Citizenship

Citizenship to many people is defined as being a member of a community.

When you think about it though it goes much further then just being a part of a larger group.

To me citizenship involves being active in that community in which you are a member of. This includes taking initiatives to accomplish the different ideas you may have, doing service, giving your opinions or anything that may better the community. The key thing that I see in citizenship is working for the greater good of the people around you and trying to make things better as a whole.

For me personally my sorority has helped instill in me this idea of citizenship in a number of different ways.

1. Our Purpose:
Part of Alpha Gam's purpose refers to "welcoming the opportunity of contributing to the world's work in the community where I am placed" This goes along with doing any action within your community-being active.

2. Elections:
Especially with elections having taken place just this past night it just emphasizes the idea that we have to do things that are good for the group. There are so many girls in our chapter and its not always easy to pick who should get which position but the main thing we keep in mind when deciding is who we think will do the best job for everyone as a whole.

3. Service/Philanthropy:
Our philanthropy efforts and service in the community add to my belief that citizenship is about taking initiative in the community because that is exactly what we do with philanthropy events and service opportunities. In addition with such actions we give back to the community which is also an important part of citizenship.

Overall both in personal belief and the actions/beliefs of Alpha Gam, citizenship can be seen as something that elevates the community...funny how well that relates to what we've learned in class all quarter :)

Greek Panel

I thought that a lot of the things that the panel said were really great and there were definitely a few things that stuck out in my mind.

1. I really liked the point they made about needing to be excited about the things you're doing, especially if you're in a leadership position. I feel like a lot of the time people don't get involved or don't follow through with plans because they don't feel the energy and support from the people around them. If all of our chapters and councils started talking up philanthropy events and other opportunities and really showing excitement for them we could get a lot more done.

2. Another thing I really liked was Jordan's story about being recruitment chair just a short time after she joined. I really liked what she said about her sisters seeing something in her that she may not have seen in herself. Being a part of a sorority or fraternity is all about supporting one another and appreciating each other for who we are. I thought what she had to say really described the bond of sisterhood and brotherhood and being there to support and believe in one another, especially those with the stress of a position.

3. One last thing I liked from the panel was when they talked about the difficulty of trying to please as many people as possible with the decisions they make and trying to do things that a lot of people like and think are right. Its hard to incorporate every single person's opinion into making a decision because ultimately you have to leave some ideas out. I think when the panel talked about this it really addressed what I think is the hardest part of leadership. That hard part being trying to do things not just the way you want them, but the way that works for the greatest number of people while keeping in mind your values and goals. As a leader you have to consider that what you think is a good idea may not be viewed the same way by others. You have to collaborate and work together to accomplish things.

Overall I thought the panel was really informative and interesting to listen to, especially with the variety of people and positions which they have held. I definitely think that what they had to say can help each one of us on our way to making a difference in the greek community.

I also found this video and it just made me think about our class in general and the discussion from the panel so enjoy :)

OATH

oath:
a solemn promise, usually invoking a divine witness, regarding your future acts or behavior

As members of sororities and fraternities we promise on the day of our initiation to make sure we uphold our values, mission and purpose in everything we do from that point on. I think its important that we realize we have made this commitment and that it is for a lifetime.

When I think of an oath I think back to when I was initiated into Alpha Gamma Delta. I know for me I took my oath because it meant that I was becoming part of a great organization with high standards and a strong sisterhood. It meant that I would commit myself to living the values of our 11 founders and always be there for my sisters.

In addition to this I think taking an oath is a very special thing. You are only initiated once and the ceremony is something shared by only you and your sisters. Its the first time you learn your ritual and its an experience you never forget. I know I'll never forget my initiation or ritual and I'll always try to live by the values of AGD.

Incongruency

I know that all of our chapters try hard to live our values but we don't always do the best job at it.

I think in the greek community one of the biggest issues we have is talking bad about other chapters - we compare each other, look at who gets paired up with who for events and read greekrank.com but this takes away from the fact that we talk about being one big, unified community. Wasting time and effort trying to figure out the irrelevant question of who is better than who takes away from time we should be spending to promote the greek community - let people know that each chapter is unique and great in its own way and that their is a chapter for every person who wants to be involved.


Going along with this I think of all the other things we could do with our time that would improve our community. A lot of the time we plan social events and don't put as much attention on our philanthropies and service. If we wouldn't worry about who our next tg will be with and what the theme is, we could use our efforts to plan a fundraiser or volunteer outside of events that count towards standards of excellence. All of our chapters think highly of service and philanthropy but yet they don't always seem like priorities. We can elevate ourselves above what is stereotypical of greek life and put the emphasis back on the values which we pledged to uphold.


In Alpha Gam I know that these things happen at times. Sometimes, just like in many other chapters, we forget to follow our purpose and let things happen that go against what we value. I do know though that we are working on more philanthropy events and ways to get involved, which is one way to fix our incongruencies.

As both individual chapters and as a community we can improve our actions as long as we remember we are...

Alpha Gam Girls...

Our mission statement is:

Alpha Gamma Delta is an international fraternity for women that exists to provide opportunities for personal development through the spirit of sisterhood.

