Search results matching tag 'leadership'

#1 in the Nation!

ChristinaL — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:25:00 GMT

At Butler, our chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi national band fraternity has been successful as long as I've been around. In 2006, when I started school at BU, the chapter had just won the Governor's Cup award for being the best chapter in our district. I was initiated in December of 2006 and have been immersed in chapter activities ever since. My fraternity brothers and I have made so many changes and improvements and worked SO hard over the last three years to do an even better job of promoting and helping the Butler bands, and building a strong fellowship for band members.

At our National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, we were named the best chapter in the nation as winners of the Founder's Trophy! It was SUCH an exciting and great honor for us. As our band director said, "To go up against some of the biggest schools in the country, many of them flagship state universities, is somewhat analogous to Butler winning the NCAA basketball championship." This was a big deal!

I personally feel especially proud of this award because I put so much work into the bidding process. As one of 12 finalist schools, we submitted a 60 page book with extensive info about our chapter and projects, and two of our brothers went to Phoenix to give a presentation about our chapter and answer questions. I wrote the presentation for the Founder's Trophy bid and did LOTS of writing and editing for the book! So many hours went into this, making it very rewarding to win this time. I loved hearing people using my words for the presentation! It made me feel like a speech writer! Maybe that's my future career.

Here's me with the massive trophy, and below, the whole team that worked on the presentation:

So what do we do that makes us the best in the nation?

In general: We do large scale fundraising and provide countless volunteer hours to provide financial support and helping hands that keep the Butler bands running smoothly.

To be specific:

We raised over $12,000 to make DVDs of deteriorating 8 mm films of marching band performances dating back to the 1940s! (It's called the Video Archives Project, which was a project I helped to start with two other brothers my freshman year! I am so excited that "my baby" has been a success!)

We hosted a convention for almost 700 other college band students here in Indianapolis.

We host all-campus events, such as Swing Night, a night of music and dance featuring the Butler Jazz Bands

We commissioned original music for our concert bands.

We developed a comprehensive membership education program that develops leaders and continues long after we are initiated.

We use a strategic planning model, including values, a vision statement, goal-setting and critical evaluation to use our time and resources efficiently and continue striving to accomplish our very best.

On top of these big things, we do so many smaller service projects and bonding activities for the bands!

I encourage you to read the press release about us on Butler's website. I am SO proud to be part of the Alpha Beta chapter. My Kappa Kappa Psi experience has been so incredibly rewarding, and I know it is largely the reason I am the person and the leader I am today. I can't imagine my college experience without my brothers and all of the crazy goals that we make a reality!

Cheers to Alpha Beta, Kappa Kappa Psi's top chapter! To all my brothers: I love you! AEA. You make me a better person.

Pi Phis Take Over Texas

ChristinaL — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:13:00 GMT

Howdy ya'll! ; ) I am writing to you from DALLAS, TEXAS where I am on location for the 67th convention of the Pi Beta Phi fraternity for women!

I'm not sure exactly how many Pi Phis are here, but there are 134 active collegiate chapters with at least one representative (most have two or more), and there are even more than 150 (I think!) alumnae clubs represented by at least one woman. Okay, so my by-the-numbers approach is lacking some substance but let me just say that there are A TON of Pi Phi women and we have taken over the Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center in full force!

On Friday morning, our chapter president Erikaa, one of our alumnae advisors Kristi, and I all flew down from Indianapolis. It was a long day because we had to take two flights and the only thing on tv while we sat around on our layover was Michael Jackson tributes, so I had "Billy Jean," "Thriller," and that "The Way You Make Me Feel" song that's in Center Stage stuck in my head all day.

But, it was all worth it when we arrived at this HUGE convention center in Texas with *insert very large number* of our fraternity sisters! They don't lie - everything is bigger in Texas. This resort is like a small city with everything you could possibly need; until Erikaa and I took a walk this afternoon (Sunday), we hadn't been outside since Friday afternoon... crazy. There are also a LOT of Pi Phis, so everything is en masse this week.

So what have we been up to?

meeting sisters from other colleges! The best thing ever is learning how many amazing women are part of the larger sisterhood that we share. I love hearing about all the cool things they do personally... and stealing ideas from the awesome things they do in their chapters at home.

meeting alumnae!* It is a common misconception that a Greek organization is something for college students. College is only the beginning, and with so many alumnae of all ages here (literally! there are a lot of "Golden Arrows" here, which means women who were initiated 50 years ago!!), it is so inspiring to see how many women are able to stay involved in Pi Phi activities long after their graduation day. Not only do alumnae clubs support the Pi Phi chapters at colleges, but they also do their own community service and philanthropy and provide a network of friends to support any Pi Phi. If I ever move to a new city, I know that I can look up the nearest Pi Phi alumnae club and meet some passionate, intelligent, engaged women in that community. That's a great network to have wherever I go. I especially loved getting to meet alumnae from our chapter at Butler. I got to hear about what BU was like in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Some traditions like Geneva Stunts have been around FOREVER at Butler...and they're still going strong.

