UPENN Part 2

Well, this past Monday I left my wonderful visit at the Alpha Beta Chapter of ZTA. I had a wonderful two weeks in Philadelphia and am so thankful of all the memories I was able to make. To my UPENN sisters, I am extremely proud of all the hard work and dedication you put into fall recruitment! The ten women you received are beyond amazing and I cannot wait to watch your chapter grow over the years to come! 

Here are some pictures from my last week at UPENN (see Part 1 for pictures from the first week!):

The Newest Zeta's

The Wonderful Food I Experienced

The Places I Got To See

The Things I Got To Experience 

The Friendships That I Made

So to my sisters at UPENN, thank you for a wonderful two weeks and for sharing with me your sisterhood and Zeta Love :-)

UPENN Part 1

On Monday I arrived at the University of Pennsylvania...aka UPENN...aka IVY LEAGUE! Let me just say I am loving my time here in the big city of "Philly" and so lucky to be here another week and a half as my to-see list keeps growing longer by the minute. The chapter members here are all so dedicated to their academics and I love, love, love learning about their really cool majors and what they want to do once they graduate. I even met a sisters from Hickory, North Carolina...little home state love! 

If you have never visited UPENN, I highly suggest it. My new friends took me on a campus tour the moment I arrived and I was just in awe over the beauty of not only the landscape but how historic the buildings were. Did I also mention I'm getting to stay in this super cute ZTA town home? Needless to say I've fallen in love with living in the city :-)

Campus Dorm

Kappa Sigma House

Campus Quad

ZTA with their cute banner supporting Miss Idaho

Two days of mini-recruitment were completed this week and two more next week! I'm excited OVERLY EXCITED for this weekend as a childhood dream of mine is going to come true! Ya'll know how much I love me some pageants...okay I'm obsessed with them ;-) Miss Idaho (Sarah Downs) is a ZTA from UPENN...so of course since the pageant moved back to Atlantic City, NJ and is only an hour away we are going! I'm so excited to see THE Miss America in person with my own eyes and to see the "Show Us Your Shoe" Parade down the boardwalk. Stay tuned for what is sure to be a billion pictures!

Travel Tuesday: Indianapolis, Indiana

My first Travel Tuesday will belong to the beautiful city of Indianapolis, Indiana! Indianapolis, and the surrounding area, was my home for almost three weeks this summer during my TLC training. So keeping Tuesday's short and sweet, here are some pictures and my personal list of what you should see and do if you ever get to visit the thriving city of Indianapolis or the cute little towns around it!

Indianapolis

Photo Cred: www.indstate.edu

Places to Eat: 

Bakersfield: American-Mexican food with a super neat atmosphere. I personally recommend the guacamole, Mole Taco, and Fish Taco.  

Things to See:

Zeta Tau Alpha International Office: Sorry! Just had to put this on here...I mean what ZTA could pass up a chance to see the home of ZTA?

Indiana State Fair: If you're in Indiana during early August, make sure you go to the state fair! Oh, and you must have to try the fried Girl Scout cookies!

Carmel

Fun Fact: Carmel, Indiana has been named the number 1 place to live in America!

Places to Eat:

Bazbeaux Pizza: smack dab on the main street of Carmel! Your pizza's are made fresh to order and you can customize them almost anyway you would like. Also try the cheesy bread!

Broad Ripple

Places to Eat:
Flatwater: great place to eat and listen to live local bands right on the canal. Have a wide mixture of food that is yummy to all!

Broad Ripple Ice Cream: a little walk off the canal to find this hidden gem but it is so worth it! Homemade ice cream that is a favorite of the locals!!

Membership Enrichment Monday: Resume Tips

It's Monday which means today is the first "Membership Enrichment Monday"! Every Monday post will focus on enriching the lives of young women and will be something chapters or individuals can use!

Today I decided to focus on resume tips. Personally writing a resume stresses me out because I am always afraid I'll include the wrong items; not to mention the one page you are supposed to keep it at! During my senior year I went to a total of 6...yes 6, resume writing workshops on campus. The resume I used to land a job as a TLC was looked at by 11 different people, well let's just say it was edited by many professors and campus mentors that I had gained over the years. My favorite thing to ask someone when they gave my resume back, was "what is your number 1 tip for writing a resume?" Over the course of my senior year, I collected a total of 22 of those tips and decided I would put them into good use today on my blog. Please know that I am in no way shape or form even close to being a pro at writing resumes; these are just tips that were passed onto me by the faculty and staff of UNCC. Feel free to download and print the tips below and let me know if any of them help you land an amazing interview! Next Monday we'll focus on interview tips! So until then, get to writing that wonderful resume of yours! 

Click here to be taken to a full size version

Sisterhood Sunday: Queen For The Day

Welcome to the first Sisterhood Sunday...I'm very glad you could join in on the start of something new! No matter what Greek Organization a young woman decides to join in college, they all have one thing in common. That one thing is at the core of all organizations and the reason why they were each founded. If you're thinking to yourself "sisterhood", then you're correct! While each sorority has their own set of rituals that makes them unique, they all share the common bond of sisterhood; sisterhood both within their chapter and within their Panhellenic community. My hope on Sundays will be to bring about new ideas chapters can use to continue building a strong sisterhood within their chapter and to remind all of us the reason why we fell in love with ZTA!

Today is a little sisterhood activity I like to call "Queen For The Day". Queen For The Day is a simple positive bombardment to show a select sister what you love about her. This activity could take as little as 2 minutes in chapter and something fun sisters could look forward to each week! 

