Adventures with ADPi

It's definitely warming up here in HOTLANTA this week!!

Tuesday was an amazing day! We got to go to the Ronald McDonald house, it was a blast! Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) "The House that Love Built" provides housing for families of children who are seriously ill or injured. Some families have to travel across the country to get treatment for their son or daughter and the RMH gives them a place to stay. Typically the RMH will ask for a donation per night a family uses a room, however RMHC understands how costly it can be to provide treatment for a child with a rare or serious illness and will never turn a family away because of their inability to pay. 

What a great organization! We went today and participated in the Baker's Club. We baked the children and families cupcakes and got a tour of the Atlanta RMH. It was such an amazing experience. We get to go back in a couple weeks and make dinner for the families. I am so excited to be able to volunteer with such a great cause. 

Visit www.rmhc.org to learn more about this wonderful organization, find a location near you, and maybe even go volunteer!

Tuesday night we went to an Atlanta Braves baseball game! It was so much fun (although the Braves didn't have such a great night)! 

Today we had a workshop with Jen Webb who is the Executive Director of the Alpha Delta Pi foundation. Established in 1983, the Alpha Delta Pi foundation accepts tax-deductible gifts to provide essential resources for alpha delta pi sorority's educational, leadership and philanthropic activities. The foundation funds a variety of opportunities that benefit alpha delta pi sorority and its members as well as the preservation of monuments and memorials that are special to alpha delta pi sorority's place in history.

We are having dinner with the Trustees on Friday night and Jen gave us an exercise that these women actually do! We were given a set amount of dollars and had to decide how to allocate the money to different grant requests. (She didn't give us real money though *sigh* only m&ms!)

At first, we all found it difficult because we all pull from different chapters and atmospheres. Some campuses really benefitted from educational tools like District Leadership Conference while others felt DLC was a bust and the Leadership Consultant Program was what really needed the money. We all talked about what we thought was the most important and impactful to Alpha Delta Pi. It was such a great exercise because it is definitely something so relevant not in just Alpha Delta Pi but in any business aspect. Along with dealing with a financial responsibility we all learned a bit more about effective communication and how to take those skills into aspects in our lives later down the road. 

We eventually made a final decision on how we wanted to allocate the money!

These past two days have been a blast! Tomorrow we're having dinner with Ms. Pinkston! SO EXCITED! ☺☺☺☺

Loyally, 

Paige

 Take me out to the ball game!

Why Alpha Delta Pi?

People always ask, why ADPi? Today I discovered the reason. One of the many reasons. I'm quite sure that if I tried to count every reason Alpha Delta Pi is so wonderful, I would die counting.

BUT...

Let me tell you the reason I discovered today.

First, let's talk about sisterhood. What is it?
According to dictionary.com:

sis·ter·hood

  [sis-ter-hood] 

noun

1.

the state of being a sister.

2.

a group of sisters, especially of nuns or of female members of a church.

3.

an organization of women with a common interest, as for social, charitable, business, or politicalpurposes.

4.

congenial relationship or companionship among women; mutual female esteem, concern, support, etc.

5.

Usually, the sisterhood. the community or network of women who participate in or support feminism.

Now where do I begin to explain how it's so much more.

This morning, my exec. team at my chapter at school was talking in our GroupMe. A Leadership Consultant we had during our colonization had just finished facilitating a conference [UIFI] where they had values-based conversations and learned how to change their Ritual into their ritual (*note the capitalization difference☺). A couple years ago, that same Leadership Consultant posted in her blog about this same thing. This is surely a must read for anyone Greek, interested in going Greek, and truly, anyone who has ever interacted with a Greek woman or man.

http://mylittleadpi.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-secret-i-can-not-tell-you-but.html

Even talking about beginning values-based discussions and strengthening our chapter gets me going. I am so excited to be a part of my chapter and to help not only myself, but also my sisters grow and flourish in Alpha Delta Pi and in life. We, as Alpha Delta Pi, pride ourselves in the development of four key points:

"I believe that I must strive to become a well balanced person by following the dictates of the four points symbolized by our diamond shaped badge. First, strengthening my own personality and character, second, watching my attitude toward my fellow beings, third, recognizing the value of high educational standards, and fourth, developing faith and loyalty."

