Alpha Phi celebrates seniors through a new senior ceremony

By: Lori Losee (Beta Rho-Washington State)

On April 10, seniors from Arizona State (Gamma Pi) were among the first Alpha Phi members to be welcomed into the alumnae world using the new senior ceremony. The event was celebrated by family, friends and members of the Phoenix alumnae chapter.

The new senior ceremony was a project taken on by the Collegiate Bridging Subcommittee of the Alumnae Strategy Team (AST) a few months ago. The purpose was to make the senior ceremony a more significant milestone culminating collegiate membership.

"The AST is currently looking at ways to bridge the gap between the collegiate and alumnae membership,” said Sara Mayer (Delta Chi-William Woods) , chair of the Collegiate Bridging Sub-Committee on the AST. “The senior ceremony is the final collegiate ceremony and the AST members believe it is the prime opportunity to incorporate alumnae and formally recognize the transition into alumnae membership. The former ceremony was not as meaningful and treasured as we had hoped. Therefore, the committee desired not only to re-write the ceremony but add some key transition pieces that we feel will help bridge the gap.

“The new ceremony mirrors initiation with vows, a pinning and a reflection piece but it is an open ceremony suitable for guests. We are pleased with the launch of the new senior ceremony and look forward to creating lasting memories for our graduating members.”

Along with the Gamma Pi chapter, members of the Shippensburg (Theta Xi) chapter were one of the first chapters to use the new senior ceremony.

“I liked that there was a ceremony that told the seniors what lies ahead for them in Alpha Phi,” said Misty Wilson (Theta Xi-Shippensburg), Chapter Advisor and AST Affinity Groups and Technology Subcommittee member. "But also that it asked them to promise to stay involved in Alpha Phi."

“Participating in the new senior ceremony was a great honor. As an alumna, I was able to, with other alumnae, welcome sisters into the world of alumnae membership. As an advisor, I was able to celebrate the accomplishments of our seniors. As a sister, I was able to share in a memorable Alpha Phi moment.”

For more information about the senior ceremony contact Paige Stallings.

From the archives

December 1900 cover of the "Literary Cabinet" - a precursor to the Quarterly, launched by the Alpha chapter in 1872

Alpha Phi Staff Profile: Linda Schnetzer

Linda Schnetzer
Beta Omicron / Bowling Green

Director of Collegiate Recruitment
From 1992-1996, From 2001 - 2004, From 2005-2010. Several different jobs.

Where do you work?
From my home office in NYC.

What does your job entail?
Working with the volunteers and staff who support our chapters recruitments. I work with the IRT Strategy Team and all its committees, ELCs RAs, collegiate officers etc etc.

Why do you like working for Alpha Phi?
I love watching chapters grow in strength and size.

What is your favorite Alpha Phi memory?
There are just too many to choose from!

What is your Alpha Phi legacy?
Hopefully my legacy will involve more Alpha Phi volunteers involved in membership and stronger chapters on our campus. Also my four nieces.

What is the future of Alpha Phi?
I'm not sure the future needs to be too different. We need to always get bigger and stronger, we need to stay connected to our campuses and always change with the times. We also need to recognize the importance of our volunteers, meet their needs and support meaningful and achievable roles.

Family: My husband, Dean, who likes to come to Convention. I also have four sisters. Three of my sisters sisters and my mom are Alpha Phis!

Hobbies: Cooking,I like using new recipes and often cook way too much food for two; Travel, especially to new places; and reading- love my Kindle!

Interesting fact about yourself: I have been to 47 states and 29 countries. I'm really looking forward to Panama which will be my 30th.

Complied by: Lori Losee (Beta Rho/Washington State University)

On the Road

Courtney McCallum (Beta Gamma-Colorado)
08-09 ELC

When I was a collegiate member, I never realized what being part of an International organization really meant. At the University of Colorado- Boulder we would mention it during recruitment and teach our new members about our different chapters, but I had never met an Alpha Phi from a Canadian chapter or a member from another country. It was not until last year that I first met two Canadian sisters (and soon-to-be coworkers), Sarah-Beth Anders and Tracy Briggs. They introduced me to their chapter at Convention where I met with presidents and volunteers from more than 147 chapters!! It was such an overwhelming experience to see the enormity of Alpha Phi.

Later that summer as I received the list of chapters I would visit throughout the year, I was ecstatic to see I would be visiting two chapters in Canada – the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario. They were eager to show me around Toronto and their universities! We visited the CN Tower, they took me shopping down Bloor Street, and we went to several amazing restaurants. Toronto has become one of my favorite cities, and I know I have many sisters there to go visit in the future.

Some Things I Learned in Canada:

1) They only use the term university. The term “college” in Canada refers to trade schools.

2) When referring to their year in university, they are 1^st years to 4^th years (not freshmen to seniors).

3) In most places you can pay with American money, but you will receive Canadian money in return.

4) Students refer to their “majors” as “programs.”

5) A “garborator” is a sink disposal.

6) They say “postal code” instead of “zip code.”

7) Some of the words are spelled differently. For example: “colour” instead of “color”

8) They have provinces NOT states.

Working as an ELC has been eye opening in many ways. I have made so many new friends from all over the United States and Canada. I am thankful for this opportunity to give back to Alpha Phi, and feel even more fortunate to continue as an ELC for an additional year. There are so many more places to go, more places to see, and more people to meet.

Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act Report

Lory Fraraccio-Kenney (Eta Gamma-Akron)

Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act Delegate

I had the distinct honor of representing Alpha Phi along with Aliza Fishbein from John’s Hopkins and several delegates from the Greek community on Tuesday April 20th to discuss the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act. Collectively, we met with over 430 Congressional leaders to discuss how the bill could benefit non-university owned non-profit housing during this 2010 Greek Congressional Visit.

A bit of background on the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (CHIA); a quirk in the tax laws allows colleges and universities to use charitable contributions to build and maintain student housing while preventing other not-for-profit student housing entities from doing the same thing. CHIA erases this disparity, allowing tax deductible contributions to not-for-profit student housing entities such as fraternity and sorority foundations to be used for the same purposes. Fraternities and sororities provide housing for over 250,000 students each year at no cost to the host institution. This $3 billion dollar segment of the not-for-profit housing industry needs CHIA to become law so it can fund safety and structural improvements. As an example, installing automatic sprinkler systems saves lives - there has never been a fire-related fatality in fraternal housing that has sprinklers.

We shared how the passage of this bill will bring down the cost of housing on college campuses as room and board for a college student is a critical factor regarding the cost of obtaining a college degree. And with roughly $1 billion in projects “shovel ready”, we also shared how the passage of this bill will help increase jobs across the country.

On that day I’ve never felt more American or more Fraternal as two Congressional Leaders I met with became co-sponsors of the Bill, Congressman John Boccieri (D-Ohio) and our own Alpha Phi Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). This experience is one I will cherish and remember for a lifetime!

With Alpha Phi love and mine,
Lory Fraraccio-Kenney
Alpha Phi Fraternity Chapter Advisor

Quarterly Review

This is the current Executive Office building, but something looks a little different.
Do you know what it is?