Monday, December 9, 2013

Alumni Advisor Luncheon

Alumni Advisor Luncheon

Participation: 11 alumni advisors, 3 council members from IFC, NPHC, and CPC, 3 staff members
Cost:
Date: November 24th, 2013
Location: Eaglecrest Marriott Hotel and Conference Center

This year, Campus Life hosted the first Alumni Advisor Luncheon. This event was created in an effort to bring chapter advisors together to share ideas and voice concerns they have surrounding the Greek community. The luncheon informed advisors on events taking place throughout the course of the year, the status of their respective chapters and ways in which they could help advance the community. 

Monday, November 25, 2013

Week 8: Leadership in Action

Ellen Collier was the guest facilitator for today's session. With the things that she talked about, she allowed the students a chance to really think about  their futures and where they see themselves which they were able to write/draw out. Picture frames were given to the students to put their visions in to keep and continuously look at and be reminded of where they want to be in their future as a motivation to get there. She provided a handout where the students were able to think about and recognize their passions and inspirations with the chance to share them with their peers.

The night closed with a reflection of their experiences in ELS, things that they had learned about themselves, and where they see themselves in the future.

The Post-Test Assessment and weekly evaluation was administered at the end of the night.


Week 7: Leadership and Service

Meg Anthony from the Vision office was the guest facilitator for today's session. She presented on how leadership goals are met through service and the difference between sporadic service and active citizenship and what it means to be a servant leader.

The students participated in a few group activities of defining certain words and ideas.

The night finished with an ice breaker, a reflection of the day, and reminders and announcements for next week.

Agenda
Evaluation
Leadership Article
Meg's Presentation

Week 6: Diversity

Mary Larkin, the Program Coordinator for the LGBT Resource Center, was the guest facilitator for today's session. She presented on social identity, stereotypes and inclusion. After her presentation, there was a debrief, discussion, and reflection regarding any questions they may still have, any "ah-ha" moments and realizations that they had.

Agenda
Social Identity Matrix
Evaluation

Week 5: Conflict Management

The session began with an Ice Breaker, followed by the Listening to Understand activity. After the activity, students discussed the importance of effective listening skills and how a lack of those skills can cause problems, and even conflict.

The conflict management presentation allowed students to be able to determine the way they they handle conflict. Participants were asked to create a flow chart of how they handle miscommunication and issues of conflict.

The session finished out with a discussion surrounding the article, a reflection of the night, and reminders and announcements for the next week.


Agenda
Listening To Understand
Evaluation
Case Studies
Conflict Management Tips
Conflict Management Powerpoint



Wednesday, November 20, 2013

SOLAR Session 2: Recruitment and Retention

Participation: 107 Student Leaders
Cost:
Dates: October 15th, 2013 
Location: Student Center

Recruitment and Retention


On Tuesday night from 7-9p.m. Casey Jordan Krone gave a presentation about effective and purposeful recruitment. Using a resource from Phired Up Recruitment the students evaluated the way they currently recruit for their organization. 

 The handout dissected several aspects of recruitment and had the students take an honest look at what they currently do. After the students finished dissecting how their organization recruits, they were then able to create a game plan for recruiting in the future.


Students were asked to take a quick survey about the effectiveness of the SOLAR session, and some of their responses are:

"Loved it! It was really nice to reflect and realize our position and what we are supposed to make our organization more successful."

Students also strongly agreed that they were able to set useful recruitment goals for their organization. 


Thursday, November 14, 2013

Greek Leadership Academy

Greek Leadership Academy

Participation: 51 student participants, 6 student peer-facilitators, 8 professional facilitators, 1 staff member
Cost:
Date: November 1st-3rd 2013
Location: Sherman Lake YMCA camp, Augusta, MI

Greek Leadership Academy, or GLA is an annual leadership retreat hosted by Campus Life. It’s target audience is second and third year Greek community members who intend on taking leadership roles in the future. GLA is designed to teach its participants how to become effective and positive leaders within the Greek community and the greater EMU community. This year, the participants spent time in large and small group sessions where they participated in teambuilding activities, discussed and shared ideas, and created action plans for improving their community. 




