We continue our series of guest blogs from alumnae and other special guests with this note from Sarah Fisk, a founder of the Florida-Tau chapter. Enjoy!
I had a dream I started an engineering sorority -
People always laugh when I start this story. Maybe they think I'm kidding? Or maybe they think I'm a little crazy? That might not be too far from the truth...
I remember parts of the dream clearly. When I decided to start the sorority, I was driven by an overreaching urgency. I was at a gathering and the rain poured down outside. But I just had to go start it: NOW.
When I woke up, the urgency hadn't faded. I called my two best friends and the rest, as they say, is history. (I remember the first thing Katrina said to me when I told her: "But, Sarah... we don't like sororities." I simply said, "This is different." And it is different. It's important to remember that. Phi Sigma Rho is an alternative for socially-minded young women who place a high priority on their education. It's not Tri-Delt and it's not SWE. It's somewhere in the middle.)
As time has passed, very few people ask me why we started our chapter of Phi Sigma Rho, but I think the why is the most important part of the story. Getting an engineering degree isn't easy. It's just not. Anyone who tells you differently is delusional.
It's sad to say, but as women, we usually aren't as accepted into the informal support groups in engineering – and there are times when you need a support group. I looked around, but couldn't find an official group that used friendship as its guiding principle. When I read the Phi Sigma Rho description on their website, I knew I had found what I was looking for.
Friendship. Scholarship. Encouragement.
As we move through the operations and administrative challenges of the sorority, it's so easy to lose sight of those three principles. But if I could ask just one thing of all Phi Rhos, it's to cling tight to these ideas. Every time you talk to another Sister, vote on something at chapter, or tell someone about Phi Rho, ask yourself this question: Am I letting the principles of Friendship, Scholarship, and Encouragement lead me?
If yes, carry on.
PRL,
Sarah N. Fisk
http://sarahnfisk.blogspot.com
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