Supporting Sisters via Social Distancing

It's safe to say everyone in the world has been experiencing their own version of craziness during these unsettling and nerve-racking times. College students from all over had their Spring semester cut short, with many anticipated events cancelled as universities, including Florida State University, decided to move all classes online in response to COVID-19. As upsetting as this has been, the sisters of Beta Eta have made an initiative to make the most of this unfortunate situation and uphold a strong (virtual) presence of sisterhood.

Our devoted advisors and executive board members have been working hard to find ways to make up for the time lost that otherwise, would've been spent together at the 518. From movie nights via the Netflix Party feature to Zoom cooking lessons with our talented chefs, Duski and Owen, the Alpha Chi bond has shone through it all! Our thoughtful Chapter President, Paris Thie, even organized a pen pal exchange for active members to connect with alumni based on their shared career field interests!

And for our beloved seniors who have had to say an early goodbye to their final year as FSU undergraduates, the entire chapter has made extra efforts to shower them with love and appreciation. Senior spotlights were featured on our Instagram account last week, as well as story templates for other members to tag seniors in who are more than deserving of a shoutout!

                   

Senior Caitlyn Daley spoke about how appreciative she is for everything AXO has done for her, not just this past week, but for the past four years. She said, "While I'm thankful for the date functions, formals, and other big events that we've shared together, what I'm most thankful is for all of the little things that have made the past four years so special. Seeing sisters in between classes, sitting with different sisters at meals than at chapter, and feeling the overall support from my sisters throughout my college experience has made my time here at FSU all the more memorable." 

So, even with all the sudden changes and unfortunate turn of events, our sisters have decided to keep a positive outlook and continue to support one another in any way that we can can! The truth of the matter is, regardless the amount of social distancing keeping us apart, the sisterhood we share will always keep us bonded together, at heart. 

Beta Eta Attends AXO Leadership Academy

(Left to right) Paris Thie, Gaby Panneflek, Molly Reinking and Sarah Henriksen

Indianapolis bound! Just this past weekend, four of our executive members (Chapter President, VP Standards, VP Risk Management and VP Public Relations) attended the 3 day annual Leadership Academy workshop organized by Alpha Chi Omega headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. The same four executive board members from almost every AXO chapter across the nation, including their advisors were in attendance; volunteers from headquarters were also present, who served as group facilitators and offered first-hand leadership advice to the newly elected officers.

The program was organized into several different events including: general leadership panels and renowned speakers, large group session meetings divided by officer position and breakout group sessions led by the facilitators. The information relayed in these events enlightened sisters on important topics like effective execution of officer duties, mental health as an individual and chapter, leading as a sister, communication skills and qualities of a great leader in a collegiate and future workplace environment.

According to our VP Public Relations officer, Sarah Henriksen, one of the many remarkable aspects of the trip was getting to discuss her individual chapter and position with officers from other AXO chapters who share the same leadership title. She said she enjoyed everyone comparing their roles in their chapters and lending advice/tips to grow together as an organization nationally, becoming stronger as a whole. Overall, Leadership Academy contributed to our executive members professional development, knowledge on a variety of useful topics and taught them how to give chapter members their own individual experience as "Real. Strong. Women."

DVA Gala & Family Weekend!

       Hello and welcome back!! We hope everyone is having a great week so far, and are so excited to share some of our experiences over the past one with you all. Just last weekend, Florida State celebrated its annual Family Weekend. Here at the 518 we joined in on the events of the weekend, along with throwing some of our own for our sisters and their families!
     
To kick off Family Weekend, we held our annual Domestic Violence Awareness Gala, benefiting Beta Eta's philanthropy, with funds going to the Tallahassee Refuge House and the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation. Alpha Chi Omega's and their families look forward to this event every year, taking part in fundraising leading up to the gala, sisters making themed gift baskets to have bids placed on them at the event, a cocktail hour with live music, a three course dinner, and speakers from the Refuge House. Beta Eta's Refuge House Liaison, Sara Dramis, spoke at the event, getting to personally meet speakers and hand deliver them the donation raised by our sisters. Being devoted to philanthropy throughout her whole life, Sara was honored to have such a big part in this event, stating "Stories like those we hear at the DVA Gala are what make being apart of Alpha Chi so special. It touches my heart to be involved in our philanthropy and have this position."
     
Following the Gala on Friday, a barbecue was held at the 518 for Alpha Chi's and their families. After enjoying lunch at the house, sisters took their families to tailgate, watch the football game, and adventure around Tallahassee. Game days are always a great time here at Florida State, but are even more special when spent with our loved ones! To conclude the weekend, a brunch was held at Alpha Chi before our families headed out of Tallahassee. Us Alpha Chi's were so grateful to not only engage in service during this weekend, but to have a great time with our families!

