Thank You Doesn’t Seem Like Enough

By Brandi Barber, Chi Omega

“Thank you” seems so insignificant to say to someone who believed in you when you didn’t believe in yourself. It doesn’t convey the same sentiment as “You made me, and every one of my sisters who knew you, a better person.” It’s not quite the same as “You were our steady foundation in times of uncertainty.” But I guess there are no words that could truly capture what Janet Ridgway meant to me and the rest of the Psi Mu Chapter of Chi Omega at University of Central Florida.

For over 10 years, Janet served the chapter through various roles, from personnel advisor to financial advisor. If you asked any Psi Mu member during that time what Janet’s role was, she would say that Janet was a mentor, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, a friend, a counselor, the heart of the chapter, the living example of Chi Omega’s symphony.

Thank you, Janet, for always being what we needed most.

Advisors like Janet are the reason the Greek experience is still great a one. Personally, I know I would not be where I am without her influence. Take time this month to thank the amazing advisors who have affected your life in ways you can’t even describe.

Thank You for Helping Us Rebuild

Lynnda Wolf Hoefler, Delta Zeta, NPC Budget and Finance Committee chairman

We didn’t have Advisor Appreciation Month when I was a collegian, and I don’t think that it is ever too late to say “thank you” to those who mentored us along the way.

I was part of a small recolonization effort for my chapter at Kent State University years ago. I clearly remember the struggles we had when we were without local chapter advisors. For awhile we were so blessed to have a wonderful graduate student, Sanni Tenkku, from our Gamma Alpha Chapter at Baldwin Wallace College as it was called at the time, serving as our chapter advisor. Sanni was a tall, beautiful, willowy young woman, and we just wanted to emulate her in every way possible. She provided so much guidance to us as we worked hard to rebuild the Delta Zeta chapter.

Among those early supporters was our house corporation president, Susan Little, from our Alpha Chapter at Miami University. We were in the little yellow house that slept seven in those days, and it seemed she was there to greet us when we moved in and there to see us off when we went home for the summer. She still serves in that same capacity for my chapter today -- but the chapter is 10 times larger and enjoys a much larger home for 30 women. Sue still takes care of that house like it is her own -- we owe her so much! And she continues to provide guidance and direction for the many collegians’ lives she touches daily.

And then there was Norma Andrisek, another Gamma Alpha, who was serving as the national vice president at the time. She assisted our chapter with our recolonization efforts and guided us through recruitment for many years. She was a very early mentor to me and is still there for me today. I was privileged to serve on her council when she was national president. We have been blessed to travel together to council meetings and conventions for many years. We will head off together again this summer for convention in Tucson, Ariz.

I have been truly blessed with wonderful Delta Zeta advisors and mentors in my life who have become some of my dearest friends. Although all of our experiences and the paths we travel are unique, there are key individuals and advisors in our lives along the way we will always remember with great fondness for the roles they played in our lives. I give special heartfelt thanks to Sanni, Sue and Norma.

Unsung Heroes

Carole Cordray-Syracuse

Donna C. King, Sigma Kappa, NPC vice chairman
  
During Advisor Appreciation Month, I would like to honor and say thank you to the many women who selflessly and tirelessly give of their time to support our collegiate chapters. One such woman is a friend and sister I work with daily. Carole Cordray-Syracuse juggles a demanding volunteer and professional schedule. Carole serves on the Sigma Kappa NPC delegation as an alternate delegate, as an NPC area advisor and as a collegiate chapter alumnae advisor at Ohio University. What makes Carole's story unique is the fact that she is an alumnae initiate of Sigma Kappa. As an undergraduate at Kent State, Carole’s studies precluded her from joining a sorority. Career and family took her to Athens, Ohio, Ohio University and Sigma Kappa. 
 
From the day she was initiated, she has continuously given her time, talents and gifts to Sigma Kappa collegians at Ohio University. She has provided guidance, education, support and a good listening ear to countless young women over the years who remain in close contact with Carole today.  
 
Carole represents a legion of women: our local chapter advisors who are often the unsung heroes of our organizations. They touch the lives of many, give countless hours of service, and deserve our deepest appreciation for the work they do daily. Thank you to Carole, and thank you to the countless women serving our organizations as chapter advisors. Please take the time today to say “thank you” to the women who support our collegiate chapters as alumnae advisors.  

Thank You for Being a Confidant

By Jen Wetzel, Pi Beta Phi, NPC marketing and communications Intern

Advisor Appreciation Month is a time to reflect on those who go above and beyond to play a positive role in the lives of others, simply because they care. I have been fortunate to have these people surrounding me since I went through primary recruitment in January of my freshman year.

As a freshman, I could never have anticipated the impact that belonging to a sorority would have on so many aspects of my life. It has given me the confidence to be a leader, the patience and understanding to belong to a sisterhood of very different personalities and the drive to pursue all of my goals head-on. A lot of this confidence grew out of my position on Pi Phi’s executive council as the vice president of administration (VPA).

In my chapter, the VPA is considered the “rules person.” Not exactly the most fun-loving position for someone who typically approaches situations with humor. The position required me to adjust and stand out as a leader much more than I ever had in the past. During that time, I had several alumnae advisors who were there for me without fail -- there to answer email, stop by the chapter house on a minute’s notice, take midnight phone calls and be there as constant confidants. Two advisors, Kristi Geiger and Gretchen Foran, became my friends.

What makes advisors so special is that they are volunteers. They choose to use their own time to help further your goals and ideals, because they want to see you succeed. During some of the tougher moments of my term as VPA, I recall receiving hand-written and email notes from my alumna counterpart, just dropping in to say I was doing a great job. These moments of reassurance and kindness helped build my confidence as a leader while showing me the support that I had not only as a sorority member but also as a person.