Sisterhood is [partly] encouraging sisters to live out our values, to shape them, and in turn, myself, into women of character and poise. By living our open motto, "We Live for Each Other." 

So what happened next? Kathryn and I were sitting at the desk by the front door, answering phones, working on our other projects, etc. etc. It was our first day answering the phone by ourselves (although we had each other) and I don't care what you say or how much you have talked on the phone, it is nerve-wracking at first! We would get a call and one would answer, "Good afternoon, Alpha Delta Pi..." and in that moment of panic and the "what do I do now" face passing on mine or hers, the other of us would stop our work and help. Now there isn't too much to help with when it comes to one phone, but we got through our first day of calls successfully! Having someone there to support you through the littlest of things (like answering a phone) just shows that they'll be there for the big things too. 


Sisterhood is [partly] about being there. Being there for the big things, and the small things, and the things in between. 

Again, you may ask, "so what?"

Well I'll tell you what. In what organization do you feel comfortable talking to anyone you meet. As an intern here at Alpha Delta Pi's executive office, I am given tasks, and along with those tasks, plenty of questions to ensure that I do my job correctly. Working here, I'm surrounded by members Alpha Delta Pi from all walks of life. I feel comfortable talking to the intern coordinator (well I'd hope so!) but I feel comfortable asking anyone in the office anything I am wondering or concerned about. Mrs. Ablard (the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - that means she's the boss and a very big deal) and I have had plenty of conversations, about ADPi or just life. How awesome is that?! Ms. Pinkston (the INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT - HELLO! also a big deal) was in the office today, and I had a question. She was the only one around. I mean, talking to the International President of an organization is pretty intimidating right? I beg to disagree. She was more than willing to answer my question and we even had a good laugh. 

My fellow interns - I met them the day we got here. We're all living together. And guess what? We're great friends. We're all from around the country, different schools, different traditions, different backgrounds, and, well, a whole lot of different. But there is one thing we share. We share a bond rooted in sisterhood, we all share Alpha Delta Pi.

Sisterhood is [partly] about being able to talk to anyone and everyone. Being comfortable. Being able to share stories and memories with any sister you meet. Asking questions, and answering, being real with each other. 

Sisterhood is just one of the infinite number of reasons Alpha Delta Pi is amazing. It is everything you could ever want from an organization and so much more. I am so fortunate to be able to call every Alpha Delta Pi my sister.

One Week Gone: ADPi Summer Internship 2K14

Aloha!

We're one week into our internship and things here at executive office are going swimmingly!

Last week we had plenty to do.

Day 1: We met everyone in the kitchen, and surprise, they brought us Chicken-Minis from Chick-fil-a! YUMMM. I had never had them before but they were delicious. Then we went downstairs to the training room. Typically we'll start our day in there and either wait to get our assignments or complete projects in the training room. Once we got downstairs, we did a true colors" workshop with Jen Dickinson. She is the Growth and Development Manager at EO. Basically she works on everything expansion related, including colonization projects (my chapter just colonized 2 years ago! ☺)

So the premise of the "test" is that we all have characteristics from four colors: blue, orange, gold, and green. Blue is centered around emotions, orange is all about spontaneity, gold focuses on organization, and green on innovation. You can take the test and see what color you are by clicking on the link below!

http://campusrec.unc.edu/sites/campusrec.unc.edu/files/Personality%20Test.pdf

The last time I took this was in the fall of 2012. I was a perfect three-way tie with 15 points in Blue, Orange, and Gold. This time, I was a Gold first(15)then an Orange(14), then Blue(13), then Green (8). It is interesting to me to see how your personality slightly changes by where you are in your life. I think I have become more focused and organized since the last time I took the "test" and my positions in Alpha Delta Pi have shaped my leadership into a more leader-oriented "way".

