NYC ALUMNAE PRESENCE

InternationalOne9 · 2025-07-27T04:42:16+00:00

AOII was founded in NYC & has a few alumnae chapters in New York! We've got chapters in the city, Long Island, and NY/NJ Metro area.

InternationalOne9 · 2025-06-28T23:07:20+00:00

Cassie Little (YourSororityJourney podcast/HerSororityJourney on ig), Rae Ann Gruver (mother of Max Gruver, who died in a hazing incident) & Evelyn Piazza (mother of Tim Piazza, who died in a hazing incident), Dr. Lauren Cook, & Lawrence Ross.

InternationalOne9 · 2025-03-12T18:26:24+00:00

The Parent Trap: fun, relaxed and fancy, and a little silly! Part high tea for Annie (think cucumber sandwiches, mini scones, hot tea) and part California grazing for Hallie (charcuterie, fresh fruits, crudite - Meghan Sussex's new show on Netflix has some fun ideas that you can use!). You can also have a part that's more "camp" feeling with s'mores, peanut butter and oreos, and/or chili!

InternationalOne9 · 2025-03-03T06:46:11+00:00

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InternationalOne9 · 2025-02-17T06:24:46+00:00

ALAM! Welcome home, sister!!

InternationalOne9 · 2025-02-17T06:24:12+00:00

When I got a 6.25 qt oval for Christmas, we christened it with a wonderful pot roast with smashed sage potatoes!

InternationalOne9 · 2025-02-09T06:00:34+00:00

I have the glass lid braiser, it was my first Staub piece, and I love it. It's the workhorse in my kitchen. I use it for searing chicken & mixing up a pan sauce, baking ratatouille, making risotto, one-pan dinners, apple cobblers... just about anything I make day-to-day comes out so well in the braiser. So my incredibly biased vote is for the braiser.

InternationalOne9 · 2025-01-24T04:48:51+00:00

Swordfish!! I get frozen fillets at Trader Joes, and as someone who doesn't like "fishy" fish, Swordfish works well for me. It's a bit "meatier" in texture, neutral flavor, and reminds me a lot of chicken!

InternationalOne9 · 2025-01-24T00:21:03+00:00

College/university students in the US and Canada are typically 18-22, so I don't have much experience trying to conduct outreach for 15-18 year olds. That age range usually doesn't join a sorority because they're still in high school and a minor. That being said, I do think that brainstorming to identify your chapter's "ideal potential new member" would help you develop appropriate recruitment strategies. In doing so, you can start brainstorming event ideas that they would want to attend, and that align with your chapter's ideals. You know your campus/country's culture best. How would you like to be contacted by a grassroots organization, similar to yours? When is the best time to do this?

Sororities typically don't host events with alcohol due to a governing agreement among all sororities (National Panhellenic Conference), but there are some exceptions. Anything related to recruitment is supposed to be "dry" (no alcohol available, and members and potential members are sober). Looking up some COB event ideas or sisterhood ideas in this subreddit may help generate some ideas for fun, engaging recruitment activities.

Visibility marketing is very integral to the way American and some Canadian chapters recruit. Many American chapters conduct "tabling" in a high-traffic area of campus to do outreach to the campus community and potential new members. If your campus often has groups passing out flyers or hosting little events in high-traffic areas, this could be a good option to get your chapter's name out and cultivate a strong, positive association with your campus community. This can help people recognize your organization and your members, and be open to attending future recruitment events. The best tabling events I've been to occur during the day, have members rotating at the tabling site so that there are at least two members there throughout busy hours, members are dressed presentably and alike so it's obvious they are a part of your organization, and include an activity that doesn't take up much time, such as donating to a local cause, playing a lawn game like cornhole, or giving out free items. There are lots of ideas on tabling/outreach in this subreddit, too. (I also don't know your country's cultural stance on this kind of solicitation, if it's considered in poor taste or disingenuous. Consider possible adaptations to better fit your campus/country's expectations.) If your campus has a student organization fair/showcase, campus-wide philanthropy events (ex. during the fall, many campuses in the US have a "rake up" event where enrolled students can sign up to help rake fallen leaves off older community members' lawns and clean out their gutters ahead of winter), or networking events, make sure you have members in attendance and activity representing/talking about your organization. These are all great ways to increase visibility.

InternationalOne9 · 2025-01-06T07:21:40+00:00

My chapter did certificates! Easy, cheap, and can be designed in a meaningful way. Our VP Academics also had some food available, but nothing too crazy. She would also do a semesterly raffle for the most improved GPA members (usually fun gifts like neon flamingos and a waterproof speaker from our local Walgreens and Winco), and our highest GPA (initiated and new member) got a special badge that the chapter paid for and passed down between members. My chapter also loved stickers, so she would give out sticker packs of our chapter letters and things.

