This week brought some announcements about nominations for the 12th National Council of Phi Sigma Rho. Nominations are open until Nov. 30th and this is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in PSR. While you're considering nominating yourself or someone else, I'd like to give you some of my thoughts on being on National Council.
It is such a wonderful way to get involved and continue building our sisterhood. The 12th NC will take over at our 25th anniversary convention. 25 years is a long time when you consider how far we've come, but think about how much more we can do! We still really are quite a young group. There are so many opportunities to set up activities, events, support systems, and build up our sorority. Joining NC is a great way to put some of your dreams into action.
I have also found that being a part of National Council has been a great way to really get to know a variety of sisters. From the other alumnae serving on NC, to our volunteers and the actives and alumnae that we work with. It's these relationships that make being a part of PSR so important and contribute to our lifelong commitment to our sisterhood.
If you're interested in finding out more about the positions on NC, please don't hesitate to contact any of us for more information. We'd be happy to help and happy to help you find a good place as a volunteer, with NC or in another capacity. And if you feel NC is too much of a commitment for you, don't worry! There are plenty of ways to get involved and sometimes the littlest thing can be a huge help to our volunteers!
The women I have worked with on NC are the amazing - they're smart, strong, and passionate about our sisterhood! It's a wonderful experience that I have really enjoyed. So I hope you think about nominating yourself of another sister for the 12th NC!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Election Day Follow-Up
What an election! Is everyone glad it's finally over or looking forward to the next round already? Hope you all got to get out and vote - and from the looks of the voter turnout, I'd say most of you did!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Election Day!
I'm a huge football fan, and one doesn't often mix football with politics until today. As I sit here and cheer on my Steelers, the halftime show is interviews with Senator Obama and Senator McCain. Maybe it's just me, but the fact that they're not showing celebrities or athletes this halftime reminds me again how important voting is tomorrow.
I won't start a political debate, but I just want to take a few minutes to encourage you all to get out and vote tomorrow! No matter who you are supporting, it's going to be quite a day and every vote counts!
PRL,
Nikki
VP of Programming
(& a die hard Steelers Fan)
I won't start a political debate, but I just want to take a few minutes to encourage you all to get out and vote tomorrow! No matter who you are supporting, it's going to be quite a day and every vote counts!
PRL,
Nikki
VP of Programming
(& a die hard Steelers Fan)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Our strategic plan
All chapters should have a strategic or 5-year plan in place that is reviewed periodically. This is a document that includes short- and long-term goals and an action plan of how they will be accomplished.
Our national organization also has a strategic plan, and it is reviewed every 5 years. We analyze our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) and build goals from the results of that analysis. We then review our strategic plan at least annually when we meet face to face, and occasionally over e-mail.
Our last strategic plan was created in 2005, and we will start thinking about our next strategic plan in 2009.
We create goals in areas like expansion, alumnae involvement, using our internal resources, strengthening chapters, LEAP, national meetings, and hiring employees. We have seen a very large percentage of our strategic goals accomplished since 2005, which we are very proud of.
We just wanted to let you know that we do have a strategic vision about how we are going to serve our members and that we review that plan frequently. We are also here to help if your chapter has questions about its strategic plan and vision!
Sara DaSilva
National President
Our national organization also has a strategic plan, and it is reviewed every 5 years. We analyze our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) and build goals from the results of that analysis. We then review our strategic plan at least annually when we meet face to face, and occasionally over e-mail.
Our last strategic plan was created in 2005, and we will start thinking about our next strategic plan in 2009.
We create goals in areas like expansion, alumnae involvement, using our internal resources, strengthening chapters, LEAP, national meetings, and hiring employees. We have seen a very large percentage of our strategic goals accomplished since 2005, which we are very proud of.
We just wanted to let you know that we do have a strategic vision about how we are going to serve our members and that we review that plan frequently. We are also here to help if your chapter has questions about its strategic plan and vision!
Sara DaSilva
National President
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sisterhood as an adult
When Phi Rhos graduate, we separate in many ways. We veer off in different directions to make the world a better place. In school what was important to me regarding sisterhood was having friends to hang out with, a common bond with other people who were like me, preparing for job interviews together, and trying not to date the same people ;). But when I left school I did lose touch with many of those people with whom I had an immediate bond just because I went to school with them and was a Phi Rho with them.
Entering adulthood, sisterhood was a fuzzy concept to me. I didn't know anyone in the new place that I moved to, nor did I really know any women, working in a male dominated world. We like to say that we can handle it, that it's better to work with all men than all women -- but we admit to ourselves and each other that it is certainly much better to at least have some local girlfriends and stay in touch with Phi Rhos from school! I realized I could get connected with the closest chapter to where I lived, and also decided to volunteer to work with them as an RFD. Though it was my first job out of school, the girls in school seemed so young to me! I got to know some of the alumnae little by little, though, and I became grateful for this common bond that connected me to these strong women still going through the same stuff we all struggled through and celebrated in school.