Then we met with each department individually and got to learn a little more about what each specific department did. Our first day was a success!

Day 2: We met with Jen Dickinson again and learned about the expansion. There is so much that goes into the expansion that I didn't know before. Each campus is so particular in so many ways that we have to see if we are a good fit for the campus and if the campus is a good fit for our organization. Then we got a tour of the print shop! We met Robert and got a tour of the print shop after lunch. It is so cool back there, we have a plate-maker just like in a printing press. There is also an old collator and paper cutter, as well as the oldest shrink wrap "machine" I've ever seen. There were TONS of standards codes covering the tables - I'm sure we'll get to organize those soon enough!At the end of the day we got to do phone training. We learned how to transfer calls and put people on hold - daunting tasks for phone newbies.

Day 3: Wednesday morning we had a meeting with Mrs. Ablard. She talked with us about our licensing and marketing. We use Affinity Marketing Consultants for our greek licensing. By using them, we make sure that our organization and brand are never used inappropriately and that we always have only the best representation of Alpha Delta Pi.

Day 4: On Thursday, we all got to go to individual departments and work with them. Abby and I got to work with the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation.

           Established in 1983, the Alpha Delta Pi foundation accepts tax-deductible gifts to provide essential resources for alpha delta pi sorority's educational, leadership and philanthropic activities. The foundation funds a variety of opportunities that benefit alpha delta pi sorority and its members as well as the preservation of monuments and memorials that are special to Alpha Delta Pi sorority's place in history.

We both got to learn about the scholarships that the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation offers at both specific chapters and to any Alpha Delta Pi member. The Foundation also has emergency grants for members of ADPi who have fallen on hard times. This is just another reason that I know Alpha Delta Pi is such an amazing organization.

Day 5: It's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday! We learned all about social media from Joanie Oben. She's the Marketing and Communications Coordinator. She deals with everything PR related with Alpha Delta Pi and she does a fantastic job! She uses this really cool website to schedule her important tweets (like chapters' centennial congratulations and the like) called hootsuite.com.

After work, we all ventured to Krispy Kreme for DONUT DAY!!!!!!! #whatagreatday Aka. free donuts at Krispy Kreme. Also, as our faces were smushed up against the glass watching the donuts, we were approached by none other than.....new advertising guys for Krispy Kreme! They asked if they could take our pictures eating delicious donuts. Um...DUH. So. If KK decides that is the direction they want to go with their new ads, we might be donut models! #THECOOLEST. right!? I know. Crazy, but who wouldn't want to stuff their face/laugh/be adorable in front of a camera for fun.

On Friday night we went to see the Fault in Our Stars, a movie based on the book by John Green. It was FANTASTIC. Check out my "review" here: http://turntopaige394.blogspot.com/2014/06/okay-okay.html!

On Saturday, I had a soccer game in Chattanooga! (I'm playing with a Women's Premier Soccer League team here in Georgia called the Georgia Revolutions!) The girls all went to the Coke museum! (I went with my family before they left, don't worry, I didn't miss out on "the wonderful world of coke")

Sunday we all reconvened and went to the Virginia Highlands SummerFest! It was about a mile's worth of tents filled with artwork and jewelry and other really interesting/cool things for sale! They also had what looked like TONS of amazing food! A bunch of us got popsicles and of course we had to have a photoshoot!

All in all, I'd say it was an incredible first week experience!
See ya round (like a donut)!
Paige ☺

Hey Party People! 2K14 Internship Day 2

The end of day 2 has come but it certainly has not gone; not quite yet anyway!

Today was filled with getting to know yous! So I'll introduce them all ☺



This is Kayla, she is currently the Recruitment and Management Vice President and last term she served as chapter President. She is a member of the Alpha Epsilon chapter at University of Nebraska!








This is Erin, she is currently the Membership Education Vice President (holla MEVPs!!!) and will be attending Adelphean Compass as a fill in for chapter president (how exciting!) She is a member of the Epsilon Eta  chapter at Mississippi State!






