Traveling Consultants

[AOIIalum]

My current position involves travelling a few times a year to visit my chapters. Don't hesitate to ask your consultant before she arrives if there is something specific she'd like to do or see while visiting! I always appreciate a campus tour and spending time with advisers (which also gives the chapter a break from "entertaining" for an afternoon or evening). If you're in or near Boston, you have a treasure trove of sightseeing options available to you! If she likes to work out make sure to put that on her schedule. Offer to get her a guest pass (if available) to your campus facilities and have sisters sign up to accompany her to the gym or take her to a workout class.

As for meals, I'm lucky that my chapters have some great on-campus dining options so I don't mind eating on campus and if members have excess meal plan funds it's cost-effective for them. She probably won't mind eating on campus, especially if that's the norm! On a recent a few of the chapter members cooked a wonderful dinner for me at their apartment. I loved that! Make sure you include your meal escorts on the schedule, so your consultant knows when and who will be accompanying her for meals. Meals are also a great way for informal time with chapter members!

A few more tips to make your consultant visit go smoothly include scheduling "office hours" daily so she can work on paperwork, make phone calls, and such. If it's a "meeting" day for her, try to work in short 15-30 minute breaks every few hours. It can be very difficult for a consultant if she has 7-8 hours of meetings without a break or meal scheduled! If she does not have a laptop make sure there is a computer with internet access and printer available for her use. Ask her preferences in advance about meeting times. She understands that she will have to work around class schedules, but probably doesn't want to be holding scheduled officer meetings late into the night. Last thing--if there is a chapter event on the calendar that might require a certain dress code (recruitment functions, for example) let her know before her arrival. She'll appreciate the extra thoughtfulness!