I'm a former adviser currently serving in another capacity, so some of these may be a bit out of date:
- How did you end up advising the chapter?
I volunteered and was put to work! Started out as Education Adviser in the early 1990s and held a variety of positions including Chapter Adviser.
- How much time do you devote to the chapter - including paperwork, meetings, etc. (Excluding recruitment).
When I was only holding one position it was maybe six or so hours a month, which included attending one Leaders Council and Chapter Meeting plus a monthly Adviser Committee meeting. As Chapter Adviser it was much more time consuming, depending on chapter programming and needs.
- Do you attend weekly meetings?
- What day/time are the chapter's meetings?
Yes, I attended at least one LC and Chapter meeting per month. These were held on Sunday and Wednesday nights.
- How would you describe your relationship with the collegiates? Friendly? Like a big sister? Like a mom? Like someone from Nationals?
Depended on the position and the need, as I feel something like advising the Chapter Standards committee requires a different approach than say Scholarship. I strove for friendly but knowledgeable, but not like a Mom or a collegian!
- What are the biggest challenges you have faced?
Low chapter numbers and continuous recruitment efforts were the biggest challenges for that chapter.
- How much unreimbursed money do you spend on the chapter, traveling, etc.? How often do you have to travel outside of the chapter (regionals, HQ)?
None, I think most everything was reimbursed...however I'm remembering a formal recruitment where return numbers were much higher than we could have ever dream of for Preference, and I had to run to a grocery store to buy more cheesecakes for desserts. That was probably one of the happiest donations I ever made to AOII!!!
I did travel to our Convention and Leadership Institute as Chapter Adviser and my expenses were paid.