This is Kathryn, she is currently serving as Chapter President at Zeta Rho, aka Vanderbilt University. She was the Recruitment and Marketing VP previously!









Hey there party people! This is Kelly, she is currently serving as Chapter President as well. Previously, she served as the Executive Vice President. She is a member of the Delta Gamma chapter at the University of Arizona!








This is Alex (or Alexandria ☺), she is the Director of Standards and Ethics for her chapter - #toughestjobever what a trooper! She was a member at the Gamma Rho chapter of Arizona State and is currently a member of Theta Gamma at Sonoma State!





This is Abby, she is currently the Executive Vice President at her chapter. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa chapter at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville!











And last but certainly not least is Lyndsey! Previously she was the Membership Education VP. She is a chapter member at the Zeta Omega chapter at the University of Central Florida!











Kelly and I went for a run this morning around our cute neighborhood, and lemme tell ya, the humidity here is KILLER on the lungs - hopefully we'll adapt quickly!  We got back to our beautiful house to find our six once sleeping sisters wide awake and ready to prepare for the day.

There were seven of us (soon to be eight) getting ready in this bathroom this morning; we all share one shower; so with seven girls prettying ourselves up for the day...well, you can imagine the struggle. Hopefully we'll fall into a routine soon! Maybe our mornings getting ready will not be quite as hectic once we all settle into a better schedule #fingerscrossed

Amanda gave us a tour of our beautiful home (Memorial Headquarters) and Executive Office in the morning. Our home is gorgeous and has tons of old memorabilia from presidents past. There are so many cool and interesting things to learn about ADPi. There are even badges from when we were Alpha Delta Phi (we changed to Alpha Delta Pi because there was a men's fraternity with the same name #confusing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEosj1fO0vk

Later we got to have lunch with Amanda, our boss, Linda Ablard, and none other than Ms. Pinkston herself! She may honestly be the coolest woman I have ever met. Rumor has it that she has two wardrobes and doesn't wear an outfit twice in a year! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!!! Here's a pic. of this awesome lady.

what a star ★

Abby got here this afternoon as well! YAY! We're finally a complete group!

We took an adventure to the grocery store and we all bought waaayyyy too much stuff!





This is just one of 3-4 carts that we had and it's completely full
*insert sheepish look here*











Tonight is our first weekend night here! We're just having a girls night in tonight watching We Are the Millers and eating Ben and Jerry's #typical but we're so excited! Love all these girls already and I'm so excited to spend the summer with them!

HAGS
Loyally,
Paige ☺

Summer Internship 2K14: ADPi Edition

Today was the beginning of an adventure that I'm lucky enough to call Summer 2014! I arrived in Atlanta, GA last night and today spent my first day at Memorial Headquarters and Executive Office of Alpha Delta Pi. I met six of my seven other roommates (Abby is coming later) and they are an amazing group of women. I feel so privileged to call them my sisters and call 1386 Ponce my home for the summer.

Tomorrow we will get an official tour of both EO and Memorial Headquarters then Amanda (our intron coordinator) and Mrs. Ablard (the Executive Director) are taking us to lunch! I am so lucky to be working so closely with both of them this summer. Amanda is not only our intern coordinator but our Collegiate Relations Coordinator as well! I have worked with her (via emails and phone calls of course) about our chapter's new members and initiation status and I know that I will learn so much from her during the six weeks I will be here. Linda Ablard is an amazing woman and as the Executive Director she holds a high position in ADPi and holds much responsibility. Along with these two wonderful women I will be working alongside and learning  from, I am also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with our International Grand President, Tammie S. Pinkston.

     

Lucky me, I got a letter and a gift bag from Ms. Pinkston herself!

This is the beautiful house I will be staying at all summer! 

 I am so excited for what is in store this summer! I get to attend leadership seminar as well. I know that there will be so many amazing experiences and I have so many wonderful opportunities!

Signing off on her first day!
Loyally,
Paige ☺