My first time in Michigan

Pi, University of Michigan

I absolutely loved my first visit to the cool college town of Ann Arbor! The ΑΕΦ house is in a great location right around the corner from Starbucks and the South University Ave area. I stayed in the guest room on the second floor and the kitchen was always stocked with coffee and snacks. Chef Roger was a riot and fun to talk to. The ladies of Pi chapter brought me to the famous Zingerman's Deli where I had a delicious sandwich and sampled some great breads and cheeses. They also took me to No Thai for pad thai and Amer's deli.

I got the chance to walk around and explore the South State Street area, as well. I took a look around the M-Den, which sells just about anything you could ever want with the Michigan logo on it. And there are so many great options there for shopping, food and entertainment. A cool place I got to see on campus was the Law Quad. It is so pretty with the old architecture and green paths. There is a myth that it is the only place in the United States that the Harry Potter crew considered filming, but after a Google search, I discovered that it is just that, a myth. I also learned some history while visiting the Student Union. JFK announced the concept of the Peace Corp from the steps of the Union in 1960. This sparked my interest because my mom was in the Peace Corp when she was my age, right out of college.

Zingerman's Deli

One of the coolest parts of my visit was getting to go to a Michigan football game. I had never been to a football game other than in high school and at UConn, let alone a Big 10 game. The atmosphere of campus that day is something I've never seen before. We were woken up early to begin the first Football Saturday and starting by 9AM, every fraternity was blasting music and starting to tailgate. Even just walking down to Starbucks that moring, everyone I saw was decked out in blue and yellow and lawns were filled with excited students getting ready for the game. Being in the stadium was exciting because it is the largest college football stadium in the country. It was packed with students, families and alumni with so much energy and pride.

Michigan Stadium

I had so much fun spending time with the women of Pi chapter and really enjoyed getting to know them. Even if we were just sitting around, they were always having fun and kept me laughing. Their obsession with Hoorah for AEPhi was hilarious and I think by the end of my visit they had the words and motions completely down. Writing an extremely detailed shopping list for ice cream and toppings together was an entertaining task. They even included me in their first game day and showed me the ropes of game day at Michigan. These ladies are amazing people and have such a great sisterhood.

Me, Faibish, Gaby, Kaitlin, Perl

Ariel, Melissa, Lindsay

Something I learned while at Michigan is that the best tool for success really is self-confidence. While it's rarely easy to aquire and can take a lot of work to build up, self-confidence can make the difference in getting the job you want or even accomplishing a successful recruitment. My goal for these ladies is that they will be confident in what they have to offer potential new members and that it will come across as effortlessly as possible. We worked a lot on logistics of the rounds so we would be able to focus our thoughts on the other important parts, like conversation, come recruitment time. 

I am so excited that I get to return to Ann Arbor for part of recruitment. Even better, Cheyenne and I will be making the visit together! Pi chapter needs a lot of support during recruitment so I know it will be an event-filled visit with very little sleep. But those can be the best because you are with the women 24/7 and things get really real. I cannot wait to see the ladies in action with PNMs and for them to feel the result of their hard work. I am sad to leave them but I am thrilled knowing I will be back in a week!

Out to the Midwest

Mu, University of Illinois

My home for the past week was ΑΕΦ Mu's house in Champaign, IL. Living with 50 women for a week was a great reminder of why I loved living in my sorority house for the past three years. The women were always around to have lunch, watch a movie or just hang out. The 15's were so welcoming in the house, which made my visit so much fun.

Mu, University of Illinois

On my visit to Urbana-Champaign, I got the whole U of I experience. I went to Quad Day, saw all the beautiful houses in Frat Park, and ventured around Green Street. I also learned that Illinois is very flat and I love Midwestern accents.

At the beginning of the week I got to attend the Panhellenic event The Gift of Sorority, with Ginny Carroll, the founder of Circle of Sisterhood. C of S has been adopted as the Panhellenic philanthropy on many campuses, including U of I. They were lucky enough to be selected to send one women on the Circle of Sisterhood mission trip to Africa this past summer (as was UConn, my alma mater). Ginny Carroll gave a wonderful presentation about the value in joining a sorority. She talked about all the experiences she has been given through her sorority, including working a traveling consultant! Meeting her for the second time was great too!

Me with Ginny Carroll 

My visit to Illinois showed me that sometimes you think you are visiting a chapter for a specific reason but you may end up being needed for something entirely different. Being flexible is such a big part of being a consultant. The ability to totally shift gears to a different topic has come in handy so far, as I imagine it will in the future. I am there to be the face of National and that means being a support system for the women no matter what they need.

Sari, Rachel, me, Sammi, and Jackie

During downtime between workshops, I got the chance to really bond with the Mu sisters. We had quite the Chinese dining experience on Green Street and they took me to the best custard place. They showed me where to get my daily coffee and we went to downtown Champaign for exec dinner. They were great hosts and I miss them already!

My first campus visit

Beta Zeta, University of Central Florida

I finally made my first visit as a TEC! It was my first time in sunny Florida and the ladies of the Beta Zeta chapter certainly helped make it memorable. I went to Publix for the first time and tried their delicious cookies. I experienced Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney, salads at Greens & Grille, and pizza slices the size of my head at Lazy Moon. I met amazing sisters who genuinely love ΑΕΦ and made so many new friends!

Me with the Beta Zeta executive board on Philanthropy Day of recruitment

My first visit taught me that I really do have sisters from Atlantic to Pacific. I flew over a 1,000 miles from home to visit UCF and they welcomed me immediately with open arms. The executive board treated me like I had been a sister of their chapter for four years. We made inside jokes and bonded so quickly. Even the younger sisters who had never met a TEC before welcomed me into the chapter. Feeling like I fit right in was comforting for my first visit and I felt confident that I would be able to do the same with sisters across the country.

The ladies were such troopers and made it through the entire week of recruitment in heels. After days full of door chants and step clapping, Beta Zeta welcomed their new member class. I was so proud of the way they handled the chaos of bid day and made it such a fun excursion to Disney! They are committed to growing a strong sisterhood and it was clear to me that they will make every new member feel at home. 

Beta Zeta ready to welcome new members

The leadership of the Beta Zeta chapter was really an inspiration to me. They worked so well together towards the common goal of a successful recruitment. The women problem solved each situation and were able to come out gracefully. They learned from every interaction and that makes me confident that they will continue to grow and do amazing things.

A bonus to my visit in Orlando was I got to see two of my sisters from Alpha Xi at UConn! My grand-big, Becca, lives there and Maddie just moved to start grad school at UCF. I also got to meet Maddie's puppy Waldo. He is the cutest and I loved playing with him!

Me and Waldo playing

UCF was the best first visit I could have asked for. I am leaving with the confidence and motivation to make every campus visit this year just as great. While I'm sad to leave and will miss them all year, I am looking forward to all my upcoming visits!