learning about our values. Greek organizations are different from other clubs because they are based on values. Pi Beta Phi's values are Intergrity, Lifelong Commitment, Honor & Respect, Philanthropic Service to Others, Personal and Intellectual Growth and Sincere Friendship.

voting on legislation and electing new leaders for the fraternity.

learning how to create more effective and meaningful programs for our chapter members. Greek life is about developing yourself as a whole, well-rounded person, and at our convention we've talked about the ways that we can help our members to grow as students, women, friends, etc. while upholding and reinforcing our values. It is a huge responsibility to put on programming that educates our chapter, but that's one of the things I love about sorority life - college women take on this great challenge to teach their peers about ideals and qualities they value.

discussing some of the challenges facing college students, like binge drinking and hazing, and how Pi Phis can be a force of positive change on our campuses when it comes to these kind of issues.

learning more about our initiation ritual and discussing why it is so important to us.

eating a lot of really tasty food. mmmm!

singing Pi Phi songs, most of which are meaningful and beautiful... and some of which are really old and silly and have ridiculous lyrics about how Pi Phis won't hold men's hands because they are angels (and thus not promiscuous enough to *gasp* hold hands) ; )

hanging out, having fun and enjoying the fellowship!

It is such a cool experience to see the larger picture of what the fraternity is all about and how it works. We also have the chance to give input into our organization and learn from its top leaders.

At dinner tonight, I sat next to the Grand Vice President of Membership! Luellen is a really big deal... and I got to pick her brain for an hour about how to really recruit the most quality members who live up to our values and will be committed to the chapter. Awesome! While she was there, the former Grand President (aka the leader of the entire fraternity), who also happens to be the most adorable little old (and feisty, intelligent, well-spoken and loving) Southern woman came up to talk to Luellen and gave me a hug. The former Grand President! Highlight of my day, for sure. Her name is Sis Mullis, and she is on my short list of very inspiring women.

I also had a great experience tonight talking to the Risk Management Officer for Pi Phi. We watched a documentary about hazing and binge drinking, and I shared with her an idea I had about a discussion that chapters could have that would be honest and open and try to get to the real issues of why college students sometimes drink excessively. Sarah was really interested in what I had to say, and we're going to stay in touch via email and our discussion might lead to new programming for the whole fraternity!

I guess I say all this to emphasize how great it is to be surrounded by the leaders that are making amazing things happen for a community of over 200,000 fabulous women. I am learning so much, but I'm not just here as an observer, and it is exciting to take an active role in my fraternity family.

More updates - and pictures - will come soon. Tomorrow is the last day of business... I'm not ready to go home!

*Christina's Grammar Public Service Announcement regarding Words That Describe People Who Graduated From An Institution:

Alumnus = singular male

Alumna = singular female

Alum = short, slang version of singular

Alumni = plural verson of alumnus - can describe a group of all males, or a mixed gender group)

Alumnae = plural version of alumna - describes a group of females

I say this because these can be very confusing for people to keep straight and as someone who works in the Alumni Office and with many alumni through campus organizations... this drives me slightly crazy. But, I will chalk it up to a lack of awareness and rectify that situation by explaining the right terminology and trust you to check yourself. My English major, grammar-lovin' soul begs of you:

Please do not use "alum" as a plural form. (I will cry.) As in: "Our alum are such great people. They have so much Butler spirit." ALUM IS NOT PLURAL, PEOPLE!

Ok, now stepping off my grammar soapbox! Have a good night : )

Best of Butler at Honors Weekend

ChristinaL — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 04:44:00 GMT

Whew! Honors Weekend is finally wrapping up! This is the weekend when Butler hosts a number of events to recognize outstanding students, including the Top 100 Banquet, Honors Program events and academic college awards. It is one of my favorite times of year, because I really get to learn about all the amazing scholarship,research, service, and leadership that my classmates are doing. They always inspire me to be a better student and citizen after I hear what they've been up to. Now that I am an upperclassman, I know most of the people winning the awards, which makes it even more fun.

Friday was the Top 100 Banquet. This is an event sponsored by the Alumni Association which recognizes 100 outstanding junior and senior students for their achievements in the classroom, their character, and their leadership and service in BU extracurricular activities and the community. At the banquet, the Top 10 Women and Men and the Outstanding Female and Male student are named.

I was totally shocked to be named as one of the Top 10 Women this year! Seriously! Typically the Top 10 is mostly made up of seniors so it was quite a surprise, but also a great honor to receive that award during my junior year. Although I can think of many more people who are very deserving of that award, I do put so much of my time and passion into Butler, so it was exciting and rewarding to be recognized for this. I really liked that the focus of the Banquet was thanking our families, friends, and professors who have helped us make it this far, because I would be nothing without the constant support of all my loved ones.

Here are the 2009 Top 10 Women and Men. I was so honored to stand beside people I really admire on this campus! You can also see our University President Dr. Bobby Fong on the far left.

