As you may know, Phi Sigma Rho National Council has been undertaking a National Awareness Campaign for the last few years. We want National Council to be more transparent to our membership and to allow you to get to know us, even if it is virtually!
We would like to share National Council bios with all of you. You may have seen some of these before, but we like to take advantage of all the social networking options available to us!
Introducing: Stephanie Gagliardi, the VP of Expansion! (Written in July 2010)
Dear Sisters,
My name is Stephanie Gagliardi and I am the new National Vice President of Expansion. It is my first day back in the “real world” after a great weekend full of Phi Rho love at LEAP Conference 2010 in Cleveland, OH. I had a wonderful time meeting many of you for the first time, as well as reconnecting with some familiar faces. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and share some details about my background.
I was born in New Haven, Connecticut and have lived in East Haven, Connecticut for the past 23 years. In High School I applied to college as an undecided major, but by the middle of my senior year, I planned to attend college to pursue English and Political Science, but boy was I ever wrong about that! I attended a technology exposition with my Computer Graphics class, and participated in a demonstration given by a Chemical Engineering professor. Being enrolled in AP Chemistry at the time, I was able to answer all of his questions and actively participate in his demonstration. Given my strong math and science background, suddenly I was hooked on the possibility of becoming an engineer.
I attended the University of Connecticut, Go Huskies! (I am an especially big fan of the women’s basketball team), along and ended up majoring in Materials Science in Engineering, after switching back and forth between MSE and CHEG a couple of times. I rushed Phi Rho in the spring of my freshman year and became a member of the Theta Chapter Kappa Class. Phi Rho helped me to figure out who I was and to find my niche. I had always wanted to be in a sorority and Phi Sigma Rho seemed like the perfect fit for me. Unlike most engineering students, I did not have an internship during college (which I deeply regret and strongly encourage all of you to pursue). I was however fortunate enough to gain some research experience with wear and fatigue testing of materials.
Post graduation I frantically utilized monster.com to find a job in industry. This proved to be rather difficult given the economy, no one seemed to be hiring. Finally, I was granted an interview with an engineering outsourcing company, and the hiring manager, was none other than a Phi Sigma Rho alumna from the Theta chapter! I was hired, and have been working ever since, starting out supporting Pratt and Whitney as a Project Engineer and Cost Reduction Team Lead, and now supporting Hamilton Sundstrand as a Materials Engineer/Failure Analyst, both of which are divisions of United Technologies Corporation (UTC). There are now 4 Theta Chapter Phi Rho’s working at my company, and some other alumnae working at the companies we support.
In addition to my full-time engineering job, I am a Daisy Girl Scout leader in East Haven, CT, a part-time employee at Weight Watchers, a member of my local SWE professional section, and of course a Phi Sigma Rho volunteer! I also spend a lot of my free time exercising with Zumba classes, boot camp classes (6-7am before work 3 times a week! Check out the video on my facebook!), Jillian Michaels DVDs, and running 5Ks. I am also a HUGE country music fan (especially Keith Urban) and love attending concerts!
After making many great memories and gaining friendships, motivation, and inspiration from the Penn State Regional Conference in 2007, LEAP Conference 2008, and Convention 2009, I knew immediately upon graduation that I wanted to continue to stay as involved as possible because I wanted to give back to the sisterhood all that it had given to me and more. I wanted the opportunity to make a difference in future of the sorority, meet more sisters from across the nation, and share my ideas and opinions.
At LEAP Conference 2010, it was said “You only have 4 years to be an active sister of Phi Sigma Rho, but the rest of your life as an alumna”, and I wanted to make the most of that opportunity. I joined the LEAP Committee and became the Alumnae Programming Director, which was a very rewarding experience and offered me the freedom to explore a lot of new ideas and programs. After serving for about a year in that role, I was selected to become the new VP of Expansion on the 12th National Council.
As VP of Expansion it is my responsibility to coordinate and implement expansion efforts. This includes providing support to interest groups and colonies throughout the process to become a chapter, as well as seeking out new campuses that Phi Rho would like to become a part of. Some of my current goals include: updating the colony educator manual, revamping and creating sorority promotional materials, and creating a strategic expansion plan. I hope to create a more solid foundation and standardized expansion process to lay the groundwork for achieving “30 chapters in 30 years” by 2014, while ensuring that the current needs of our colonies and interest groups are adequately met.
3 Random Facts About Me
1. I’ve hugged a beluga whale.
2. I once ate 24 Wendy’s Chicken Nuggets in 3 minutes (AEPi philanthropy event)
3. I’ve seen Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, Sugarland, and Kenny Chesney front row in concert!
Stephanie Gagliardi
VP of Expansion
vpofexpansion@phisigmarho.org