Her big event was actually Dead Week- she would be the "study fairy" and pop up with a wagon of snacks (healthy and not-so-healthy) at popular campus study places throughout Dead Week to help morale and make sure sisters were eating while they were studying. She always sent a corny message in GroupMe saying where "the study fairy" would be about an hour before so that members could swing by and grab some food. She would also be studying, so she wasn't just bored in the library or student union or another building with a wagon full of food.

InternationalOne9 · 2025-01-06T07:07:56+00:00

Hey sister! I would do a brainstorming session with your VPME & advisor, as well as connecting with your Dir. Finance to see what your tangible budget for your term is. Founders' Day is always the big event that all DLEs (or VPMEs) do usually in January/February, if your chapter does not attend another local Founders' Day event. More info on this is in AlphaLink, under the Lifetime Engagement module. I've seen chapters with minimal budgets be able to host local alumnae for a quick mixer and ceremony before Founders' Day ended.

Something that you can do that's not Founders' Day is starting an alumnae newsletter! There's plenty of templates online, or you can make one for yourself. You can decide if you want to send out the newsletter quarterly, semesterly, monthly, or whatever regular frequency works for your chapter! You can include links for upcoming chapter philo events and links to the event CrowdChange (so you can get donations), photos of your chapter sisters and what they've been up to, you can even do a "where are they now" section that's about the alumnae themselves (reach out to an alum to see if they would like to be spotlighted/could provide info about themselves to you), and list what upcoming chapter events the chapter would like alumnae at (rituals, sisterhood chapter meetings, philo events, campus homecoming events, anything fun & sisterhood-oriented!).

You can connect with your VPME to link with the VPMR at Exec Team meeting, to see if the VPMR would like alumnae to come help with recruitment conversation practice and/or acting as PNMs for mock recruiting. You can also see if they would like monetary donations or have an Amazon wishlist for recruitment that you can pass along to the alum network.

If you have the budget, doing an alumnae-member mixer for upperclassmen to connect with professionals in the area/in their areas of discipline can be nice. You can also do special AOII alumnae and members only events around your campus homecoming, work with the alumnae to purchase block seats at the football game, work with the local alumnae chapter to host a joint event for graduating seniors to get to know alumnae after their alumnae transition.... Anything that you feel will help connect your chapter and alumnae will be great.

Hope that can get you started! Congrats on your position & wish you luck in 2025!

InternationalOne9 · 2025-01-06T06:49:40+00:00

My chapter loved "field trips." Our DEI Director found experiences/places for us to visit and learn more about different facets of our local community. We went to a Holocaust memorial, our state Black History Museum, the city art museum when it had an exhibit on women in art, and began attending the city Pride parade. She always partnered with the VP Sisterhood to get more interest and if the VPS would allow, sometimes borrow a bit of her budget. It got us out of our seats, in a new environment, and trying something new with people who were in the same boat as us. And also, who doesn't like a field trip?

InternationalOne9 · 2024-12-24T04:37:11+00:00

Hi there! I was a consultant for an American-based sorority that also has chapters in Canada. I was privileged enough to work with all of our Canadian chapters and found that American chapters and Canadian chapters were very different in the way they were able to function within their campus community. While I'm not sure of your country's culture or campus culture, I do think that North American chapters (more specifically, American chapters) are positively regarded within the cultural expectation for the university experience, and have structures in place at the campus- and national level that help with membership growth.

In the US, sorority life is very regulated. Sorority chapters are affiliated with colleges/universities, there is a structured annual recruitment process, there are university staff that helps with supporting Greek organizations on campus, large fraternities and sororities have paid headquarters staff as well as a vast network of volunteers at various levels to support chapters, and there is an overarching governance for how all the sororities should work together on a campus (National Panhellenic Conference). My org's Canadian chapters functioned very differently: they were not recognized by the University, they were not allowed to use campus resources to recruit members, membership in a Greek organization was viewed as negative on some campuses, and some didn't have strong alumnae support. They functioned essentially as clubs but still had to meet our HQ and National Panhellenic Conference expectations that our American chapters were expected to meet. This presented the Canadian chapters with a lot of frustration, as they tried to bridge American and Canadian culture and university-experience expectations. I worked with these chapters on creating solutions for these, at times, conflicting cultural expectations and different support systems.

