Quarterly Review

Right about now, Alpha Phis everywhere are receiving their Fall 2009 issue of the Quarterly magazine. Here is a look back at what they received in the Fall ten years ago...and twenty years ago, before Alpha Phis newest members were even born!

Fall 1999 Quarterly

Fall 1989 Quarterly

Collegiate Perspective

Each month, we'll be having our collegiate and alumane blog writers post about their Alpha Phi experiences. Want to write for the Alpha Phi blog? E-mail aschuman@alphaphi.org

Kimberly Riha (Iowa-Delta Epsilon)
Collegian






A few weekends ago my chapter had an Alpha Phi filled weekend. Court of Ivy, Initiation, and my chapter’s fall philanthropy event all took place within the same weekend and reminded me that my time left at Delta Epsilon is short. Our philanthropy event—a Pancake Breakfast—fell on a beautiful October morning, a drastic change from last year’s freezing, windy weather.

While getting ready for initiation, I looked back on my own initiation in spring of ’07 and remembered how excited and nervous I was. When I started my new member period as an Alpha Phi I was happy to have finally found a place for myself at the University of Iowa. Formal Recruitment in the fall had not worked out for me and I decided that being Greek wasn’t that important any longer. By spending time with my best friend who had joined Alpha Phi, I found a group of women I clicked with.

Luckily for me, the women in this organization wanted me to be a part of their group, and share the traditions of the fraternity with them. The day of my initiation I wasn’t sure what to expect but I knew whole-heartedly that I was making the best decision I could. I was proud to become a member of this organization; proud to be a sister in Alpha Phi. Every new member should have the same special experience with initiation that their sisters have had for decades.

I wanted to use this month’s blog to ask my fellow sisters to remember Alpha Phi. Remember your own initiation and how you felt becoming a member of this organization. Remember that even if you have been to multiple initiations, the new initiates are experiencing it for the first time. Our traditions and values have been practiced and preserved since 1872 and should be honored by all members. Remember our ten founders, their goals for the fraternity, and how much Alpha Phi has grown.

Alumnae Perspective

Each month, we'll be having our collegiate and alumnae blog writers post about their Alpha Phi experiences. Want to write for the Alpha Phi blog? E-mail eeichinger@alphaphi.org

Where would your life be without Alpha Phi?

It was the work of 10 young women 137 years ago that has forever changed the way thousands of women live their lives today. As we celebrate our fraternity’s founding this month, we should reflect on how Alpha Phi has influenced each of our lives.
How has Alpha Phi shaped you into the woman you are today?
What if there was no Alpha Phi, how would your life be different? Would you be the same woman you are today without the values that our fraternity has instilled in you? Would you have met and stayed close to your college friends if there was no Alpha Phi? How many of your experiences as an undergraduate or even as an alum would have been changed if Alpha Phi didn’t exist?
The skills and life lessons let alone all of the experiences gained by being a member of Alpha Phi is reason enough to remind us why we joined Alpha Phi in the first place.
As we look back over the last 137 years, just think how the world around us has been influenced by Alpha Phi and our members who have made an impact.
We need to remember these 10 forward-thinking women from Syracuse University who came together for a common purpose and thank them for what they have done to enrich our lives.

Mission Statement:
Alpha Phi International Fraternity is a membership organizationdedicated to promoting sisterhood, cultivating leadership, encouragingintellectual curiosity and advocating service. Alpha Phi develops character for a lifetime.

--Lori Lyman-Losee (Beta Rho-Washington State)

For more information about alumnae chapters, to locate the closest chapter or to start up a chapter, visit the alumnae chapter listing or contact Paige Stallings at 847-316-8925 or e-mail at pstallings@alphaphi.org.

Meet J.D.

J.D. Louk

Director of Collegiate Operations

After being here about a month and getting my feet wet, I felt like I needed to reach out to you and let you all know who I am.

I joined the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Austin Peay State University, where I double majored in Foreign Languages with a concentration in Spanish as well as Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. After graduation, I traveled for my fraternity. I loved seeing new chapters and the vast different regions. After my year on the road driving across the country I went to graduate school. I attended Georgia Southern University where I encountered Alpha Phi Sara Mayer, an initiate of the Delta Chi chapter at William Woods in my classes. Her devotion to Alpha Phi and its values was evident and prompted learning opportunities. We were both pursing masters’ degrees in the Higher Education department so we had plenty of time to talk and learn.

Upon graduation I took the path of working in housing and residence. I had the opportunity to work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Tulane University both in housing while doing some fraternity and sorority related activities on the side. In 2004 I attended the Interfraternity Institute at Indiana University; it was there that I reacquainted myself with the fact that fraternity & sorority life is my true passion. Shortly after, I moved to Florida to begin working with fraternities and sororities. I had the opportunity to work at Florida Southern College and then Florida International University – working with Panhellenics, Interfraternity Councils, National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Multicultural Greek Council.