NPHC Icebreaker

NPHC Icebreaker

Participation:
Cost:
Date: September 13th, 2013
Location: EMU Convocation Center

The NPHC Icebreaker is an annual social event hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), geared toward incoming first year students. Icebreaker is an opportunity to meet, socialize, and dance in a fun and safe environment. The event is coordinated by members of the NPHC community and staffed by campus volunteers including professional and student staff. Free transportation is provided for student to and from the first year center and the student center. The event begins at 9:00pm and ends at 1:00am. This year free food and a deejay were provided for the attendees. 


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Greek Convocation

Greek Convocation

Participation: 151 recorded attendees
Cost:
Date October 2nd, 2013

Dr. Lori Hart, the 2013 Greek Convocation speaker, delivered her program, "Making Greek Great" to roughly 150 community members. She spoke on the importance of connecting our leadership abilities to our purpose and core values. Lori was engaging and funny as she challenged her audience to be better brothers, sisters, and community members.

Dr. Lori Hart Making Greek Great



Friday, October 25, 2013

Week 4: Communication

Tonight's session started out with a discussion surrounding "What is communication?" Students were asked to take a communication quiz where they were instructed to read all of the instructions before they proceeded to answer the questions. Take a look at the Communication Quiz and see if you can see where many students made the mistake. After the quiz, the discussion was based around the importance of communication and what they thought were the most important aspects.

Students broke up into smaller groups and discussed how they think that they are perceived through their communication. The question was asked "Should leaders be held to a higher standard?" Following the discussion we created "The Big Debate: Should leaders hide their emotions?" The room was split into two groups with one side for and one against. During the debate, a few students were discretely asked to observe the tone, body language, articulation, and use of filler words (like, um). The students debated and the observers reported out what happened within their groups.

The final activity involved everyone pairing up with another person. One person had a picture of geometric shapes, and the other did not. They were instructed to sit back to back to each other. The partner with the drawing was to instruct, to the best of their ability, directions on how their partner can draw the picture. There was a small debrief about how it can be tough to hear people and easy to miss small details because even those can make a big difference sometimes.

Week 3: Time Management

Caroline Horste was our guest facilitator. She had the students identify all of the time throughout the week that they spending doing different activities. She then had the students rank them in order of importance and add them to their "priorities bucket."

The group talked about procrastination: the reasons why we put things off, and the effect it has on productivity. She ended the session giving some time management tips and strategies and a reminder to keep busy schedules balanced.

Time Management Strategies
  1. Log your time
  2. Stay organized
  3. Learn to say no, or to delegate
  4. Try out the "therapy hour"
  5. Patero's Principle. What's your 20%?
  6. Prioritizing using intentionality
  7. Recognize when you're procrastinating
  8. Be aware of your strengths as well as your weaknesses and come up with concrete strategies to address this

Week 2: Values

Guest Speaker: Casey Krone

Week 2 is focused around the discussion of Values. We started the evening talking about where our values come from. Each person is different and have had their own unique life experiences and those experiences help shape each individual and their values. Family, Friends, Community, Neighbors, Teachers, and Religious Leaders are the most common to influence certain values in your life. Participants worked on figuring out what their most important values are. We then broke into small groups and came up with a "Top 3 Values" list.

When Casey came in she presented us with some Case Studies. The purpose behind the activity was to promote conversations based on how the values that we say we each hold play a part in the choices that we make, especially those of moral.

Agenda
Evaluation
Values Ranking
My Values System
Ethical Ranking
Instructions for Consensus and Ethical Ranking Activity

Week 1: Introduction

Quote of the Week:

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." -John Quincy Adams

Week 1 is an introduction to the Emerging Leader Series. Participants go through a general overview of the 8 week curriculum as well as the expectations of the facilitators as well as the participants. They also sign a learning agreement stating that they will hold themselves accountable with being on time, being prepared, and being "present."

The participants take part in an activity that is called "Tell Your Story." Each student is given a large piece of flip chart paper and asked to put their story, whatever and however that might be, onto the paper. We then go around and share our stories with the group enabling us to break some of the barriers and walls that may have been put up when entering a new environment.

There is a weekly self-reflection and evaluation activity that occurs where students think about that weeks session and the information obtained from it. This is a chance for the students to let us know what they like and what they didn't like and what they think works or doesn't work.

Agenda
Evaluation
Tell Your Story

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Student Organization Homecoming Tailgate



Participation: 17 Organizations
Cost:
Dates: September 21st, 2013 
Location: Porter Park


The Student Organization Homecoming tailgate was earlier than previous years. However, even with the short time to advertise we had 16 Organizations participate in our tailgate. We had 10 tents and 3 reserved spaces for organizations this year. This year we allowed organizations to reserve a space without a tent in order to increase participation. We had 3 organizations that were willing to risk the weather, and their risk paid off. 