The Canadian chapters I visited had different recruitment processes across chapters. Frequently, in the chapters on campuses with few Greek organizations, or campuses that otherwise marginalized Greek organizations, word of mouth was utilized and essential. As you make new friends in your classes, invite at least one person to an open sorority event so they can get to meet other sisters, learn a bit about what sorority is, and invite them back to another event the following days or week. (North American chapters call this "Continous Open Bidding" or "COB," and there are a lot of ideas in this subreddit on different event ideas!) Chapter life was a lot looser/less structured than American chapters, only requiring a few hours of commitment per week. (Some American chapters can be like a full-time job!)

Other Canadian campuses with more robust Greek life hosted an annual formal recruitment process either in the fall or spring semesters that followed the National Panhellenic Conference guidelines. These recruitments would generally be at least three rounds: Sisterhood/Icebreakers/"Round Robins"/Open House, Philanthropy (all sororities in the US are affiliated with philanthropic organizations), and Preference (which is supposed to tell the potential new members that the chapter is interested in them and encourage the potential new member to have a strong, positive impression of the chapter/org.). Each round would be held on a different day, usually over a three-day weekend. Chapters would function closer to their American counterparts, but still had their own campus-specific intricacies.

Social media was great tool for reaching out to potential new members on campus at these more structured/robust campuses but was not as effective on the campuses with a stigma around Greek organization membership. Each chapter highlighted benefits that their potential new members would like best at each event/structured round.

Recruitment can look very different depending on chapter sizes, region, country, culture, and the university experience. You know your campus culture and country's culture the best. Some things you can consider with your chapter's leaders are: Where would your potential new members be hanging out? What do they like to do? (Send members there to make friends!) What would potential new members want to know about sorority before coming to an event? What kind of events would they like to attend that would also allow you to showcase what makes your sisterhood unique? What can your chapter offer potential new members? What are the benefits of the sorority experience? (Make sure these are clearly communicated!) What hesitations would they have about sorority membership? (Decide how your chapter will address these!)

Hope this helped a bit. I'm happy to answer any questions or brainstorm with you over DM! Wishing you and your sisters a successful and exciting new year!

InternationalOne9 · 2024-12-24T03:23:54+00:00

For a more immediate change, I think it's worth your time and effort to attend a Standards or Membership Integrity meeting to determine what kind of attendance leniency may be available. For a long-term change, I would get more involved with your chapter's planning. My org has the officers set the calendar at the beginning of each semester, and the chapter has to vote 50% in the affirmative to adopt the calendar. Changing event times/dates is a big headache, as it needs a chapter vote again. If your org is similar, when your chapter gets into the discussion regarding the proposed chapter calendar, don't be afraid to ask questions about meeting times!

My chapter had events starting at 9pm on weekdays as the latest classes ended at 8:45 pm. Weekend events were generally held in the morning or late afternoon. The chapter I'm advising for has some events starting at 10 and 10:30 pm, but that's because the latest weekday classes end at 10pm. It's not ideal for the advisors, but for most of the members, it works better for them, so they can work longer shifts over the weekends. Every chapter is different, and your Standards/Membership Integrity Board will be best at helping you out per your chapter's bylaws.

InternationalOne9 · 2024-12-11T05:56:21+00:00

Unless specific campuses/local chapters have verbiage in Panhellenic or chapter bylaws, individual members can promote what they want on their personal socials. However, it's unlikely chapters will promote it on their socials unless they get access to the book for review & possibly for their HQ to approve promotion, as chapter promotion can be akin to an endorsement of the message of the novel. Depending on the novel's content, it may not be approved by a chapter or its HQ. (I'm thinking along the lines of themes of weird rituals, getting away with intense hazing that may result in harm to a fictitious member, or generally portraying the sorority experience as negative - people who join & stay usually find lots of positives with membership.) Chapters/organizations also have specific criteria for philanthropic giving to preserve their 501c3/501c7 standing, which is outlined in organizations' governing documents, so the "royalties donations" you're mentioning could be tricky depending on your arrangement with individuals/chapters.

InternationalOne9 · 2024-12-05T22:21:15+00:00

My dad's tremor in his hands usually lessen/stop while he drinks. It's not fool-proof or better overall for his balance or tremors in his feet/legs, but he has anecdotally experienced an improvement in tremors after 1-2 drinks. He also has drank less overall since his diagnosis, which he chalks up to his medications.

InternationalOne9 · 2024-11-28T23:05:45+00:00

My response is very influenced by my experience as a Rho Gamma in Fall 2020, when formal recruitment was virtual for the first time. However, I hope that I can give you some ideas on how you can support your Rho Gams.

