Fraternity members celebrate success in 2010-2011 academic year. (Photo by Daniel M. Reck.)
It’s been a big year for Greek Life at Monmouth College. Thousands of dollars have been raised for charity, thousands of hours have been given in service, and hundreds of students have enjoyed academic success.
The pinnacle of each year is Greek Week, which recently concluded with the Annual Greek Life Awards. All seven Greek organizations came together, raised over $1,050 for Haiti earthquake relief, and organized a record-setting blood drive.
“Greek Week this year was a magnificent success!” says Haleigh Turner ’12, Greek Week Chair and President of Pi Beta Phi. “Every chapter came together on multiple occasions to hang out, have a great time, possibly get slimmed, and show campus that no matter our letters we are a unified Greek System.
Through Penny Wars and a Car Bash, Greeks raised $1,054.13, which will go to Lights for Haiti through Citizen Effect. The money raised will help provide solar-powered lanterns to Haitians who are still recovering from the earthquake that devastated the country two years ago.
There were many events during Greek Week, from a Bop-It tournament, Slime-Time, karaoke, trivia, a scavenger hunt, and philanthropies; perhaps one of the most memorable was the All-Greek Candle Pass.
“It really meant a lot to see brothers and sisters from different organizations linked together representing not only our unity during Greek Week but our forever support of one another as we passed a significant item from each chapter as well as sang our songs,” says Turner.
The Greek Week show allowed fraternity members to show off their values, pride, and humor as they put on four 1990s-themed acts. In addition to the shows put on by Greek organizations, the so-called Greek God and Goddess, along with their Demigod and Demigoddess counterparts, competed in talent, questions, and overall participation to win the titles.
The men of Sigma Phi Epsilon and the women of Pi Beta Phi won the Greek Show on Thursday night with their medley of references to 90s television shows and dance numbers. The men of Zeta Beta Tau, teamed up with a mix of women from each women’s fraternity dubbed The Panhellenic Alliance, won the banner contents, which was also announced at the Greek Week show.
Greek Week ended on Friday with the Annual Greek Life Awards banquet. Greeks dressed to impress and to raise awareness for autism. Alpha Xi Delta women handed out blue ribbons for World Autism Awareness Day, which coincided with the awards program. Outside, Wallace Hall’s famous copula was lit in a brilliant blue as part of the national “Light It up Blue” campaign for Autism Awareness Month. The Empire State Building in New York City, along with many other landmarks, were also awash in blue for the night.
The banquet, held in the specially-decorated cafeteria, brought together fraternity members from every organization to celebrate their successes and the success of their fellow brothers and sisters. The guest list not only included fraternity members, but faculty, advisors, deans, and President Mauri Ditzler.
The women of Alpha Xi Delta won Overall Greek Week for their fourth year running as well as many other chapter and individual awards.
“We have worked hard to better ourselves and to follow our National Fraternity motto, ‘realize your potential,’” says Kim Dwyer ’12, President of Alpha Xi Delta. “It was exciting to see all of our hard work pay off. Our chapter is more than grateful and proud of one another.”
Although each of the awards are of high honor, the most prestigious award that can be earned at Monmouth College is the award for Outstanding Chapter Operations. This year, Pi Beta Phi earned this award.
Recipients of the 2011 Greek Life Awards were:
- Academic Excellence Award – Alpha Xi Delta
- Excellence in Campus Involvement and Leadership – Phi Delta Theta
- Outstanding Chapter Program – Xi Man, Alpha Xi Delta
- Award for Excellence in Community Service and Philanthropy – Phi Delta Theta
- Outstanding Advisor – Denise Turnbull, Pi Beta Phi
- Emerging Female Leader – Lydia Butler, Alpha Xi Delta
- Emerging Male Leader – Jeff Skalon, Alpha Tau Omega
- Outstanding Greek President – Leah Statler, Pi Beta Phi
- Greek Woman of the Year – Kristen Wyse, Alpha Xi Delta
- Greek Man of the Year (Cy Reagan Award) – John Cayton, Phi Delta Theta
- The Richard “Doc” Kieft Award – Rodney Clayton, Phi Delta Theta
- Outstanding Chapter Operations – Pi Beta Phi
- Greek Week Spirit Award – Alpha Xi Delta
- Greek God and Goddess – Andrew Farraher, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Ashley May, Alpha Xi Delta
- Greek Demi-God and Demi-Goddess – Alex Mackley, Zeta Beta Tau and Courtney Jonsson, Alpha Xi Delta
- Overall Greek Week Winners – Alpha Xi Delta
“Winning the Chapter Operations Award is a true honor”, said Turner. “Leah, as President, and our executive board, worked hard to excel our chapter to one that adheres not only to a loving sisterhood but one with high standards for our sisters.” μ
Michelle Bruce ‘12
Also of Interest
Harnessing the fraternal network
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009We have all heard the cliché, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” This is true. Connections matter and networking is the key to a strong personal life as well as a successful professional life. By joining a Greek organization, a student immediately becomes a member of a local village of fraternity brothers and sisters, a national village of over 200,000 active members and alumni groups and a global village of over nine million Greeks members. There is no doubt that the extended network exists, but how do students harness its strength?
Let’s start off by looking at how networking can help students now and in the immediate future. Networking can be the key to a strong social life. Students witness the benefit of networking during college years by expanding social horizons. Students also experience personal growth that results from meeting new people, making new friends and sharing new experiences. Each Greek organization has hundreds of alumni groups all over the world that can offer support in many ways even after graduation. If students move to a new area, networking can become an immediate social outlet connecting you to a host of new friends and acquaintances. It can also provide community service and leadership opportunities.
The beauty of harnessing the fraternal network is that it really works. Many sources cite that 75 percent of all jobs are found by networking. I have personally heard many stories of men and women getting jobs and advancing in professions because of connections with someone from his/her Greek organization. In fact, I landed my assistantship in graduate school in part because I am a member of a sorority.
But, no matter how far the network extends, it is useless in students’ professional lives unless they access the benefits. My advice to Greek students is to get out there and get to know the people around them. Do they ask people if they belong to a fraternal organization? Can they use this to their advantage? Do Facebook groups or other online social networks exist which students can join? Are they Linked In? Do they attend college alumni functions to enhance their network? Do they keep in touch with your Greek friends from college? By helping students ask themselves these questions, they can determine how networking can help assist them in their personal and professional endeavors.
So, we know that on-campus fraternities and sororities are great places to meet people. Students can take advantage of this incredible opportunity to improve their social and professional networks after college, converting just a good “college” experience, into a GREAT “LIFE” EXPERIENCE!
Michelle Merritt, MS, is Assistant Dean of Students at Monmouth College and an alumna in the class of 1989. She is affiliated with Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity.
Tags:Faculty/Staff, Kappa Kappa Gamma
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