To start, you will need to print out the circle pattern below (or create one of your own) and make as many copies of it as you want to use. Cut out the amount of circles you want to use and then get to chapter a few minutes before everyone. Take the cut out and tape it on the bottom of a chair in the chapter room. When it's your turn to speak, ask everyone to look under their chair to find the "Queen For The Day" button. The sister that finds it gets to come to the front of the chapter room for the next fun part. 

Once the sister is in the front, ask for the chapter to give you 10 things they love about that sister. As chapter members respond, write down what they say on a blank paper crown made out of card stock. Once all 10 sisters have had a chance to share, give the filled up crown to that sister to wear for the rest of chapter. This is a simple activity that is great at reminding sisters why they are loved.

For larger chapters, you could do 2-3 Queen For The Days during chapter; just make sure you print out enough buttons and crowns. The buttons could be printed on card stock and can even be laminated to make an actual button. I would also recommend printing the crowns on card stock. 

Let me know if your chapter uses this activity and how it goes! See below for a list of supplies!

Button Supplies

-Print out button page here; or make your own (make sure to print on card stock)

-Tape 

-Scissors

-Laminate (optional)

Crown Supplies

-Print out crown page here; or make your own (make sure to print on card stock)

-Tape

-Scissors

-Colorful pens/markers

Leaving my heart in Kansas

I've said this before but one of my weaknesses this year on the road is going to be that I will find a way to fall in love with every chapter and city I visit! Currently my heart has been left in Baldwin City, Kansas...but I guess I should back up to the start.

On August 8th I woke up in Indianapolis, Indiana bright eyed and excited to visit my first chapter. The four of us TLCs that were left got dropped off at the airport and it was such a surreal moment thinking "okay, this is the moment we've been trained for. We are on our own now!" The four of us checked into our flights and then said our last goodbyes to each other before heading our separate ways.

Hannah, Abbey, Millie and I 

My first flight took me to Chicago for a quick layover before boarding my plane to Kansas City, Missouri. Flying into Missouri I was shell shocked. I cannot even begin to describe to you how refreshing the miles and miles of rolling green grass and trees were. It was beautiful. 

Upon landing Abbey (another TLC) and I were greeted by the President and Recruitment Chair for the chapter we were visiting. I felt right at home the moment they said "We love your accent!" It was about an hour car ride from Kansas City, Missouri to Baldwin City, Kansas...home of Baker University. 

I was blessed to spend two weeks with one of the oldest chapters of ZTA and to experience a sisterhood that loved me for me! This tiny university of around 900 students opened my eyes to just how beautiful other campuses across the country are. Take a look:

I also had the pleasure of staying in a beautiful home! One thing I really enjoyed was that every single member of this chapter lives in the house. How cool is it to literally say you have a 24/7 sleepover with all of your sisters? And check out the beautiful crest printed in their wooden floor:

Their home is also full of so much history; including the chapters' original charter and a picture of their founders. Fun fact...this chapter was originally a local sorority that got absorbed by ZTA! How cool! (sorry that is my ZTA nerdy side coming out!!)

I got to experience a sisterhood mustache event AND the Kansas City Race for the Cure! I felt extremely lucky to be able to attend a Race for the Cure event as a TLC. Us TLCs are on the move so much that any of us are hardly at a chapter when this event happens! Needless to say, I have discovered that I will always cry at the finish line watching breast cancer survivors walk across.

My last week with the chapter brought my first recruitment as a TLC. Seriously...I LOVE recruitment! From House Tours to Philanthropy to Skit Night to Preference, I enjoyed every minute I spent with this chapter. All their hard work was rewarded on Bid Night when the chapter gained 26 new members :-) 

House Tours 

Philanthropy Round

Pref Night

Bid Night

I was so sad to leave this wonderful chapter the morning after Bid Night but the memories I made with them in Kansas will forever be in my heart as my first days as a TLC. So to the ladies of Sigma Chapter at Baker University: thank you for loving my accent, my Coca-Cola with Lime love (even though I spilled it in cars), my obsession with taking pictures, my Jitter coffee runs, and for loving me even though I won Nashville Trivia at your own sisterhood retreat :-)

While in Kansas, I was talking with a chapter member about my blog and we started brainstorming ways that a TLC blog could benefit chapters I visit even after I leave. So starting this Sunday (September 1) there will be a simple blog post that comes out every day. It is my hope that my ZTA sisters across the country can use these post as ideas for chapter events or just a simple membership enrichment. Still confused? Here's what the post will be about daily:

Sisterhood Sunday: post on Sunday will consist of ideas you could use for sisterhood events or simple ways to spread ZTA love to all your sisters!

Membership Enrichment Monday: post on Monday will consist of items you could present in chapter that would count as a membership enrichment activity.

Travel Tuesday: for all my ZTA and non-ZTA readers. Tuesday's will showcase local places I have visited on the road that I think you would love if you ever get to visit those cities.

Wellness Wednesdays: a day dedicated to health and wellness tips!

Think Pink Thursday: any and everything surrounding Zeta Tau Alpha's amazing philanthropy of Breast Cancer Education and Awareness.

Flashback Friday: post on Friday will be for giggles and fun. Just a day for flashback pictures of my time in ZTA!

Spotlight Saturday: a day left open to spotlight any thing that chapters could benefit from! 

Of course I will still do post about the amazing chapters I visit and the experiences I have but I hope to turn this blog into something that will benefit my ZTA sisters everywhere!

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend with the ones you love! Be safe :-)