Feature Friday: Georgia Institute of Technology College Panhellenic

Georgia Tech College Panhellenic executive board

The National Panhellenic Conference is the umbrella organization for more than 575 College Panhellenic Associations. These associations, comprised of all the sorority women on campus who are members of an NPC member chapter, develop and maintain sorority life and interfraternity relations at a high level of accomplishment on campus. NPC is proud of the work that College Panhellenics do throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the work of the Georgia Institute of Technology College Panhellenic.

• College Panhellenic Excellence Award recipient in 2014 and 2015
• Located in Atlanta, Ga.
• Seven NPC organizations on campus
• Total campus sorority membership is 1,390
• Added 379 women to the Panhellenic community in 2014-15
• For the past two terms the all sorority GPA has been higher than the all women’s average.
• During the 2014-15 academic year the College Panhellenic hosted its 11th annual Safe Sister program, a sexual assault prevention and support program, and its 8th annual new member peer education alcohol and drug program.
• The College Panhellenic makes many efforts to build a united community with the other councils on campus. The Panhellenic Council partnered with the Interfraternity Council and Multicultural Greek Council to sponsor a volunteer event at a Habitat for Humanity build. In addition, the Panhellenic Council teamed up with the Interfraternity Council to teach campus social policy through presentations and speakers. 
• In 2014, the College Panhellenic began a tradition to bring their community together by encouraging Panhellenic women to post pictures to social media using the hashtag #gtpanlove. This movement has shown inwardly and outwardly how connected the Panhellenic community can be outside of individual chapters.

Feature Friday: College of William and Mary College Panhellenic

The National Panhellenic Conference is the umbrella organization for more than 575 College Panhellenic Associations. These associations, comprised of all the sorority women on campus who are members of an NPC member chapter, develop and maintain sorority life and interfraternity relations at a high level of accomplishment on campus. NPC is proud of the work that College Panhellenics do throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the work of the College of William and Mary
College Panhellenic.

• College Panhellenic Excellence Award recipient in 2014 and 2015
• Located in Williamsburg, Va.
• Nine NPC organizations on campus
• Total campus sorority membership is 1,105
• Added 383 women to their Panhellenic community in 2014-15
• For the past two terms the all sorority GPA has been higher than the all women’s average.
• During the 2014-15 academic year 1,200 community service hours were donated by the College Panhellenic.
• The College Panhellenic Association hosts a new member education seminar each year called "PanLove101."
• To promote academic excellence the College Panhellenic provides the fraternity/sorority community with tutors who are members of the fraternal community and volunteer to help others. 
• To build community with other councils on campus, W&M Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council work together to plan events throughout the year. Members of both communities frequently volunteer together for Arc of Greater Williamsburg. They help with events such as Arc Arts & Crafts, Arc Bingo and Arc Carnival. 

Feature Friday: University of Kentucky College Panhellenic

University of Kentucky's college Panhellenic council

The National Panhellenic Conference is the umbrella organization for more than 575 College Panhellenic Associations. These associations, comprised of all the sorority women on campus who are members of an NPC member chapter, develop and maintain sorority life and interfraternity relations at a high level of accomplishment on campus. NPC is proud of the work that College Panhellenics do throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the work of the University of Kentucky College Panhellenic.

• College Panhellenic Excellence Award winner in 2014 and Achievement Award recipient in 2015
• Located in Lexington, Ky.
• 13 NPC organizations on campus
• Total campus sorority membership is 3,279
• Added 1,294 women to their Panhellenic community in 2014-15
• For the past two semesters the all sorority GPA has been higher than the all women’s average
• To encourage academic excellence, the College Panhellenic hosts Apple Polishing, an event where the chapters send five scholarly members each to mingle with professors and faculty to create a positive environment for scholarship and sorority life.
• The College Panhellenic strives to build and foster unity among sororities on campus. One of their recent efforts is the “Sister Sorority” program. Each NPC chapter on campus is paired with another, and they become sister sororities. The pairings change each semester. Having a sister sorority means having a group of women that may not wear the same letters, but will still support you and participate in your events plus the chapters get to learn about other NPC member organizations. 
• This College Panhellenic offers a variety of programming, including sponsoring the Novak Hazing Prevention Workshop, using NPC resources such as the “Building Panhellenic Spirit” PowerPoint and inviting Panhellenics Chairman Julie Johnson to campus to speak to their Panhellenic council and chapter presidents. 

