a beach clean-up, take a little more of their time and, frankly, are work. Even so, the average Delta Zeta member completed 43 hours of service this year alone.  This number takes into account hours members complete individually and with the chapter during chapter philanthropy events. 

Chapters successful in organizing hands on service opportunities provide their members with lists of events and opportunities on campus and in their communities on a regular basis. Members who are provided multiple opportunities to serve are more likely to give of their time and talent. Chapters who make service meaningful and fun also find that their members are more likely to participate. Members who talk about their service experience and feelings, including both positive and negative reactions, create greater meaning and connection during and following service opportunities. And chapter members who see their progress towards a goal, whether that be towards completing a project like a cemetery clean up, or watching their total service hour tally rise like a thermometer, will be more successful.

What are other ways you encourage your members’ service efforts? Tell us by leaving a message below or by mentioning us on Twitter @DeltaZetaNatl.