Bid Day 2019!!

     It's a party here at the 518 because the blog is BACK!!! Long time no see! Here at Alpha Chi Omega, it's been a hectic few weeks. Following summer, our sisters came back to Tallahassee to join in on all the craziness of Polish week, Recruitment week, and of course, back to school. After a long, yet fulfilling two weeks of our sisters' lives revolving around recruitment, we got to celebrate our amazing new member class with everyone's favorite event, BID DAY!! Here comes our 2019 Bid Day recap:

     This year, our Bid Day theme was 'Alpha Chi State of Mind', with the whole day consisting of fun, New York City themed activities. With the 518 decorated to the nines in city decor and the dining room full of city street food, including soft pretzels with beer cheese, apples dipped in caramel, and classic NYC thin-crust pizza, it really created an Alpha Chi state of mind. Not only did the trendy theme make bid day fun to participate in, but the main event, member class 19 running home, was so special and worth the wait. After asking some sisters about their experience with recruitment and bid day, here's what they had to say:

Natalie Alexander & Ally Columbus

     Natalie Alexander (MC '17) served as a Rho Gamma this year, helping lead a group of potential new members throughout all of recruitment week to help them in their search of finding their home here at FSU. After asking Natalie about ending one of the most rewarding weeks with bid day here at Alpha Chi, she said "I loved the opportunity to serve Panhellenic as a Rho Gamma this past year! It made my week even more special to come back to Alpha Chi with one of my amazing potential new members, Ally Columbus."

     When it comes to the planning that went into bid day and preparing to welcome home our new members, we turned to New Member Educator, Mallory Hartline, and her assistant, Jenna Cutrone. After asking Mallory about bid day, she exclaimed "It was such an honor getting to plan such a special event for all my sisters, and new sisters. It was nothing short of a day to remember!", with Jenna stating "It was such an awesome day getting to welcome our new member class, especially as new member educator assistant. This day got me even more excited for the time I'll be spending with our new members this semester to help integrate them into our chapter!"

     Every year bid day is the perfect end to recruitment week, and a way for our chapter to show the new members how excited we are to become their sisters. This year, all our sisters here at the 518 were in an Alpha Chi state of mind, and can't wait for all the memories to come with member class '19!!!

VP NME Mallory Hartline & VP Ritual Paris Thie

Audrey Contis & NME Assistant Jenna Cutrone

"Let's talk about it" event !!

      This past Tuesday, April 9th, our Beta Eta sister, Jaylene Sosa, hosted her very own event called "Let's talk about it"! Jaylene, having noticed that many Florida State students were unaware of the variety of resources that FSU offers to students on campus, along with the amount of students on campus struggling with mental health issues and in need of support, decided to take action and help students become aware of the helpful resources they are provided with. This inspired her to create her event "Let's talk about it", consisting of tabling on Landis Green from throughout the day.

      At Jaylene's table students were able to both write and read words of encouragement on poster boards, along with providing students with pamphlets from RENEW (Realizing Everyone's Need for Emotional Wellness), Florida State's University Counseling Center, about how to properly care for one's mental health and how to seek out help on campus. Jaylene, being aware of these resources herself, reached out to multiple mental health organizations, including RENEW, the National Alliance on mental illness on campus and in Tallahassee, and the Out of the Darkness, a suicide awareness walk organization, in order to share their resources with students at her event. Wanting to make students more aware of the opportunities that both FSU and the Tallahassee area provide to care for mental health, Jaylene made these resources easier for students to find by handing out pamphlets and spreading information. Along with this, executive members of Out of the Darkness tabled alongside Jaylene, raising awareness about suicide and its prevention, as well as getting students to register for their walk.

      During the event itself, one student in particular stuck out to Jaylene, leading her to making a connection with him. This student perused over majority of the pamphlets, taking a few for himself. The student then spoke with Jaylene, telling her what mental health meant to him and how much her efforts at the event touched him. According to Jaylene, "He didn't seem to believe that people out there actually wanted to sit and support him, and to make sure that had access to the correct resources," however, that is exactly what Jaylene set out to do. This interaction is what proved to Jaylene that her efforts to help were worthwhile, stating that "that meant a lot to me seeing as my reasoning for doing the event was right in front of me, fulfilling me."

      Not only is a tabling event such as this helpful to those that attend it, but to those that host it. Being aware of and caring for one's mental health is so important, and is something we should be aware of the resources for. The stigma of not talking about mental health issues should be a thing of the past, an issue Jaylene is working to eliminate. We are so proud of Jaylene for planning this event all on her own, and caring for her fellow students. Thank you to everyone who helped our sister put on such a success!!