Feature Friday: UCLA College Panhellenic

UCLA Panhellenic Executive Board at its 2015 awards.

The National Panhellenic Conference is the umbrella organization for more than 575 College Panhellenic Associations. These associations, comprised of all the sorority women on campus who are members of an NPC member chapter, develop and maintain sorority life and interfraternity relations at a high level of accomplishment on campus. NPC is proud of the work that College Panhellenics do throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the work of the UCLA College Panhellenic.

• College Panhellenic Excellence Award recipient in 2014 and 2015
• Located in Los Angeles
• 12 NPC organizations on campus
• Total campus sorority membership is 2,287
• Added 758 women to their Panhellenic community in 2014-15
• For the past two semesters the all sorority GPA has been higher than the all women’s average.
• The College Panhellenic donated 41,500 community service hours in 2014-15. 
• In the last year the College Panhellenic raised $185,000 for philanthropic causes.
• UCLA’s College Panhellenic encourages academic excellence by hosting a career night and initiations into Greek Honors societies, as well as hosting “Letters in the Library," which promotes wearing your letters while studying at the UCLA libraries. Individual chapters on campus encourage academic excellence by hosting scholarship dinners and inviting professors to attend.
• To promote Panhellenic unity, this Panhellenic hosts a program called Panhellenic Props, where the women can write encouraging notes to women in other chapters. They also host dessert swaps between different chapters and different grade levels.

Feature Friday: University of Illinois College Panhellenic

The National Panhellenic Conference is the umbrella organization for more than 575 College Panhellenic Associations. These associations, comprised of all the sorority women on campus who are members of an NPC member chapter, develop and maintain sorority life and interfraternity relations at a high level of accomplishment on campus. NPC is proud of the work that College Panhellenics do throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the work of the University of Illinois College Panhellenic.

• 2014 College Panhellenic Excellence Award recipient
• Located in Champaign, Ill.
• 19 NPC organizations on campus
• Total campus sorority membership is 3,973.
• Added 1,108 women to their Panhellenic community in 2014-15 
• For the past two semesters the all sorority GPA has been higher than the all women’s average.
• The University of Illinois ensures their recruitment counselors are thoroughly trained to assist potential new members (PNMs) to the best of their ability. Once they are selected to be part of the program, recruitment counselors must enroll in a spring semester class provided by the Educational Psychology Department. Women receive two credits from the University for this Class that is specifically geared toward preparing recruitment counselors, informing them on the policies and procedures of primary recruitment at the university and enhancing understanding of the National Panhellenic Conference. During the semester, the women participate in class discussions, group projects, expert lectures and interactive role-plays to prepare them for their leadership role. Course objectives include developing basic listening skills, taking an empathetic perspective and counseling micro-skills to assist in future interactions with PNMs and concerned parents as well as enhancing professionalism and ethical decision-making. The women must receive a grade of 80 percent or higher in the course in order to continue on with the recruitment counselor program. After the summer, recruitment counselors are required to return to campus a week early to continue preparing for recruitment.
• To promote academic excellence and a unified fraternity and sorority community, the College Panhellenic collaborates with the other three fraternity/sorority councils on campus to plan and host the Greek Oscars Ceremony each spring. This event is a formal event that recognizes high achievement in Panhellenic chapters, as well as chapters from the other councils. The 2014-15 College Panhellenic president said, “We are very proud of this event, as it not only demonstrates the academic excellence in our community, but it is a great display of fraternity and sorority unity, as the councils have the opportunity to celebrate their own achievements, as well as the achievements of the other councils, all together.”