Today there was a brunch reception for upper-level Honors students - the seniors who just turned in their theses and the juniors who just turned in our proposals and are now hearing back. (Mine got approved - hooray!). I didn't make it to that brunch because my parents, sister and grandparents were here so we all wanted to go out together for breakfast at Cafe Patachou (basically my favorite restaurant in Indy - SO good!)

This afternoon we had the academic awards. I went to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on behalf of the English Department. I got an award for excellence in literature, which was also surprising (considering I was away from the department studying abroad for half of this year...) but exciting to receive from the professors I respect so much. The thing about LAS Awards is that we are the biggest College at Butler, so our ceremony takes FOREVER. It was so hard to sit still that long... but I do enjoy hearing the Dean read the bio of each student as they accept their award. Like I said earlier, Butler students are AMAZING! It is so cool to hear where everybody has been interning, the awesome schools they are going to for graduate work, and all the community service hours they have logged and organizations they have led.

Another cool aspect of the awards was that nine of my sorority sisters were also winning LAS academic awards this morning. Altogether we represented English, Biology, Physics, History and Journalism! Go Pi Phi! I love having these women around me - their influence pushes me to strive for more when it comes to schoolwork. One of our sisters, Alyssa, is a double major in Biology and Chemistry and STILL HAS A 4.0 going into our senior year. She is awesome and definitely inspires me - not just with her academics but with her integrity and devotion that she gives to all that she does.

Another inspiring sister is my very own roommate, Kim! Kim is a physics major who is basically super smart and amazing at life. Kim did research on black holes last summer through the Butler Summer Institute, an opportunity that pays students to stay at BU and work with a faculty member on a research project. She presented this work at a conference in California over winter break alongside her advisor, and all this work and attention has led her to be accepted in an OUTSTANDING physics summer research program at UCLA. She turned down Harvard for this! Yeah, she's a big deal. We also found out this week that Kim has been named a Goldwater Scholar, which is a hugely important scholarship and honor for science majors (click the link to read the BU press release about her!). I am so proud of her!

Kim and I at the LAS Awards ceremony! It was not quite sundress weather... but I just can't wait!

Anyway, at some point I hope to make up a list of all the really cool things my Butler friends have done, because whether they were honored this weekend or not., people are doing amazing things on this campus, and you should know about it.

It is amazing what an outstanding education and a creative, critical, compassionate mind will do for you! Pursue both wholeheartedly.

Projects, Projects, Projects

AshlenC — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:07:00 GMT

In pharmacy, we're used to going to lecture and then going home to study the material, and then taking a test on the material. However, the past few weeks have been a complete change for us because we keep getting papers and projects! The good thing about projects is that you can take a lot of time to prepare the final product. Unfortunately, they can also be time consuming and I don't feel that I have a whole lot of time to study the material for my classes anymore!

Project #1: Diabetes

Before spring break we had to "be a diabetes patient" for five days. We didn't have to inject ourselves with insulin, of course, but we had to monitor our blood glucose four times a day, test or urine ketone levels once, and keep a food log of everything we ate. Over spring break we had to write a reflection paper about the experience and calculate our total intake of calories from fat, carbohydrates, and protein from the foods that we had eaten. The whole package was pretty thick once I turned it in!

Project #2: Nutrition

During spring break we had to record everything we ate and did for one day. After spring break, we had to put together a project that included a paper on our intake of macromolecules and vitamins, as well as how much energy we are expending in comparison to our food intake. For the next four weeks we're preparing an "action plan" where we've set two goals for ourselves relating to nutrition and exercise, and we have to record how well we're doing at meeting those goals and what sort of challenges we're having while trying to meet the goals. That project was due today.

Paper: Leadership

Today I was assigned a paper where I have to assess my leadership style and how I can make improvements. Honestly, I have NO idea what I'm going to write about yet. I need some inspiration to hit me sometime soon.

Blood Pressure Assessment

A year ago, we took a class that required us to learn how to take blood pressure. We got to practice a bit last semester, and we've continued to practice in one of our labs this semester. This week, we're been tested on how accurate we can measure blood pressure and how well he can counsel a patient on their results. The tricky part? We're not testing each other, like we usually do in class; we're using real patients, and most of them have hypertension! A lot of our patients are older, so they're a lot harder to measure. I had used my parents for practice a while ago, but they have normal blood pressure, and it wasn't too much different than taking the blood pressure of one of my classmates. It was a whole new experience for me! You fail the assessment if your blood pressure reading is +/-2mmHg from what the proctor measures, so it's a stressful experience, but thankfully I passed on the first try!

It's been crazy in my life lately, and the end of the school year is slowly creeping up on us. It's scary to think that we only have a few weeks left, but I'm really excited to have a break from all this work! The weather here is gorgeous right now. My mom has been telling me that it has been snowing at home, so I'm really happy to be here so I can wear my capri pants and skirts everyday!

Until later,

Ashlen