We also had a photo booth and a DJ. The photo booth was fairly successful and took over 300 photos of participants enjoying the day. 

Improvements for next year possibly having a counter to see how many students participate in the event. 


Tailgate forms can be found below:
Rental Form
Registration Form



Greek Life Service Trips

Greek Life Service Trip

October 2013


The EMU Greek Community held a community wide service opportunity on October 11th, 2013.  There were 9 participants, representing five different chapters.  We went to the Leslie Science Center in Ann Arbor, MI  to help with a gardent that is tended by the non-profit organization Project Grow.  The facilitator of the experience, Joet Reoma, taught participants about the local history of the Center and about organic farming.  Everyone's favorite topic was the German method of mound farming, called hugelkultur, that seeks to replicate the same conditions a fallen log in the woods creates naturally.  Participants dug up and relocated local perennial plants and weeded invasive species and other weeds.















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November 2013

This month, The EMU Greek Community held a community-wide service opportunity on November 15th, 2013. There were 9 participants representing 6 chapters from the IFC and the CPC. This month, the community helped out to sort donated clothes at the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop, an organization who's profits go to support Ann Arbor Public Schools. Though the shop is not short of donations, they do need help sorting through the mountain you can see in the video below. Participants opened bags of donations and sorted out what was fit to sell and what is to be donated to a local homeless shelter. We all had a blast helping out a great cause.


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March 2014

Greeks chipped in to help raise money for Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Fund by volunteering to help run the annual Ann Arbor Marathon. Twenty-Two volunteers from 4 organizations showed up on a frigid Sunday morning in March to help with the food tents, water tables, and passing out of medals and water at the finish line. 





Monday, October 14, 2013

Day 6: Staying in Action

Learning Goal for the Day:
Identifying strategies for sustaining momentum.

The process of experience of LeaderShape began with a firm foundation in core values and passions. From this personal place in our hearts, we moved into envisioning the future and created Stretch Goals, Manageable Goals, and Action Steps to bring that future into reality. We did all of that while adopting the philosophy of "a healthy disregard for the impossible."


Before the participants depart from the camp, we create a "Staying in Action" guide to remind us not only of what we learned at LeaderShape, but how to intentionally apply it on campus and in our communities.

The Day concludes with a commencement ceremony to celebrate and acknowledge the participation of all of the students and faculty throughout The 2013 LeaderShape Institute. Participants are given glass pebbles which represent the ripple effect that each participant will make in the world as each "commences" his or her leadership journey. The stones should be kept and cherished as a remembrance of The LeaderShape Institute and as a remembrance of the tremendous difference each and ever participant will make in their communities and campuses as they continue in their leadership journey.


Day 5: Living and Leading with Integrity

Learning Goal for the Day:
To recognize the value of integrity in successful, effective leadership.

The morning of Day 5 is spent  digging deeper into our values while spending some time focusing on how our values contribute to who we want to be- how we make choices and our behavior and the impact it can have on our relationships and ability to lead.


The day is centered around the question "Who do I want to be?" by focusing on the core values of each participant; what they are, how we live them, and what can happen when we're faced with difficult choices.

The main activity on Day 5 is one discerning ones own values. In order to participate in the activity, students are given a piece of paper with a blank t-shirt on it and then asked to decorate their t-shirt displaying their core values. The students then walk around admiring in and reflecting on the shirts of others. The purpose of this activity is to show the participants how just like we wear t-shirts that display organizations/causes we're proud to be a part of, or music we really like, we do that with our values by the way we live our lives and the actions that we make.



The day closes out with some very meaningful conversations and reflection about how we can live and lead with integrity. Taking an honest look at ourselves ad deciding who we want to be and recognizing that answering this question is often something that we cannot make alone. Our family, friends, spiritual beliefs, and society all influence us in one way or another so it is important to acknowledge these and decide how we want each of them to "show up" in our lives.



Monday, October 7, 2013

Student Organization Learning and Resources (SOLAR)

Student Organization Learning and Resources 

SOLAR


This year for SOLAR we decided in order to increase participation we changed up the traditional format of SOLAR. Instead of the 1 day 4+ hour program we have picked 12 different sessions. There will be 1 session held each month all on Tuesday nights from 7-9pm.

