College Panhellenic Academy is a National Panhellenic
Conference (NPC) program designed to equip College Panhellenic officers and
advisors with the most up-to-date Panhellenic knowledge through hands-on
training with NPC representatives.
This program is designed for four College Panhellenic
officers: Panhellenic president, Panhellenic officer responsible for
recruitment, Panhellenic officer responsible for implementation of the judicial
process and Panhellenic officer responsible for communications and public
relations. College Panhellenic Academy takes place in conjunction with the
North-American Interfraternity Conference’s IFC Academy and includes a jointly
created curriculum track for fraternity/sorority advisors. This year,
College Panhellenic Academy will be held Jan. 22-23, 2016, at the Crowne Plaza
Indianapolis Downtown Union Station.
Jennifer Piascik, an Alpha Gamma Delta at Westminster
College, serves as her College Panhellenic's recruitment director. She had the
opportunity to attend College Panhellenic Academy in January 2015.
Why did you attend Academy?
I attended with my Panhellenic Council President because of
the huge recruitment shift that we had decided we wanted to make here at
Westminster. We wanted to be able to talk to other College Panhellenics,
advisors and presenters to get their opinions and input about how best to
implement this change.
How did attending academy empower you to use your voice
to advance your sorority community?
One speaker talked about the ‘squeaky wheel.’ At a school of
about 1,300 undergraduates, those squeaky wheels are often loud. Being
conscious of this concept, when we returned to campus we were prepared to address
the squeaky wheels. We didn’t allow those that were set in their ways to stop
us from getting out our message and making the necessary changes. Academy also
instilled the idea of Panhellenic spirit within me. Being more panhellenically-minded
is helping us to encourage and better each other as sorority women.
What was your favorite part of College Panhellenic
Academy?
My favorite part of attending Academy was meeting all of the
other attendees. In the recruitment-based workshops, it was fascinating to meet
women who were doing the same types of things I am doing. I also got to ask them
questions and get their advice.
Why would you encourage others to attend Academy?
Academy really reminded me why I joined a sorority in the
first place. It was amazing to see how fraternity and sorority life has affected
the amazing women I met. I learned so much about not only my job as recruitment
director, but about fraternity and sorority life as a whole, including the ways
being a member of a Greek-letter organization can enrich my life.