Needing motivation for myself and chapter!

[ASTalumna06]

Listen to both of these ladies!

Originally Posted by agzg

Lane swerve, but are there at least 2-5 sisters that have a break around the same time for lunch? Having lunch together (on campus, visible) really helped all the chapters on my campus keep that connected feeling.

We'd stake out a table around 11 and that was the Alpha Gam table - people would come and go as they needed to but the group would be there. There was a Sigma table, an ASA table, a Phi Sig table, and an AST table every single day.

All of the Greeks at my school would basically sit in the same area in the cafe on campus. When I first started school, before I even joined, they were VERY visible, and each GLO had its own table. Over time, all of the Greeks started sitting together in the same general area, and we would all come and go depending on when we had class, but you could always find at least a handful of us together. And on Tuesdays (the day when most of my sisters were available between 12:00 and 1:00), my chapter would have Sister Lunch. While it was "mandatory", everyone loved going.

Originally Posted by 33girl

Definitely do this!! It helps SO much, not only with getting you guys connected but as a PR tool.

It sounds as though the older members of the chapter are burnt out from keeping it afloat for so long, and at the point where they just want to graduate and get out. It's hard for them to convey what made them so psyched and happy about AST to the newer girls because they're just at the end of their rope. They're happy they got so many new people, but at the same time uneasy because that means the chapter might change a lot. It's growing pains.

If that's the case, it's up to the new girls to take the bull by the horns and get excited about the chapter on their own. I'm not saying push the older girls aside, just decide that you need to set goals as a unified group and go forward. Don't let their outlook drag you down.

This! Especially the bolded items. I've been the new member who came into the small chapter, and I've been the senior who has thought, "I love this, but I definitely need a break." Imagine having all of this responsibility in the chapter AND having to bring in a new member class that outnumbers the active sisters.. it's a lot to take on. Which again, is why I say you should take the bull by the horns and start to establish yourself in the chapter and get a head start on working a position by helping an active sister (or two, or three!). You don't even know how much there is to learn!

And because there is a lot to learn, and the chapter is so young (in terms of when girls have joined), that creates more responsibility for the older girls. I'm sure they want to teach you all they can... they just might not have the time to do it. At one point, my chapter had a new member class of 9 (with 10 active sisters), and honestly, it's kind of scary. You feel like you're handing your chapter over to people who still know very little.

Try to be understanding, and also take charge. You'll have to if you want this to work.

But I promise - the things you enjoy most in life will be the things that you work hardest for.