The first session was held on 9/17/13 and the topic was "Who's Who of Student Orgs." This session brought in 121 individuals which is up from last year so far. 
Students who attended this program heard from, Student Government, Accounting, and Campus Life. 
There was a short presentation given on Event Planning as well. 

After the event a survey was sent to all who attended and when asked, "On a scale from 1 to 5 please rate the effectiveness of the overall event." Out of the 19 responses there was a tie between 3 and 4 with 8 people each. The average was a 3.3 which falls under some of the information will be useful for my organization.

Session 2: Recruitment and Retention 
Session 3: Fulfilling the Organizations Purpose through Service
Session 4: Campus Safety  
Session 5: Personal and Organizational Branding
Session 6: Fundraising 

Emerging Leader Series

Emerging Leader Series


The Emerging Leaders Series (ELS) is an 8-week leadership program specifically designed for freshmen, sophomores and new transfer students at EMU. Each week, participants will focus on a different aspect of leadership through exercises, discussions, presenters and observing current events. Weekly topics include, but are not limited to: values clarification, connecting service to leadership, personality assessment, team building and communication, and building and working on interpersonal relationships. ELS students will expand their network of resources to support their personal and academic achievement at EMU.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

- Gandhi
 
No prior leadership experience is necessary to participate; however, ELS has limited space so a brief application is required. Participants who successfully complete the 8-week program will be awarded a certificate of completion and Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) credit for the Community Service, Citizenship and Leadership requirement. Students must attend all meetings in order to receive Learning Beyond the Classroom credit and receive their certificate of completion for the Emerging Leaders Series. If students miss a session, they will have to make it up with the next class of participants.




2013 ELS Flyer

Syllabus
Learning Agreement
Pre-Assessment
Post-Assessment
Community Contributions
Certificate of Appreciation

Fajita Fest

Fajita Fest 2013



Participation: 157 Organizations 
Cost:
Dates: September 2nd, 2013 
Location: Eastern Michigan University Student Center Patio as well as University Park

The annual Student Organization fair was held on the 3rd day of Fusion: First Four Orientation. We had 3 organizations with a combined total of 22 helpers to set up for Fajita Fest. This year we had 153 organizations sign up and a total of 157 participate in the opportunity to recruit. Each organization was given 1 pizza and 5 water bottles upon check in. This year for the check-in process we had 4 staff members assisting with making sure organizations had registered for the event, as well as assisting with distributing water and pizza. For future years consider possibly hiring a student organization to assist with check-in so the staff can handle organizations with paperwork to turn in or other complications. 

New this year to Fajita Fest was a photo booth and a performance circle. The photo booth proved to be very successful, but consider a different placement for the following years. A promising new portion of Fajita Fest was the performance circle. We utilized the amphitheater as a central location for performance organizations to show their stuff. A total of 3 organizations took advantage of the program, however, it was very successful and could possibly grow to large participation. 

At the closing of the event 3 different organizations had signed up to help tare down the tables and chairs. 
After the event a survey was sent out to organization contacts to give feedback about the program. Some of the feedback is below.

"Overall, a great event! Glad EMU has something like this to get student organizations 'out there'."
"It was much better and helpful to have assigned tables!"
Some constructive feedback was:
"I really liked the assigned tables but I wish that they were organized better. Like all the Greek life people in the same area etc"
 

Sorority Recruitment

Participation:
Cost:
Dates: September 16th - September 18th, 2013
Location: Eastern Michigan University Student Center

September 16th, 6:00pm -- Recruitment Kick Off
September 18th, 6:00pm -- Philanthropy Round One
September 19th, 6:00pm -- Philanthropy Round Two
September 23rd, 6:00pm -- "House Rounds"One
September 24th, 6:00pm -- "House Rounds" Two
September 26th, 2:00pm-6:00pm -- Post Office
September 27th, 6:00pm -- Preference Round
September 28th, 11:00am-4:00pm -- Big Day (held at University Park)

Sorority Recruitment is a two week mutual selection process that helps unaffiliated women interested in joining a sorority find the chapter they feel the most comfortable and at home in. 101 women joined 8 different sororities during formal recruitment.