Now that I am several years out of school, sisterhood means something even more deep to me. I have built a few great relationships with people who I would have never known except through Phi Sigma Rho. Our Sorority is full of exceptional women who work so hard to make the world a better place for everyone else--and for women with engineering backgrounds. The bond of a sister has helped me learn about topics that are important to me in the workplace, relationships, family, and my own self-knowledge. I can compare notes with these women, I can share my fears, I can celebrate successes--and no one understands what that means to me more than these women with our common bond of sisterhood.
Entering adulthood, sisterhood was a fuzzy concept to me. I didn't know anyone in the new place that I moved to, nor did I really know any women, working in a male dominated world. We like to say that we can handle it, that it's better to work with all men than all women -- but we admit to ourselves and each other that it is certainly much better to at least have some local girlfriends and stay in touch with Phi Rhos from school! I realized I could get connected with the closest chapter to where I lived, and also decided to volunteer to work with them as an RFD. Though it was my first job out of school, the girls in school seemed so young to me! I got to know some of the alumnae little by little, though, and I became grateful for this common bond that connected me to these strong women still going through the same stuff we all struggled through and celebrated in school.
Now that I am several years out of school, sisterhood means something even more deep to me. I have built a few great relationships with people who I would have never known except through Phi Sigma Rho. Our Sorority is full of exceptional women who work so hard to make the world a better place for everyone else--and for women with engineering backgrounds. The bond of a sister has helped me learn about topics that are important to me in the workplace, relationships, family, and my own self-knowledge. I can compare notes with these women, I can share my fears, I can celebrate successes--and no one understands what that means to me more than these women with our common bond of sisterhood.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
A Motivational Phi Rho Weekend
We've all now left PA and headed back to our homes, but I think we've left our face-to-face a bit more rejuvinated and motivated about PSR and our upcoming year! Since you all don't get to spend time with us at these meetings, we want to share with you a little bit about what we do.
First and foremost, it is a meeting and great opportunity to get a lot done with everyone together. We had some business to take care and one of the big ones was voting to appoint a new VP of Alumnae Affairs. While this is a lot of work, it proved to be even harder this time around because we had FIVE wonderful women submit platforms for consideration! That's a record for us. While a tough decision, we know we made the right one and we were happy to see such interest in volunteering. (By the way, we hope that this is a good sign for the upcoming nominations for the 12th NC!)
Next, and a personal favorite, we spent the majority of our weekend planning for our 25th anniversary celebration at National Convention 2009! We have big plans for a lot of celebration activities including seeing Pittsburgh, networking with alumnae and actives, celebrating our founders and the successes of the last 25 years, and spending time with sisters. As we really get rolling on the plans, we hope to get you guys as excited as we are.
And the best part of these meetings is that we get to remember that we're not just volunteers for Phi Sigma Rho, but we are sisters first and final! While we always have tons of work to do over the phone and on email, and when we get together at these meetings, we definitely got to take advantage of being together and having time to enjoy each others company. We had a great opportunity to talk about things ranging relationships, careers, politics, and what is really going on in our lives. I don't think that we always remember what lifelong sisterhood is about, but it's these moments of fun, sharing, and bonding that bring me back to our ideals!
First and foremost, it is a meeting and great opportunity to get a lot done with everyone together. We had some business to take care and one of the big ones was voting to appoint a new VP of Alumnae Affairs. While this is a lot of work, it proved to be even harder this time around because we had FIVE wonderful women submit platforms for consideration! That's a record for us. While a tough decision, we know we made the right one and we were happy to see such interest in volunteering. (By the way, we hope that this is a good sign for the upcoming nominations for the 12th NC!)
Next, and a personal favorite, we spent the majority of our weekend planning for our 25th anniversary celebration at National Convention 2009! We have big plans for a lot of celebration activities including seeing Pittsburgh, networking with alumnae and actives, celebrating our founders and the successes of the last 25 years, and spending time with sisters. As we really get rolling on the plans, we hope to get you guys as excited as we are.
And the best part of these meetings is that we get to remember that we're not just volunteers for Phi Sigma Rho, but we are sisters first and final! While we always have tons of work to do over the phone and on email, and when we get together at these meetings, we definitely got to take advantage of being together and having time to enjoy each others company. We had a great opportunity to talk about things ranging relationships, careers, politics, and what is really going on in our lives. I don't think that we always remember what lifelong sisterhood is about, but it's these moments of fun, sharing, and bonding that bring me back to our ideals!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Something new for Phi Sigma Rho...
Today, the 11th National Council got together again in Philly for our fall face-to-face meeting. With so much excitment going on planning for our 25th anniversary celebration and all the other wonderful things we have going on this year, we've decided to try something new and start a blog! We're not sure what we'll have to say yet, but we promise to do our best to keep it interesting...
Maybe you all could help us out - what do you want to hear about? Phi Rho activities? Work? School? Chapter updates? Random topics? Let us know by email or in the comments!
Maybe you all could help us out - what do you want to hear about? Phi Rho activities? Work? School? Chapter updates? Random topics? Let us know by email or in the comments!
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