AI Interest
 

Hello Delta Gammas! I am looking for all the information I can gather about Alumnae Initiation. I rushed DG at Vanderbilt University during its arrival on campus, Spring of 2000. Two weeks before initiation I had to make a very hard decision to withdraw because of a sudden financial situation. I just found out today about Alumane Initiation and I am so excited! I am wondering if any of you out there have been through this process and what it's like. I know that I missed the college experience with my pledge sisters, but do you feel that connection now with Delta Gamma? Do you feel like you've missed out on the collegiate experience? I really want to pursue this, but would like to hear from anyone and everyone out there. Please email me or respond back! Thanks!

Yes, yes, yes. I am an alumna initate (March 2001) and so is DGMarie (just a few months ago!). Her story begins here:
http://forums.greekchat.com/gcforums...threadid=25132

To answer your questions:
I just found out today about Alumane Initiation and I am so excited! I am wondering if any of you out there have been through this process and what it's like. I know that I missed the college experience with my pledge sisters, but do you feel that connection now with Delta Gamma?
I do regret that I did not have the collegiate experience, but the DG women that I know now are from a different university, different city. (So we bonded after college, not during!) :D It's been wonderful to have Delta Gamma in common with them.

Do you feel like you've missed out on the collegiate experience?
A little bit but better late than never. I am SO GRATEFUL to be a Delta Gamma today!

I really want to pursue this, but would like to hear from anyone and everyone out there.
The only thing I would say that you need are 2 years of college and you will need to be sponsored by an alumna in good standing (there is an application form and it's for "Prospective Alumnae Initiates). What's more is that if you were approved by the Executive Council for initiation, you would be initiated at your local collegiate chapter. Since you appear to live in Honolulu, I am not sure where you would be initiated, since DG does not have a collegiate chapter in Hawaii at this time (You might have to hop on a plane ;) .....although there is an *alumnae* chapter). I am not sure if you know any of the DG Alumnae in Hawaii.

I graduated from Vanderbilt, so I have the college requirement. I am assuming that I was approved by the Executive Council for initiation because I was two weeks away from initiation and had to withdraw because of financial reasons. Do you think that is right? Because I am in Honolulu, would I have to be initiated into DG at Vanderbilt? I feel so overwhelmed because there is so much that I don't know about the AI process. I read the information about the AI process, I am just not 100% sure what I should do and how I should go about doing this, especially in Hawaii where it's limited. Please respond back. Thank you so much!

I graduated from Vanderbilt, so I have the college requirement.
Perfect!

I am assuming that I was approved by the Executive Council for initiation because I was two weeks away from initiation and had to withdraw because of financial reasons. Do you think that is right?
I would say that since you were once a DG pledge (and quite recently), I would say that things look favorable. However, since you are no longer in college, my understanding of alumnae initiation is that you would have to meet the members of the local alumnae chapter and they would have to agree to having you as a new sister. I think this is so that Nationals can be assured that you would be a good fit with the local alumnae chapter and that the fit would be harmonious, thus they would want the local alumnae chapter to meet you and be in support of your petition to become an inititiated member via alumnae initiation. You would have to be very clear in a letter to nationals as to why you dropped and why you want to come back to Delta Gamma. It is also possible that with your situation being so recent, I would think that Nationals and/or the alum group would want to check with the Vanderbilt chapter.


Are you still in touch with any of your Vanderbilt DG pledge sisters? If so, perhaps some of them could provide recommendations/sponsorship for you?

Because I am in Honolulu, would I have to be initiated into DG at Vanderbilt?
No, you would likely be initiated at your nearest collegiate chapter and would be an initiate of that chapter (which I guess would be California somewheres). However, since you are in Honolulu, maybe the alumnae chapter would initiate you there (if they had the appropriate...err..."equipment", which they may not have). Your situation, being a bit far away in Hawaii is unique, so this is new for me, too! :D However, if you were initiated in Hawaii, then the question would be, "what chapter would be belong to?" which I honestly don't know the answer to.

I feel so overwhelmed because there is so much that I don't know about the AI process. I read the information about the AI process, I am just not 100% sure what I should do and how I should go about doing this, especially in Hawaii where it's limited. Please respond back. Thank you so much!
I'll PM you with a bit more information!

Also, be sure to check out this:
http://www.deltagamma.org/alumnae_initiates.html

and this: (it's a super long link...be sure that you copy and paste the whole thing in bold, you might have to do it in 3 parts...it kept getting cut off because it's super long!)
http://www.deltagamma.org/
alumnae_dg_101_alumnae_init_handout_for_the_love_
of_dg_formatted.doc

Be sure to come join us in the DG Forum as well! :D
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A few minutes later...
I also had another thought, that if you were approved for initiation, perhaps you could come to DG convention in June 2004 in Arlington, VA & Washinton, DC and potentially be initiated at Convention?? DG has initiated women at convention - I have definitely heard of it happening! :D
Hypothetically, if you were initiated at convention, I would imagine that you would become a member of Vanderbilt (I guess they would "tag you on" to Vanderbilt), but I'm not sure. It's all so preliminary, but we are excited that you are here!
How awesome would *THAT* be?

CP2000, I'm just wondering why you listed the "nearest" collegiate chapters to Honolulu as being U. of Washington and UBC. Aren't the two chapters closest to Hawaii the two located in San Diego, CA? :confused: Did I totally miss something?

.....Kelly :)

Ooops! I was forgetting that the planes can go due East (hence California), not north-east (Washington & BC, etc.). I was thinking about the Pacific Northwest more so....