Move-In Magic


Participation: Approximately 280 members of the Greek community from NPHC, IFC, and CPC and 4 staff members.
Cost:
Date: August 31st, 2013
Location: First Year Residence Halls


Fraternities and sororities from each of the three councils help first year students and their parents move into the residence halls during Move-In Magic. Fraternities and sororities are able to use Move-In Magic both as a recruitment tool and as a service opportunity. Seventeen of the nineteen active Greek chapters were present at this year's Move-In Magic. 


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Day 4: Bringing Vision to Reality

Learning Goal for the Day:
Define key strategies and relationships that move vision to reality.


A vision is only a dream unless it results in action. Three key requirements are discussed (relationships, stretch goals, and action steps) which move a vision forward. The participants take some time to reflect on their fears of failure and why those may hinder them to continue moving forward with their visions.



In addition, the issue of power is explored in a dynamic group simulation exercise called "Star Power."



Day 3: Challenging What Is, Looking to What Could Be

Learning Goal for the Day: 
Develop and share a vision for the future.

Day 3 starts off with some Family Cluster inspiration and then moves into a creative team builder where students are asked to build the tallest, free-standing, self-supporting balloon castle possible using only balloons and a roll of tape.



Creating a powerful vision is one of the most important aspects of leadership! During this exciting day, participants begin to work on and develop their own visions for the future which define a bold change for their community, group, cause, or organization back home.

The evening concludes with a Guest Leader Forum and Reception. This is an opportunity to interact with significant leaders in different professions. Using an informal question-and-answer format, these individuals share their insights and experiences related to the challenges of "leading with integrity."

Day 2: The Value of One, The Power of All

Learning Goal for the Day: 
Recognize personal patterns of communication and influence.


Day two of The LeaderShape Institute starts off with an experiential team-building activity. By working through a series of initiatives and discussion, they discover how relationships, trust, and problem solving can be enhances in a supportive group setting.






The participants can then add another dimension to self-awareness by completing a behavioral style inventory. From that information, each participant has an opportunity to set several personal goals for the week and share those with the other members of their Family Cluster. Participation in of "inclusive leadership" and how to create community which value respect, openness, and diverse opinions.











Council Retreat

Council Retreat


Participation: 14 Students, 3 Staff
Cost: 
Date: August 2nd-4th, 2013 
Location: Residence Inn by Marriott; Maumee, Ohio

Student leaders from the National PanHellenic Council, Intefraternity Council, and the College Panhellenic Council spent this weekend retreat developing their leadership skills, creating an action plan for the upcoming academic year, and fostering relationships with one another. By the conclusion of the retreat, council members are able to identify areas for improvement in the Greek community, as well as the resources and tools to make these improvements. 

Facilitator Workbook

Participant Workbook

CPC Plan of Action

NPHC Plan of Action

IFC Plan of Action



LeaderShape 2013

The LeaderShape Institute 2013
At Camp Faholo
  • LeaderShape is a non-profit organization committed to developing young adults to lead with integrity. The LeaderShape Institute is an interactive, energizing, and unique experience that builds leadership skills no other program can match. The LeaderShape Institute, now in its twenty-eight year, has made a difference in the lives of more then 20,000 young men and women from throughout the country. But be prepared! It is six days of non-stop self- discovery and learning from practical experiences that build leadership concepts and abilities.

  • Participants are simultaneously exhilarated, exhausted, challenged, and moved by the energy and creativity of approximately 60 of their peers from EMU. They will work with a team forming relationships that, in many cases, become lifelong friendships. When they leave the LeaderShape Institute, the materials and insights gained will serve program graduates both personally and professionally.

  • They do not need to have held any previous leadership roles of have experience as a leader to participate in LeaderShape. Participants vary from first-year students who are just getting their feet wet, to up class students who have been presidents of student organizations; the mixture of all types of experience makes for an excellent learning environment for all participants.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Day 1: Building Community

Learning Goal for the Day:
Understand the value of a supportive community in leadership practice.

The first day of Leadership os geared towards creating a fun and welcoming environment where student feel comfortable to express themselves. The day starts off with introductions by the faculty and staff and then goes into some ice breakers to get to know each other.


This is the day where the students meet their "Family Clusters." Each family cluster will do some team builders and set the group norms. Each cluster will create a name for themselves, as well as a cheer and a logo that they will present to everyone at the end of the night. During family cluster time, participants will also take part in an activity called "Tell Your Story."

At the end of the night, "The Power of Reflection," takes place. This is the day that sets the tone for the rest of the week.