Advice for a fellow Sister (very long!)

[Zillini]

Glamorbomb, maybe my story will help you get an idea of what benefits being an alum can offer. My college sorority experience was quite different than yours. I had a great time. I was a typical, random, average member, somewhat apathetic, never held an office, showed up to the required events/meetings (sometimes unhappily b/c it was mandatory) and certainly attended every party. After I graduated I didn't think much about my sorority aside from keeping in touch with some close friends. I didn't see the big picture, the "lifelong commitment" thing was lost on me.

Fast forward, my Hubby and I moved to the Deep South for his job. I didn't know a soul in about a 300 mile radius. I was commuting an hour each way to/from work and barely had the chance to meet my neighbors. At that time Hubby was traveling a lot with his new job and I was plain old lonely.

One day I got an invitation to an alum tea at the local chapter of my sorority house. (They'd gotten my address from Inat'l when I'd sent in my change of address form for the magazine.) I decided to go thinking it would be a nice way to meet some local women. Little did I know it ended up being a recruitment function for the House Corporation. I agreed to join for social reasons more than anything else.

I got to know these wonderful women and slowly it dawned on me that these were more than just friends, they were indeed my sisters. It didn't matter to them that I had gone to another school in a different part of the country. They embraced me. When my daughter was born with severe complications, they supported me and comforted me.

Later the Chapter needed a Financial Advisor and I somehow got drafted not having a clue what it meant. I discovered the Chapter was having financial problems. I put in a lot of hard work with the Treasurer and other officers over that year and we managed to put them back on solid financial footing. That next year I was asked to become the Chapter Advisor and have been doing so ever since.

During that initial time I realized these collegians needed me or someone like me. They needed someone to help them sort through their problems and would stand behind them when facing difficult situations. They needed a mentor. I've come to realize I needed them too. With my daughter's disabilities and health complications, I unexpectedly became a stay at home mom. I needed an outlet from the stress at home. I can't fix my daughter's problems, but I can fix a whole lot of sorority related problems. This may sound odd, but I truly believe these girls helped keep me sane.

I don't know exactly when it dawned on me "This is what my sorority is really all about. This is what they meant by a lifelong commitment." But I get it now and I try to show my collegians what that means. It's rather funny to me. I've been advising for so long and am so committed that many of my girls assume I was born wearing letters, held every office as an active and have been "RAH-RAH-YEAH-SORORITY!" all my life. They are shocked to hear this wasn't the case. When they hear my story I often see them look at our org from a new perspective.

I'm 1,000 times more committed to my org as a whole and my girls in particular than I ever imagined. My biggest regret is I didn't get it back in my college days. I do now and that's what matters. There is an upside though. I think it's made me a better advisor because I can relate to those random, average, apathetic members. Been there, done that.