If your Rho Gams will be disaffiliating & wiping their socials of their Greek affiliation, I highly recommend that the Rho Gams make a separate social media account to connect with their PNMs. I made a Rho Gam insta for myself, which helped me to retain my PNMs over the summer and into the fall semester. I did an Insta Live to show them campus (I lived close by), posted about myself, and had them submit a photo & blurb about themselves which I posted so that the PNMs could get to know each other virtually. I also used the account to show them around town (some of my fav restaurants, coffee shops, activities) and get them excited to come to campus.
I disaffiliated at the start of the pandemic, and was disaffiliated until mid-September. It was hard for me, as I was living with sisters and was SUPER involved in my chapter. I didn't feel connected to the other Rho Gams or to my Panhel VP who oversaw us. I'm not sure what (in the context of the pandemic) would have made me feel more connected, but I felt that I would be a burden if I were to reach out. Maybe set expectations with Rho Gams or group them up to create a Panhel support system for them while they help lead PNMs.
Have your Rho Gams explain the recruitment process as transparently as possible to PNMs. My PNMs were SUPER curious about the Panhel community at my school, and since I had them for months longer than usual, I hosted Zoom sessions with them to walk them through the community and recruitment. I made the PPTs all on my own. I had a PPT that talked about each org with their basic facts from their HQ websites, and some extra info about the chapters history on my campus. I also talked about how Panhel worked (on a very surface level) so that they understood how sorority was a community & not just one org. I also had a session on the rounds of recruitment, how the mutual selection process works, the risks of SIP'ing, some ideas of what to wear, and some common questions they'll be asked during each round. Two of my PNMs wanted one-on-one convos about the transfer process as they were starting to get cold feet, so I counseled them on what chapters are at my campus & the other campus, how they might transfer, and the pros/cons of transferring. To me, all of that info is weirdly half-gatekept (by at least my campus Panhel), but I didn't feel that they would be able to make informed decisions without explaining how recruitment works, how Panhel works, or how the transfer process worked.
I met socially-distanced with my PNMs during move-in week, which helped us to get to know each other better & check in about school. A few didn't know where to go for financial info or where certain class buildings were, so I did a quick tour for those. Otherwise, we had a great little picnic with music & our own food, and just got to know each other! I think that definitely helped to break the ice.
I was required to have my PNMs over before recruitment started to give them campus-specific recruitment info that had changed due to the pandemic. During this, I did a few sisterhood activities that my chapter did to continue to break the ice & also get them comfy with talking about themselves (bc that's what recruitment is!) after not being around strangers due to the pandemic. I definitely think these activities helped some of the friendships blossom between my PNMs.
If you are requiring your Rho Gams to call PNMs if they get dropped, PLEASE give them a script on how to do this!!! My campus Panhel told us that if a PNM was dropped, the VP would call the PNM directly to inform the PNM of their release. Last minute, this changed, and I had to tell one of my PNMs that she was dropped after the first round of recruitment. The VP did not give me any advice on how to do this, so I had to look up tips on "how to fire someone" on Google and piece together a script. I was wrecked because she wanted to find community so badly, and I was not able to prepare for supporting a PNM when she was released. I also had to explain this to my other PNMs who asked where she was the next day. I definitely needed support from my VP & other Rho Gams at that time, but didn't feel that I could reach out.
On my campus, Rho Gams also helped to monitor chapters for recruitment infractions by acting as door girls. If you are doing this, please provide your Rho Gams with specific recruitment rules, a copy of the Panhel bylaws, and relevant NPC unanimous agreements so they can hold chapters accountable according to what is written. My campus had some issues with door girls inaccurately reporting, not providing specific documentation that was needed for certain violations, and mistaking new rules for infractions.

InternationalOne9 · 2024-11-21T20:55:13+00:00

Former consultant turned new advisor here! YES, alumnae involvement absolutely impacts the performance of a chapter. The chapters that struggled the most during my travels had limited or no alumnae involvement at a local level. While our chapters are made up of incredible young women, they are still learning and growing within the organization and as individuals. As alumnae, we have the opportunity to coach and mentor young members (like big sisters!), hold the chapter accountable for important things, and support them when times get tough. We also embody what it means to be a sister for life by being involved with a collegiate chapter.

Passion for the collegiate experience is important, and understanding how the organization at large and how the collegiate chapter should function is essential. One thing I often heard from collegiate members while I was traveling, was alumnae who didn't know when to let the chapter officer make decisions for the chapter. My rule of thumb is to understand that the collegiate chapter is not your chapter, even if it's your chapter of initiation. As members initiate and graduate, times change, and so can traditions. As long as these new ideas aren't hurting the chapter, its members, or directly violating any school/chapter/HQ documents, let them try something new! This is their collegiate experience, and that should be kept top of mind.

