There's so many reasons why I stay involved.. hard to sum it up. Overall, I can honestly say, the more you put in, the more you are rewarded. I understand some women want to "put the past behind them", or feel Theta is a "college experience". But I feel sorry for them because they are missing out on something wonderful!
part of the reason I stay involved is the legacy of the Boston alumnae and their relationship with my chapter. They were our advisors, our mentors, our link to the 'real world'. Their assistance and dedication really cemented the "Theta for a lifetime" philosophy into my brain.
Best example I can remember: we had informal recruitment ON VALENTINES DAY (who the idiot was that picked the dates, i'll never know.. ). And there was a our recruitment advisor, helping us out with name-tags, voting, etc. She had just received the most incredible bouquet of long stemmed roses AND a marriage proposal from her boyfriend. But Eileen was there with us because she made a committment to us. The roses were even in the middle of our refreshment table as she hadn't made it home with them yet.
another great example was our ABC-she had a stunning house on the ocean. We used it for many retreats, workshops etc. If I remember right, she would just hand over the keys to a group of 60+ women for the weekend!? I don't recall her ever being present when we visited her house, (though she did have a room rented out to man we surprised when we arrived en-masse)! Sharon opened her home to us without question.
There's plenty more examples I'm forgetting! After that kind of an undergrad experience, did I really have a choice to just leave school and put theta behind me?
It helps too that I saw the bigger picture of theta during my undergraduate experience beyond the alumnaa volunteers by going to convention, visiting HQ and Alpha chapter, and meeting Thetas from other schools.
When we moved to Arizona after graduation, there was no question I was going to be an advisor. I didn't know the process, so I just showed up during recruitment at Arizona State and said "I'm here to help. Please put me to work! I'd love to be on your advisory board." And that was how it all started....
Over the years I've worn a number of hats, mostly on the Advisory Board level, and now on the district team level. This past fall, I took on an additional position as the treasurer of my local alumnae chapter. Not like I need more to keep me busy! But there was a need, and I wanted to do something a little different. the novelty hasn't worn off yet on the new job, but ask me again in a week after founders day! (I'm collecting all the $ for the rsvps..)
The first day of my volunteer service, in that hot, sweaty, cramped rush room, I met a former fraternity president, Norma Jorgensen! And I though "wow! If she's still around, there's got to be
something good about this!"... And I was right!
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