Many fraternities and sororities in our community had the opportunity to attend their chapter’s National Conventions over the summer. Conventions serve as a time for members of each individual organization to gather and connect with brothers and sisters from all around the nation, as well as celebrate accomplishments of their organization from the year. Four Missouri State Fraternities and Sororities were honored this summer for their hard work and dedication to their organization.

Alpha Chi Omega was awarded three awards during their convention in Austin, Texas. They were first awarded Seeking the Heights: Recruitment. This award specifically recognizes chapters achieving and excelling in the area of recruitment. Junior Molly Shannon, was named the Amy Dubois Reith Emerging Leader. As a recipient of this award, she proved great potential to serve her chapter, her campus and/or her community– and is already taking steps to actively participate. They also celebrated receiving the highest honor in Alpha Chi Omega, the National Council Trophy–granted to the chapter that displayed the most significant achievements in chapter management, member support and development.

As Alpha Sigma Alpha marked their 50th National Conference, they celebrated their achievement of being a Four Star chapter. This award established in 1985, annually recognizes Alpha Sigma Alpha’s collegiate chapters that uphold the high ideals of the sorority in the areas of membership, academic excellence, finances, membership education, chapter operations, service and giving, national meetings, ritual, organization image, national bylaws, policies and procedures, advisory board and alumnae involvement. Additionally, they were recognized for their chapter giving, exceeding $3,000 and becoming a part of the Chairman’s Circle.

Phi Gamma Delta, frequently refereed to as FIJI, attended their 170th Ekklesia Meeting. It was there that their chapter was awarded the John Templeton McCarty Proficiency Award, recognizing chapters that demonstrate efficiency in operations, maintain strong financial stability, adhere to Fraternity laws and promote high standards of Phi Gamma Delta. They also received the Academic Achievement Award, awarded for achieving a chapter grade point average higher than the all men’s average.

Pi Kappa Alpha received a multitude of awards at their 150th Anniversary Convention! They were presented with the Raymond L. Orians Excellence Award, honoring the Zeta Chi chapter for being the top 20% of all Pi Kappa Alpha chapters determined by the consultant analysis and chapter statistics. They reached the PIKE University 25 Man Commitment by having sent over twenty five chapter members to Pike University events, which is a series of educational events and speakers in a convention setting with other chapters across the country. This award signifies a chapters commitment to furthering the leadership skills of members. Among those awards was also the Chapter Programming Award: Public Relations, 100 Man Chapter, Work Day Award, Alumni Advisory Board of the Year, and Alumni Association of the Year.

Congratulations to these chapters on very well deserved awards. We are so proud of all of our chapters and their commitment within their organization, our campus, and our community!

Alpha Chi Omega Global Service Initiative Participants 2018

Over the Summer, two members from Alpha Chi Omega, Sydney Kohm and Kyra Treible, were chosen to participate in an extraordinary experience called the Global Service Initiative. This amazing opportunity provides direct service into a Jamaican community all while using the values and principles of Alpha Chi Omega, making it a truly unique experience.

Kyra details her experience saying, “the Alpha Chi Omega Global Service Initiative is a program that allows 36 collegiate members, chosen from Alpha Chi Omega chapters across the nation, to travel to Jamaica in order to serve the local communities. This year we worked hard to build an addition to a local elementary school in Negril, giving the students a clean space to eat lunch and the school the ability to welcome more students through its doors. We also built fencing around a new sports field for a middle school in Treasure Beach, which allowed the students to have a safe place to play during school breaks or practice with their sports teams!”

Aside from learning valuable skills and meeting sisters across the nation, Kyra explains that she also felt immense amount of personal growth from this opportunity saying, “I learned how to truly serve those who live differently than I do. Just throughout the one week I spent learning their culture, I struggled through the lack of power tools, the difficulty of finding clean drinking water, and the limited access to electricity. However, the people of Jamaica live some of the fullest, and happiest lives I have been able to witness. Even though they don’t have things that would seem a given or a no-brainer for us living in the U.S., they are grateful for the things they do have and the people they get to share it with.”

We are so proud of these two real strong women and their devotion to their chapters, our community, and serving others. They truly exemplify being #LeadersInLetters!

Panhellenic Recruitment

With the start of a new school year, comes the start of an abundance of opportunities to get involved here at Missouri State University. Over the weekend of August 23rd through the 26th, 633 women found their outlet to get involved within Panhellenic sorority life. The formal recruitment process happens every August and entails getting to meet the women of our eight Panhellenic sororities through a four day mutual selection process.

Day one is split up into two days, and during this time all potential new members were welcomed into the chapter homes. They got to tour the houses, learn about each chapter’s individual philanthropy and meet the women of our community. As the week continues, potential new members go to fewer chapters, getting closer to finding their new home! During day two, potential new members got to catch a glimpse of sorority life through recruitment videos and longer conversations, giving them the opportunity to better know our sorority women and the values that align with the chapters. On the third and final day, these potential new members get to experience a special ceremony at their final two chapter houses, before going back to preference their choices.

The Monday following recruitment is bid day! Bid day is the day when potential new members receive bids to join a chapter and officially become a new member of a sorority. All the women going through Panhellenic recruitment join together on the North Mall outside of Plaster Student Union. Missouri State staff, professors, administrators and fraternities all come together to show support for these women and cheer them on as they run to their new homes!

We are so excited for all 633 women who found their homes that weekend! Our local sorority, Xi Omicron Iota will be holding their fall recruitment September 4th through the 8th. We look forward to see even more women find a place within our growing community.

Interfraternity Council Recruitment

While our sororities are growing, so are our fraternities on campus. With 19 recognized chapters on our campus, there were a multitude of recruitment events for potential new members to attend. Some of those events included things like open houses, playing various sports, and service projects. Our IFC fraternities have welcomed over 530 new members in the two weeks that their recruitment happened.

Congratulations to the 1,164 students that found a great outlet of involvement through our fraternity and sorority life! Stay up to date on all things fraternity and sorority life at Missouri State University by following @mostatefsl on Twitter and Instagram or Missouri State University Fraternity and Sorority Life on Facebook!