Geraldine “Jerrie” Fredritz Mock, Phi Mu

Photo courtesy of "The Aglaia" of Phi Mu

In honor of Women’s History Month, the NPC blog is featuring biographies of Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. Our final post spotlights Geraldine “Jerrie” Fredritz Mock, who was initiated as a Phi Mu at The Ohio State University, where she studied aeronautical engineering. The first woman to fly solo around the world, she had always been fascinated with flying and married a pilot; her husband only encouraged her to pursue her interest in aviation. She received her private pilot’s license in 1958 and decided she wanted to see the world in 1964, leaving for her worldwide flight in March that year.

 Mock encountered several difficulties in her journey around the world. Shortly after leaving from Columbus, Ohio ¾ where she lived with her husband and their three children ¾ she realized that her long-range radio was not working properly. When she landed at her first stop in Bermuda, she found that her brakes were also not working as well as they should have been. She had the radio fixed in Bermuda and made additional stops in Morocco, Tripoli, Cairo, Manila, Saudi Arabia, Guam, Honolulu, California, Arizona, Texas and Kentucky before arriving home in Columbus 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes after she left.

Her flight set a total of seven records. Twenty-seven years after Amelia Earhart’s mysterious disappearance, Jerrie Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the world, the first woman to fly around the world in a single-engine plane and the first woman to fly over both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. She also set a record for the fastest flight around the world for Class C1-c aircraft, among several other records. Her plane, the Spirit of Columbus, was re-acquired by Cessna after her flight and was displayed at the Cessna factory until 1976, when Cessna donated it to the Smithsonian Institute. Today, the Smithsonian displays it at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.

After her record-setting flight around the world, Mock continued to fly and set several more world records. She was presented with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Exceptional Service Decoration in 1964 and was awarded the Louis Bleriot Silver Medal by the Féderation Aéronatique Internationale in 1965.

Sources:

http://www.faa.gov/about/history/celebration/media/Jerrie_Mock.pdf

http://www.soloflights.org/mock_text_e.html

http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/women-in-aviation/mock.cfm

Edith Head, Delta Zeta

Photo courtesy of Delta Zeta Sorority

To help celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog is spotlighting Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The third featured Panhellenic woman is Edith Head, an academy- award winning costume designer and member of Delta Zeta. Head was born in San Bernardino, Calif., and raised in the mining town of Searchlight, Nev. She attended the University of California, Berkeley and earned a master’s degree in French from Stanford University. After completing her education, Head taught school until 1923. In 1924, she began her career as a costume sketch artist for Paramount Pictures.

Although she started as a sketch artist, Head worked her way up and quickly became known as one of Hollywood’s top costume designers. During her career, Head designed costumes for black and white films, color films and television. She designed for the top stars at Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, where she constructed many iconic dresses that are still replicated today. Head was known for her outgoing personality and willingness to work with stars to create the perfect wardrobe. To honor her contributions to costume design, Head was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1960, Head was selected by Delta Zeta as an honorary convention initiate. She was initiated as an alumna member into Mu Chapter at the University of California, Berkeley. After her initiation, Head continued to be involved with Delta Zeta. She lent her talents to the Southern California Council of Delta Zeta for its Lamplighters’ Flame Fantasy fashion show several times during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1968, Head was named Delta Zeta Woman of the Year.  The Delta Zeta Foundation awards a scholarship in her name for members studying fashion design.

Head died Oct. 24, 1981. In 2013, Google commemorated Head’s accomplishments and what would have been her 116^th birthday with a Google Doodle. Head’s career as a costume designer spanned over 50 years and included 35 academy-award nominations and eight Oscars. She holds the record for most academy-award nominations and the most Oscars for a female.

Edith Head will be forever remembered as a Panhellenic sister who opened doors for women in the male-dominated field of costume design.

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372128/bio

http://my.umbc.edu/groups/umbcgreek/news/37561

Margaret Chase Smith, Sigma Kappa

Photo courtesy of Sigma Kappa

To help celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog is spotlighting Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The second featured woman is Margaret Chase Smith a member of Sigma Kappa. Smith was an accomplished politician and a proud Panhellenic woman.  She was born and raised in Skowhegan, Maine. She graduated from Skowhegan High School in 1916 and married Clyde Smith, a politician, in 1930. Smith became involved in local politics during the 1930s when she was elected to the Maine Republican State Committee. After her husband unexpectedly passed away in 1940, she ran for and won his spot in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Smith was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress and was the first woman from Maine to serve in both the House and the Senate. Smith’s political career began in 1940 and lasted until 1972; during that time she was the first woman to lead the Senate Republican Conference. In the 1964 presidential election, Smith tossed her hat into the ring and was the first woman to receive a nomination at a major party convention. Despite losing every primary election, she stuck with it until she placed second to the other Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater. Smith was honored for her accomplishments in politics with the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by George H.W. Bush in 1989.

Although Smith never attended college, she was awarded an honorary degree from Colby College in 1943. In 1949, the Sigma Kappa Alpha Chapter at Colby College extended Smith an offer of honorary membership. On Feb. 18, 1949, Smith was initiated into the Sigma Kappa sisterhood.

Margaret Chase Smith exemplifies the definition of a Panhellenic woman. She was a fearless leader who opened doors for women in politics. During her lifetime she received 95 honorary degrees and more than 270 honors and awards. Smith will forever be remembered for her contributions as a member of Congress and as a trailblazing Panhellenic woman.

Sources:
http://www.mcslibrary.org/bio/biolong.htm

http://www.sigmakappa.org/Significant_SK_Politics/

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19490218&id=zedOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xk4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4581,1627456