Advising

I am very proud to work as an advisor at a college nearby (my alma mater) for a national sorority, Theta Phi Alpha, which I joined when I was in college.  It was a wonderful experience for me, especially since my mom, stepdad and brothers and sisters all moved to Texas two weeks after I started college, and the relationships I built during that time and the memories we made will always be near and dear to my heart.  Two years ago now, I was appointed to serve as the Chapter Advisor.  I have an amazing Board that consists of other alumnae members, but I get to be the one that works closest with the girls.  I attend their weekly meetings, meet with them on an individual basis when needed, go to events, etc. and just be a present and active part of their activities.  This has been extremely fulfilling and I absolutely adore all of the girls I have had the opportunity to work with these last two years and I look forward to continuing serving in this capacity as long as I can.

But, because there are weekly meetings and other events, in addition to the monthly meetings I hold with my Board and also in addition to any one-on-one meetings or issues that come up, we spend a lot of time attending sorority meetings and dealing with sorority girls.  My sweet Brooke, well she most often has to tag along for these meetings.  She knows the drill by now and is considered an honorary penguin and also loves the collegian girls so very much!

So we had a busy weekend...it was the one weekend a year in which the alumnae members come back and we have our association meeting, as well as a formal banquet, dinner, and dance, and then because my Board members were all back, we also had our monthly meeting too.  I think poor Brookie was meetinged out!  And I will be honest, I was a little bit too!  I am always sad to see the end of a semester, especially the end of the spring semester, because we do miss the girls in the summer.  But I do also look forward to a little bit of a reprieve. 

There have been a lot of things that the girls have faced and had to deal with during my stint as their advisor.  Trying to help and support them, both as a group and as individual members, has been a very humbling experience and I have to admit that I often learn as much as I feel I teach or advise.  I have become so close to so many of these girls and when they face adversity, my heart breaks with them.  I definitely have a lot to learn from these girls and I am so grateful that I get to be a part of their lives!

This is just another blessing that I am so thankful for!