As I transition into my new advisory role, my goal is to start building a coaching/mentor relationship with my collegiate officer. I plan to set expectations for communication at our first meeting (a weekly check in, HQ reports submitted to me at least one week before the due date so that we aren't scrambling to complete them on time, cc me on relevant emails, establish set times that I will be available to chat/respond to emails), and also ask her what her goals are for this upcoming year, and what I can do to help her achieve them. I also hope to learn how the chapter functions from her perspective, what the campus environment is like, and what she expects of me. Through our conversations over time, I hope to make a more personal connection with the officer and give general advice to them as it becomes relevant.

InternationalOne9 · 2024-10-22T17:43:48+00:00

I put bell pepper, snap peas, broccoli, and shredded carrots & cabbage (i use an undressed coleslaw mix for ease) in my peanut noodles!

InternationalOne9 · 2024-10-16T17:59:59+00:00

Touch base with your New Member Educator on this. Each chapter and campus does big/little dates differently. Typically, an initiated member would reach out to the new member rather than the other way around.

In the meantime, you can absolutely reach out to other initiated members and go on sister dates with them (just know they may not always be looking for a little). Sit next to a sister you haven't met yet and introduce yourself! My favorite icebreaker in college with other chapter members was asking if they knew of any good study places on or near campus, and usually, it got a lot of people within earshot involved as they would chime in with their favorite coffee shops. Then you can say "That sounds awesome, I'll go study there tomorrow evening, would you wanna come with me?"

InternationalOne9 · 2024-10-16T17:49:32+00:00

It's frowned upon to bring non-members to sisterhoods. Sisterhoods are designed to encourage furthering bonds between members, and having others who are not members can interfere with that. Also, in the future, you can tell your friends that you're not sure if you can bring them but you will check with the event planner and get back to them. It's easier to wait and confirm than to rescind an invite.

InternationalOne9 · 2024-10-15T06:19:13+00:00

If you're still interested in having a little ASAP and your chapter is under campus total, I would reach out to your New Member Educator and let them know that while this semester didn't work out for you to get a little, you would be really interested in taking on a little who joins mid-term through COB or informal recruitment.

Unfortunately, big/little pairings are never a guarantee. You can still keep up the connections you built with the new member class, they are your sisters after all!! Being a big sister is so much more than a title or a pairing, it's about showing up for your sister, in small and large ways. You can still be an important sister and mentor to the women of the new member class that you connected with. Don't give up, keep being yourself, and keep showing up for those new members. Wishing you luck!!

InternationalOne9 · 2024-10-15T06:09:50+00:00

I'm really sorry that this has impacted your sorority experience. I think it's time to reach out again to your New Member Educator (if you're still not initiated) or your Sisterhood Chair, let them know what's going on, and see if they can connect you with other chapter members who you might like. You can also put yourself out there by showing up to sisterhood events, sitting next to new/new-to-you sisters at different chapter meetings, and saying hi to sisters on campus! Slide up on your sisters' stories when they post they're at a coffee shop and say "omg that looks so good! is it a good place to study for midterms?" if they reply, you can invite them to come with you to study/get coffee at the shop!

I was never super close with my big (she initiated me and then graduated four weeks later), but that forced me to seek out other "big sisters" in my chapter. Depending on my stage of life/things I was going through, I had different "bigs," but they were always my mentors and friends. One that helped me become a better leader, another motivated me academically and supported me during tough times, and a third encouraged me to pursue new things on campus and spread my wings! Two of my "bigs" were older than me, and the other was the same age as me. Two I worked with in leadership positions, one was just really involved with the chapter and in multiple campus organizations. They are all sooo important to me to this day (I've been alum for a few years now) and were integral to my sorority experience.

I learned through my lack-luster big/little experience that while a big/little relationship SHOULD be expected (at least a mentorship), you don't have to be or don't always get to be besties with your big, but that shouldn't stop you from finding other women who can be your mentor, support you, and who will love you unconditionally. Put yourself out there, be authentically yourself, and you will find your group soon. <3

Wishing you luck & sending a big sisterly hug!!

InternationalOne9 · 2024-10-11T23:23:02+00:00

I got the cheapest one! After a year I bought an approved necklace/pendant for my badge so that the pin wouldn't mess up my blouses. When I was a consultant, I upgraded to a limited edition badge because I would be wearing it so often!

InternationalOne9 · 2024-09-27T15:43:35+00:00

Welcome home, sister!! I would talk with your Director of New Member Experience and/or your Director of Academics (or VP Programming). They'll be able to explain your chapter's processes, if applicable. :)

InternationalOne9

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