Alpha Chi Omega - Purdue University

Lyre Letter 4 Undergraduates Continue Reign of Success in All Aspects of Sorority and Campus Life W hat an incredible semester it has been! I am thrilled to share with you all some of the fun and exciting activities Alpha Beta has been up to. Our sisters have been doing some amazing things and we are so proud of them. Commitment to Academics Pays Off In academics, the chapter received a 3.38 semester GPA for fall 2016 and ranked second overall in the Panhellenic community. We won the Most Improved Chapter GPA for fall 2016. The women here have been studying so hard and it obviously shows! We also had a scholarship dinner this semester, where women invited advisors, professors, and teaching assistants who have helped them succeed in their academic career. ACW Hosts Spring Philanthropic Events This semester has been packed with philanthropic events like never before. During Healthy Relationships Week from February 13-17, we had the honor of being interviewed and recorded by Alpha Chi Omega Headquarters to be featured in the national Alpha Chi Omega philanthropy video for all chapters across the country to use during recruitment. We also hosted Spike Out Domestic Violence, an indoor volleyball tournament with over 20 fraternity and sorority teams participating. All proceeds raised in February benefitted the Greater Lafayette YWCA, the local women's shelter. In February alone, we raised over $3,800. We also paired with Pi Kappa Phi for Grand Prix festivities and worked with them for a philanthropic event in late April, where we bowled with Best Buddies. On April 9, Bailey Salsbery '15 won Sigma Alpha Epsilon's Paddy Murphy Pageant and a $1,500 check to our philanthropy, domestic violence awareness! Our newest and most exciting philanthropic event is Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, which we were asked by the YWCA to partner with to host. In this event, we asked men and women to raise awareness for sexual assault and domestic violence by walking a mile...in high heels! The event was held on April 23 and we raised $3,348. VP Philanthropy Myra Fu '15 has been doing an incredible job this semester and has helped raise so much money for the YWCA! She says, "The money we raise is just a number, but the lives of women we touch is invaluable. I cannot be more proud of the Alpha Beta women for all their dedication and hard work to promote domestic violence awareness—we truly are all women empowering women." Chapter Prepares for Fall Recruitment Last fall, there were a total of 1,087 women who went through formal recruitment and we are looking to have an even larger number come through this fall. Our goal this year for recruitment is to make it a more positive experience by making some changes within the chapter and implementing a values-based recruitment process. With these changes, we had a mock recruitment workshop with Fairway Cooperative where we gave house tours, talked about our philanthropy, and tied 14 blankets that we donated to the local YWCA shelter. We also welcomed Veronica Rahim of the Purdue Center for Career Opportunities to the chapter facility, who gave a wonderful presentation about how to give and take constructive criticism, and have made many new committees such as a morale committee and scoring committee. The Alpha Beta Chapter is very humbled and honored to be featured in the national Alpha Chi Omega philanthropy video for 2017, which will be shown to all of the potential new members during recruitment this fall. VP Recruitment Jessie Earhart '14 says, "Our members think we are training them to recruit PNMs, but we are doing so much more than that. We are teaching them how to enter any future interview confidently, knowing that they can convince the company they are the best candidate because that's exactly what they did while recruiting a PNM and convincing them to join Alpha Chi Omega. We are teaching them conversation skills they can use for the rest of their lives!" We would love to have alumnae come back during recruitment to help assemble potential new member snacks. Polish Week will be from August 15-18 and recruitment events are August 25-27 and September 2-3, with Bid Day on September 4. Leadership Academy Inspires Sisters Risk Manager Lexi Houser '14, VP Recruitment Jessie Earhart '14, Assistant VP Recruitment Taylor Lambert '15, CRIC Abby Gress '15, and I attended Leadership Academy this semester and we gained tremendous insight and inspiration from the events. We even had the chance to meet and chat with our national president and very own Alpha Beta sister, Angela Costly Harris '86! Lexi Houser shared her experience at Leadership Academy: "It was such an amazing experience to meet inspiring women from all over the country and bounce ideas off of one another when it comes to risk situations. I became inspired to work more with our chapter on mental health and started a program called The Confidence Project, where I share tips about how to be your most confident self!" Our women have also done amazing service work around our community with the YWCA, including swimming lessons and working at the Masquerade Ball for domestic violence awareness, Boys and Girls Club, Natalie's Second Chance, and working with Food Finders. Members Recognized for Achievements Our members have done incredible things this semester and we are so proud of them! McKenzie Barber '18 was named president of Timmy Global Health, Amanda Smaga '17 was chosen to be on the Grand Prix Court, Abby Gress '19 is a representative for the Panhellenic Judicial Board, Kendra Budreau '20 was elected vice president of Women in Business, and Kylie Echard '18 is an Indy 500 Festival Princess! We are so excited for them and we know they will go above and beyond in their roles. Additionally, Rachel Stowers '18 is studying abroad this semester in Ireland and had the opportunity to volunteer at their local Dublin YWCA. Rachel says, "It was a great experience speaking with the ladies in charge of the facilities and sharing with them what ACW does with the West Lafayette YWCA back home. How awesome is it that we have the opportunity to partner with a global organization Sarina Trant '16, Marissa LaPorte '16, and Katherine Franko '16 promote Healthy Relationships Week by sharing what love means to them. Myra Fu '15, Taylor Jones '15, Christine Huang '15, Alana Dorfstatter '15, Emily Lee '15, and Hadley Whicker '15 all got into pharmacy school!

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