To learn more about the University of Illinois College Panhellenic visit: http://illinoisphc.com/.

Feature Friday: Mississippi State College Panhellenic

The National Panhellenic Conference is the umbrella organization for more than 575 College Panhellenic Associations. These associations, comprised of all the sorority women on campus who are members of an NPC member chapter, develop and maintain sorority life and interfraternity relations at a high level of accomplishment on campus. NPC is proud of the work that College Panhellenics do throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the work of the Mississippi State College Panhellenic.

• 2014 College Panhellenic Excellence Award recipient
• Located in Mississippi State, Miss.
• Eight NPC organizations on campus
• Total campus sorority membership is 1,977 women.
• Added 714 women to their Panhellenic community in 2014-15
• For the past two terms the all sorority GPA has been higher than all women’s average.
• To promote academic excellence, the College Panhellenic hosted a joint 4.0 banquet with IFC and NPHC, where they treated the men and women from all three councils to dinner and gift cards for a local smoothie shop.
• During the 2014-15 academic year the College Panhellenic raised $45,000 for philanthropic causes.
• To promote the primary recruitment process, the College Panhellenic hosts a sorority spring preview day every April. The purpose of this event is to introduce potential new members to sorority life and to offer a glimpse into what the actual recruitment week could look like for them. This event helps spread the word about when registration for recruitment will open and where to register.
• When describing the efforts the College Panhellenic coordinates to build and foster unity among sororities on campus, 2014 College Panhellenic president Anna Langford said, “We do not have to work very hard to promote unity because our Panhellenic women have worked themselves to create a friendly Panhellenic environment for each other. When Alpha Delta Pi colonized in 2013, our chapters jumped at the opportunity to help promote and develop the new chapter. They each had representatives that served as Alpha Delta Pi ambassadors. These sort of activities help create one of the most unified, friendly communities possible.”

To learn more about the Mississippi State College Panhellenic visit www.panhellenicmsstate.com. 

Feature Friday Staff Profile: Leesa Jing, Marketing and Communications Intern

The National Panhellenic Conference has five full-time staff members and interns who work daily to advance the sorority experience. Here we will introduce each staff member and let them tell you who they are and what they do in the office.

Leesa Jing is the marketing and communications intern for summer and fall 2015. She manages the advocacy efforts of TheSororityLife.com initiative, including writing newsletters, updating the website and posting to social media. 

About Leesa: Leesa is from Evansville, Ind. and is a junior at Butler University, where she’s majoring in arts administration and mathematics. She has an older sister, 23, and has two small dogs she loves taking for walks. She is a member of Alpha Chi Omega and the university dance team. She also serves as a campus tour guide.

Interesting fact: I almost died from a bowling ball. I was on stage at a magic show and the ball accidentally fell from the ceiling. It landed less than a foot away from me!

Q & A: 

1. What do you most enjoy about working at NPC? I love having the opportunity to learn new things. As an arts administration major, I take only a few communications classes, so this internship is a learning experience. I also love that everything I’m learning at NPC is interesting to me. 
2. What is something you do every day? I try to work out. My day doesn’t feel complete without going to the gym. 
3. How would your friends and family describe you? Family-oriented, hard-working and organized
4. What is your favorite book? My favorite book is "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.
5. What have you gained by being a member of a sorority? Being a member of a sorority has affected me in so many positive ways, but I think the two main things I have gained from Alpha Chi Omega are lifelong friendships and leadership experience. Some of my closest friends are from my sorority, and I never would have met them otherwise. My sorority has also a helped me grow as a leader by presenting me with many opportunities. I’m currently Alpha Chi’s recording secretary and sustainability coordinator, and I’m a Panhellenic recruitment counselor. These experiences would not have been available to me if I weren’t a sorority member.