GreekChat.com Forums - Alumnae initiates

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Alumnae initiates

Patti asked in another thread, so I thought I'd post here. It is a fairly recent thing, but Theta does consider alumnae initiates now. The exact requirements are in the Constitution/Bylaws (can be found within Thetas Online on the Theta website).

There have been several (not tons) of which I'm aware in the past few years. I was lucky to play a role in one of them - it will always be one of my most favorite Theta memories.

Very interesting, thanks! Does anyone know any general ideas on what kind of woman would be considered for alumna initiation? I mean what kind of "qualifications" or attributes would Theta look for in an AI? I am only curious :-)

Patti, I PM'd you.

If any other Thetas are interested in more info, I'd be happy to PM you. Don't want to post the whole shebang on a public forum.

cheers!
Jane

Thanks, Jane! Great info.

I would like a PM with info on it as well, please.

I'm afraid I don't really understand what AI is!

I would like a PM about this too. I know what alumnae initiation is but I'm wondering how Theta would choose members this way.

I know this is a very old thread...

As someone who went to a college without a Greek system for women, I am on a quest for information. This notion of AI fascinates me, and I would love to know what attracted you to Theta as an undergrad, and what benefits you feel you gain as an alumna. Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. :)

SCBelle,

Good luck with your quest.

Speaking personally, Theta has been a very important part of my life for about 18 years now. Why?
-Theta was a pioneer in women's higher education, becoming the first Greek-letter fraternity for women in 1870 (the word "sorority" was not coined until years later).
-On my college campus, Theta was a real pioneer (first women's fraternity/sorority on a then majority-male campus with an adminstration then and still anti-Greek).
-Theta has given me numerous opportunities to contribute while testing, strengthening, and challenging my leadership and interpersonal skills. This started in college and continues to this day.
-Theta's shared ideals continue to inspire me long after college (when it's easy to get lazy and think you've done all your growing).
-I love our ritual and feel renewed every time I participate.
-Fabulous women friends of all ages!

Thanks so much for your input. Your answers have helped me a great deal. I have a very good friend who is a Theta alumna from Wofford, and she speaks very highly of her org... I'm glad that her experience is something that seems to be shared by so many.

Alumnae Initiates

It is my understanding that the first Theta alumnae initiates were six women initiated at Gamma Omega- Auburn, AL chapter on Oct 7 1962.

There was a chapter not too long ago that alumnae initiated their house mother. I'm not sure of the chapter, but there was a picture of that chapter with their newly initiated house mom in one of the Theta Magazines. I'll have to look through mine and pull that one to see.

Quote:

Originally posted by ThetaPrincess24
There was a chapter not too long ago that alumnae initiated their house mother. I'm not sure of the chapter, but there was a picture of that chapter with their newly initiated house mom in one of the Theta Magazines. I'll have to look through mine and pull that one to see.

I believe it was Rho at Nebraska.

I know some groups have a large number of AIs. My understanding *had* been that Theta reserved the practice for rare use...like a House Mom, etc. But I will take your suggestion and read up on it online.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janerz222 (Post 629617)

Patti, I PM'd you.

If any other Thetas are interested in more info, I'd be happy to PM you. Don't want to post the whole shebang on a public forum.

cheers!
Jane

Jane, can you PM me also? Thanks!

I know this is an old thread but I am intrested to know if AI is still uncommon?

We just had someone go AI through my chapter. Her mother was a Theta and an advisor to our chapter. I was there for the ceremony! It was amazing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thetagirl218 (Post 1630533)

It's more common now than it was years ago, however it is still uncommon. The guidelines for who can qualify for such an honor is in our national bylaws in the passworded section of our website.

We just had someone go through in our chapter too, she has four theta daughters so it was a really awesome experience for their whole family.

I was initiated with an AI. She was the daughter of one of our Advisors and went to a university without a Greek System. Since her initiation, she has been active in her local alumnae chapter and visits us frequently. I am SO proud to call her my sister :)

Theta isn't the only sorority that does AI (I know mine does too), but in all cases it's rare. If you plan on working in this field at your campus for a long period of time, it might be beneficial for you to research the opportunities with all the sororities represented on campus.

Because of your career field, it seems reasonable that you could achieve it, since you would be an asset to a collegiate chapter. But again, it is rare. Good luck!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubaiSis (Post 1985152)

DubaiSis, with all respect, do you personally know this poster?

I do not. I have no way of knowing what kind of asset she would be to a collegiate chapter, much less anything else. That is why I personally will refrain from making assertions regarding her possibility of success or ability to achieve the "goal" of AI.