The move to Miami also began my volunteer experience with Alpha Phi. The past three years I have served on the Advisory Board for the Theta Omega chapter at Barry University. I served as the Recruitment and Program Development Advisor. I had the opportunity to work with some dynamic women from multiple countries and various backgrounds. Working with college students and helping them grow and see the multitude of opportunities that membership in a fraternity/sorority provides is definitely something I find rewarding.

I was drawn to Alpha Phi due to the rich history in the cultivation of women to be empowered leaders of tomorrow. Now, more than ever, young women in college need the guidance of dedicated and true individuals in advisory roles. This direct impact is how we are able to shape the future of tomorrow’s leaders by utilizing the long standing values of the fraternity: sisterhood, service, scholarship, character development, leadership and loyalty.
I am very excited to be a part of the rich Alpha Phi history and development of our women to be values based leaders helping everyone grow and become more than they dreamed they could become.

Collegiate Perspective

Each month, we'll be having our collegiate and alumane blog writers post about their Alpha Phi experiences. Want to write for the Alpha Phi blog? E-mail aschuman@alphaphi.org

Kimberly Riha (Iowa-Delta Epsilon)
Collegiate Blogger






It is easy to see the strength of a friendship in the fun times like planning a philanthropy event, giggling together at a sisterhood event, or getting dressed for formal. Those have been some of my favorite times at Alpha Phi but I think the real test of a friendship is who is still by your side when everything is going wrong.


I lost my grandfather in late August and had a really hard time dealing. I found out on the second day of class very early in the morning. I went upstairs to tell my roommate, and I have never felt as much support as I did at that time. She hugged me and let me cry all over her pillows. I skipped four classes and she skipped as well in order to take me out to lunch instead.


When I got back from the funeral there was a card from all of my roommates on my bed just to say that they had been thinking of me. This small gesture meant so much to me, and it reminded me that Alpha Phi is a connection that goes much deeper than simply having fun together at a social event. Alpha Phi is a group of women with big and caring hearts that will take care of a sister in need. I know that in the future my sisters and I will experience other difficulties and hardships, but I also know that we can always depend on each other, no matter how much distance separates us.

Lifetime of Leadership

Each month, we'll have a graduate of ELI share her experiences. Want to write for the Alpha Phi blog?
E-mail aschuman@alphaphi.org

Noel Miller (Theta Sigma-Southern Utah)
2009 ELI graduate

Attending ELI this past summer was one of the best experiences of my life. ELI stands for Emerging Leaders Institute, and not only did I meet 50 other girls from around North America, I was taught information that will stay with me for a life time. We went over everything from how to remember names to our values in Alpha Phi.

As the school year has started, and my chapter just finished recruitment I realize how much more I actually know now because of that experience. When I look back on ELI I hope to teach my chapter how wonderful Alpha Phi really is, and how many doors it has opened up for me.

I try to share my experience by example. That one week in July has forever changed who I am as a person. I learned so much about my values and the values of Alpha Phi. I believe I carry myself differently, that I posses more leadership qualities. and that I am able to one day become a leader of the Theta Sigma chapter. I hope that the girls from my chapter see and believe that my experience has made me who I am.

Inside Story

Kacey Albertine (Beta - Northwestern)

Alpha Phi Intern, Marketing and PR

The following quotes are excerpts from recent conversations that I have had with various friends:

“Wait, is it really September?”
“I can’t believe that we are seniors already!”
“Is summer actually over?”

For several Septembers now, I have, without fail, taken part in these exact same cliché exchanges (with the exception of the word “seniors” being replaced with the appropriate year) for the entirety of the month. Although we all welcome the weather, food, and fashion of autumn, we are hesitant to move on with it and leave behind those precious summer months.

Why do we mourn our summer experience when we can instead take summer with us as we march into September with enthusiasm?

I say this as I am finishing my last week as a Public Relations/Communications intern at the Alpha Phi International Office. This experience, along with my other summer internship, has gotten me excited to embark on my last year of college. Sure, I am nervous to begin my hunt for jobs in the “real world” for 2010 and beyond, but I welcome September because it asks me to start fresh. I may even secretly dub it “Fresh-tember,” as nerdy as that may be.

One of the most incredible experiences for me here at the Executive Office was interviewing Carol Reed. Carol is an Alpha Phi alumna who is the Marketing Manager at Lange Productions, a company that creates patient education materials for women, especially patients with breast cancer. I interviewed her for the On the Go Podcast that we will be showcasing in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month. While speaking with her, I thought about my friend’s mother, who is a survivor, and her grandmother, who is not. I thought about how it affects the entire family in a way that I don’t completely understand, and I thought about how there’s a lot of need in the world for support.

Most of all, I thought about how much good we can all do if we take those little things we learn from our summers, whether it be summer jobs, internships, or relationships, and use them to educate others, to contribute our time to causes, to support friends, families, and strangers…to start fresh.

I thank Alpha Phi and Carol for inspiring me to experience September in a different way.