• We support lifelong learning as a means to gain understanding and wisdom.
• We promote the value of fraternal membership and commitment to higher education.
• We help prepare members to contribute to the world's work.
• We advocate lifetime involvement in Alpha Gamma Delta.

Our chapter does a number of things to live by these words:

• we value scholarship and encourage each other to well in our classes by studying together, putting our good grades up on mamma's fridge and having scholarship dinners
• we work towards our goals both individually and as a chapter
• we contribute to the worlds work by volunteering and working with our philanthropy
  
• having a strong sisterhood, being supportive, encouraging, caring and loving towards one another

On occasions though we aren't as congruent:

• at times some of us will not participate in volunteering efforts
• sometimes we will not have a high turn out for sisterhoods
• sometimes we think our involvement will only last the 4 or 5 years we are here at school

All in all I'd say we do a pretty great job as a chapter in following our mission statement and I am extremely proud to be an Alpha Gam!

When Life Hands You Lemons Make Lemonade

Alex's Lemonade Stand is a good example of an organization that displays its values to the public. These values are simple too:

Children
Hope
Family

Determination

Alex was a 4 year old girl with cancer who started a lemonade stand with one goal in mind- to raise enough money for childhood cancer. Alex died when she was 8 but the lemonade stand she started lives on. Every year lemonade stands are set up across the nation to raise money and continue the tradition (PHA ran one last year!). Stands like these have raised more than $12 million. And the cause doesn't stop with just making lemonade there are also extensions of the organization with Alex's Lemonade flavored Mike and Ikes and Rita's Italian Ice, which help raise the total to more than $35 million. All of the profits go directly towards helping fund treatment and research for childhood cancer to help improve their quality of life as well as to help with travel costs for families of kids getting treatment and to provide resources to anyone affected by childhood cancer. All of these embodied the values of Alex's Lemonade Stand and if you watch this video you'll see even more how this organization clearly displays its values.



This organization also makes me think about what we're learning in class, how you can make a
difference with one small thing at a time. Just one lemonade stand has grown into a huge foundation for childhood cancer and continues to make a difference every day.

What Matters Most to Me

When it comes to values I'm pretty simple. The most important things to me are:

FAMILY- Me and my Dad are very close and the one thing he has told me ever since I was little was that at the end of the day, no matter what happens, you always have your family. He grew up in a big Italian/Sicilian family where that was really important to remember and because I've grown up with that I believe the same. I think to be able to share every experience in life with each other and be there for one another is a great gift.

FRIENDS- The quote "friends are family you get to pick" pretty much sums up the way I view my friends. Especially being far from home my friends become my family and I think its important to be open and honest with them. I would do anything for my friends and I know that my friends would do anything for me.

INTEGRITY- In my book someone has integrity if they aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe, they try to be honest (because honesty is the best policy :) ), they keep their promises and they try to be the best that they can be. I always try to take the high road in most situations and own up to my mistakes because I think that's the right thing to do and I respect others for doing the same.

To me values are what is most important in your life and help you to figure out all kinds of decisions. It doesn't matter if values are influenced by family, friends or completely created own your own as long as they make sense to you and allow you to be happy.

"Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievements of one's values"

Who are you? How do you want to change the world?

Who am I? Well to start my name is Patty Fontanazza and I’m from York, PA-like the candy York Peppermint Pattie, which coincidentally is my favorite. My favorite color is pink and I love crafts and baking. I have been to Disney World over 30 times and some may think its obsessive, but what can I say my family has mickey mouse silverware and every Disney animated movie ever made. Yes I’m obsessed but in a good way. I actually hope to work in event planning for Disney some day to recreate some of the seasonal themed events that I’ve enjoyed over the years. But to continue, in high school I ran track and cross country and pole vaulted. I chose Ohio State because I wanted to go to a big school with a great football tradition. Plus mirror lake and the oval are amazing. I’m a second year Strategic Communications major with a minor in Design. I joined Alpha Gamma Delta last winter and absolutely love all of my sisters and the experiences I have had with them.

As far as how I want to change the world, my idea is a pretty simple one. Sorry to bring up Disney again, but the draw of Disney as the “Happiest Place on Earth”, especially for kids, has always had me thinking about the less fortunate children in the world who don’t experience anything like it. I’m not talking about kids who’s parents decide to never take them to Disney, I’m talking about orphans and kids of poverty or of troubled inner city families who are all, in most circumstances, forced to grow up way too fast. I volunteered at an art gallery in high school and we would do weekly art activities with city school children. The happiness they got from making something of their own and being carefree for just an hour each week was awesome to see. To give kids some of their childhood back I think it would be great to run different free programs after school, on weekends, and even a summer camp in all different areas. They can do crafts, play with toys and games, run outside and do other simple activities while interacting with one another. Just allowing them to take away outside stresses and focus on being playful, imaginative, and innocent kids.

And just because you probably weren’t getting sick of Disney already here’s a clip of a commercial for the year of a million dreams:

This just makes me think of how doing simple things for kids (like giving them hats or costumes) seems to make a world of difference to them. If it could be possible to give simple things and opportunities to kids in need then their lives and futures would be much better.