As a May 2009 graduate, the last ten and a half months have been extremely eye opening. After four years of knowing exactly which classes to take, which professors to avoid, where to get the best dining hall food, and exactly what time I needed to be at the bus stop to catch the Blue Line back to my dorm, suddenly the opportunities beyond college seemed endless. In true engineering fashion, I weighed the pros and cons of each possibility available to me after graduation in May. Grad school didn't seem like it was for me, though it would've been the easy solution given the uncertain job market. I spent hours on Monster.com applying to any position that seemed relevant, and spent a solid few weeks interviewing with potential employers.
I ultimately took advantage of the networking I had done throughout my undergraduate career and was hired by a fellow Phi Rho alumna within a month of graduation. As a result, I have spent the last nine months working professionally in the aerospace industry. In a time when the economy seemed to be at its worst, I was fortunate enough to successfully begin my career because of a connection I had made during my freshman year of college. When I rushed Phi Sigma Rho in the Spring of 2006, I had no idea just how much that decision would impact my life.
I recently received a promotion to a Team Lead position, seven months after being hired. I attribute much of the success I've found in my career to the skills I developed as an active sister of Phi Sigma Rho at UConn. Participating on committees, eventually leading the Scholarship committee, and serving on the Executive Board, allowed me to build strong teamwork, communication, and leadership skills. Balancing school, work, clubs, and Phi Rho provided with me valuable time management and multi-tasking experience.
Its easy for all of us to realize the benefits of belonging to a sisterhood: Lifelong friends, a support system, perhaps meeting the women who will be the bridesmaids in your wedding, among other things. The bond we share as sisters is often indescribable. But I think we often forget how much the sorority has helped each of us to grow as people and become the women we are today. Looking back, you may realize, as I have, that learning to compromise with other organizations during Greek Week, the hours spent participating in service projects and philanthropies, and even simple attendance at chapter meetings, have taught us life lessons, that may be even more relevant to life beyond active sisterhood, than the equations and graphs we studied to earn our degrees.
Phi Rho Love,
Stephanie Gagliardi
UConn Theta Chapter – Kappa Class Alumna
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