Instead I will direct "alumniguest" to the search function on GreekChat. And I will defer to one of the more experienced GC moderators for the remainder of this discussion.

I have only known of ONE case of AI for Kappa Alpha Theta, which occurred this year. The AI is an exceptional woman who has accomplished much and contributed selflessly to society at large for several decades; she did not have any idea that she was even being considered for AI.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alumniguest (Post 1985144)

I was not greek in undergrad, and the greek life staff member has talked to me about going greek as an alum. They say "its never too late to go greek" and I'm beginning to really consider it. The thing is, the college I work at does not have a theta chapter and I know that if I ever was to go greek I would want to be a theta. While I wasn't a member as an undergrad, they did have a chapter at my college, and many of the women from that chapter remain great friends of mine. It's the only chapter I could really ever see myself calling "home."

Have any of these women ever mentioned AI to you? The Thetas you are good friends with, that is. Did the Greek life staff member who mentioned this inquire if you would be interested in AIing into her sorority?

Also, keep in mind that unless all the women you know from college are in your city and in the Theta alum chapter there, it's going to be different people than you knew in college. In other words, if you are primarily interested in sharing this bond with the women from your school that's not necessarily something that's going to happen (or get stronger) with AI.

AI into Theta is one of those things where I like to think "If you feel you have to ask, it'll never happen."

It's best to ask your Theta friends from undergrad, not those of us who are strangers on GC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alumniguest (Post 1985180)

wow, I really apologize. I did not mean to stir the pot or create some kind of controversy, I was just hoping to hear some objective, honest advice. Which, I guess I did get some of.

AI is generally controversial here. You got plenty of honest advice.

Quote:

One of my theta friends did talk to me about joining as an AI last year, and volunteered to write a letter to the Grand Council on my behalf. However, after I did some more research on that, I found out that method seems to primarily be reserved for women who are older, have achieved significant accomplishments, and are generally older.

That's where you should be pursuing things then. Your friends are obviously interested in supporting you so that's where you should be working from. We're not going to be able to give you anything more than they have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alumniguest (Post 1985180)

I also wanted to respond to 33girl, and say that I know this won't necessarily increase my bond with theta women from my undergrad. I'm not going to into this wanting to "relive my undergraduate days" in any way.

That isn't what I said.

My point was that the women you would be with in an alum chapter on a day to day basis are not (unless they meet the circumstances I outlined above) going to be the same women you knew in college, and as a matter of fact may be as drastically different from the Thetas you know as one collegiate chapter is from another.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alumniguest (Post 1985144)

Hi-- I'm not sure if anyone still checks this thread, but I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm a recent alumni of a master's program and working in student affairs on a college campus. My focus is student activities, but others in my office work directly with greek life.

I was not greek in undergrad, and the greek life staff member has talked to me about going greek as an alum. They say "its never too late to go greek" and I'm beginning to really consider it. The thing is, the college I work at does not have a theta chapter and I know that if I ever was to go greek I would want to be a theta. While I wasn't a member as an undergrad, they did have a chapter at my college, and many of the women from that chapter remain great friends of mine. It's the only chapter I could really ever see myself calling "home."

I know there is alumni chapter in my city though, because I have gone to the theta website which lists their contact information.

I guess what I'm wondering is what is the best way to show interest/get more information on this process? I'm worried that cold-contacting someone from the alumni chapter in my area (where I know no one, since I recently moved here) will put them off, but none of my theta friends live anywhere near me now.

Any advice/information you could offer would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

I noticed that you have posted in this thread above and then deleted it?

While most of the advice you have been given here are not by Thetas, their advice to you is solid. If you are interested in AI, the first thing I would do would be to read the stickied threads in the Alumnae Initiation forum here which you can access through the Recruitment forum. This will give you a lot more information on what you are seeking.

Regarding Theta in particular, we cannot comment on specific membership requirements as that is confidential to initiated members only. I can tell you that your research regarding Theta for the most part is on the mark. Women who are AI'd into Theta are exceptional women that must meet certain criteria before being considered. You could try coming through Panhellenic recruitment at your school, but as you stated there is not currently a Theta chapter there, and even if there was, you would not be guaranteed an invitation to join/bid.

There are some NPC chapters that allow graduate students to join, but I am unsure if those chapters are on your campus, or if it is even the norm on your campus for graduate students to join NPC chapters.

I am sorry if this is not the answer you are seeking, but this is about all of the information that we can give you at this time.

Best of luck in your endeavors!