NGLA Advisors Academy

On March 1st I attended the first ever Advisors Academy as part of the NGLA Annual Conference. Although I am no longer involved with the day to day operations of Alpha Chi Omega chapters, I wanted to learn more about what advisors are experiencing out in the field. As a supporter of life long learning, I also suspected that I could learn more about relating to collegians and alumnae volunteers. Sharpening my skills in this area also relates to my professional career so attending was a win-win.

The Advisors Academy was sponsored in part by generous grants from Phi Mu Delta Fraternity and Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity.

Dan Wrona – CEO of RISE Partnerships.

To create this program Dan Wrona of RISE Partnerships first worked with the NGLA Advisor Training committee to assess the needs of chapter advisors within the Northeast.

The day-long training gave chapter advisors of all ages and experience levels an opportunity to step back and assess their role as a mentor and influencer for the collegians and chapters they serve. Attendees include advisors from universities such as Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh, SUNY Plattsburg, Mt. Union, Robert Morris University and several others.

NGLA Advisors Academy Participants

As the day began, Dan took participants through an overview of the developmental process of young adults. We also explored the student  leader experience and were reminded of the many influences and ways in which today’s collegians are challenged. As a former chapter advisor, it was easy to recognize and recall my own hesitation in letting chapter members make mistakes in order to allow the students to practice the decision making and learning process. Intuitively, I believe that as advisors we know we need to get out of the way in order to help collegiate members grow and learn. However, it can also be challenging and heartbreaking to watch the train wreck happen. So what’s an advisor to do?

Throughout the day advisors came together to share ideas and their own perspectives on the roles and responsibilities of being an advisor. We discussed ways in which we can help foster informed decision making on the part of collegiate members without doing the work. Break out groups gave us the opportunity to explore this fine line and share how we might approach various situations.

Advisors’ Dilemma Scenarios

At the end of the day I left the session inspired and even more grateful for the service chapter advisors provide. I was encouraged by the spirit and commitment of those in the room. As advisors continue their personal journey of service, we must consider the following: How do we do this work  as a meaningful part of our personal volunteer service? What does success really mean and is it sustainable?

It is clear to me that when chapters are supported by well educated, supportive chapter advisors, the opportunities for sustainable success are greatly increased. Educational opportunities like the NGLA Advisors Academy provide the additional support that is so greatly needed. When coupled with campus resources and inter/national headquarters’ programing, the impact will be wide and far reaching.

Thanks to the visionary leadership of Tom Murphy and the generous support of Phi Mu Delta Fraternity, this type of chapter advisor specific education will continue. As part of its 96th Founder’s Day celebration Tom announced that Phi Mu Delta will support the continuation of the NGLA Advisors Academy with a $10,000 grant over the next five years.

Jennifer Daurora

About Jennifer: Jennifer currently serves as a National Vice President of Alpha Chi Omega. Professionally she is the Director of Business Development of McGinnis Sisters Special Food Stores. Jennifer believes in life long learning and serving the community. She is a proud alumna of Allegheny College and currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA.

NGLA Sneak Peak 2014

We’re so excited that you will be joining us for NGLA 2014!  Our conference staff is hard at work to make sure you have the best NGLA experience possible.  I believe the NGLA annual conference showcases the best fraternity and sorority life has to offer.  You’ll get to meet and network with other students leaders who know exactly why your job is awesome some days and daunting on others.  You’ll get to experience that indescribable feeling of meeting another sister or brother you’ve never met, but you still feel this incredible connection just from sharing the same letters.  Last but certainly not least, you’ll get to learn from some of the best fraternal advisers and community members in the country: students and staff members from all over the Northeast are here to share their best practices enabling you to create your best community.

2014 marks my second year serving as a member of conference staff. I’d like to offer a few thoughts and suggestions on how to get the most our of your conference experience.

Be sure not to miss:

The Affiliation Lunch – This is definitely one of my favorite parts of the annual conference. I absolutely love meeting fellow Chi Omegas – it’s actually one of my favorite things about conferences in general.  The affiliation lunch brings your brothers or sisters directly to you!

Greek Boutique – An amazing selection of fraternity and sorority apparel.  They seem to have everything (even things I didn’t know I needed!)

The Keynote Speakers – The keynotes speakers are always awesome and this year is no exception.  I’ve always had great discussions about the keynote presentations even months after I’ve seen one.

The Closing Banquet – Super fun, super fancy.  It’s a great way to honor our fellow students and staff members for the excellent work they do during the year while enjoying a great time with friends!  You also get to be in the know about successful programming initiatives from other schools and it can start some great out of the box planning ideas!

Tips on getting the most out of your conference experience:

Be ready to learn – Bring a notepad, a book, your tablet or any other note-taking device of your choice.  Two days will fly by and you’re going to get a lot of information quickly and in a short period of time!  A notepad will guarantee that you go home with the information you want and need to bring back to your own fraternal communities.

Say hello to everyone – Conferences are a great opportunity to exchange ideas and best practices or could be the start to a great relationship with other leaders.  NGLA is an amazing and unique opportunity to meeting other student leaders who understand the unique challenges you face as a student leader.  There is no better person to talk to!

Wear comfortable shoes – It seems like a no brainier but this is not the time to be trying out those new loafers, dress shoes or heels.  Conference centers are massive and sometimes you end up walking from end to end.  You might end up getting your days worth of exercise but with an uncomfortable pair of shoes, you also likely to land a few blisters and one pair of sore feet.

Get to breakfast early – For those of you that aren’t breakfast fans, I amend this to: get your caffeine intake of choice early.  I always go down and get coffee as soon as I get up in the morning.  I avoid the inevitable lines and I don’t have to worry about rushing, being late or even worse: going without my morning cappuccino.

What I wish I had known when I first attended NGLA

This goes for any conference, but be prepared to be productively busy.  For some reason, the first conference that I attended, I thought I would be fine picking out sessions to attend on the fly.  To quote Mean Girls… I was wrong.  I was so wrong.

Pick your sessions ahead of time – I know that this kind of falls under the “tips on getting the most out of your conference experience” but look at the schedule the night before so you don’t stress out the day, hour or minute of, trying to pick the session that’s most interesting or applicable to you.

Go to the sessions you want to attend –   See the speakers you want to see.  You’ll have a much more enjoyable experience and you’ll definitely maximize your conference experience this way.

To check out the sessions pre-conference – Download the Guidebook App for smart-phone or tablet.  It’s a convenient schedule, map and personal concierge in your pocket!  It’s free for download on any app store.

Christine Kobza

About Christine:  Christine is a second year grad student at Bucknell University in Lewisburg PA. She is a proud alumna of Bucknell (‘Ray!) and working toward finishing her Master’s degree in College Student Personnel and my passion is Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Christine is excited to be returning to NGLA staff this year. She notes that the NGLA annual conference is one of her favorite weekends of the year.

NGLA Strategic Plan 2013 Highlights

In 2011, the Northeast Greek Leadership Association embarked on a strategic planning process designed to improve the Association’s ability to better serve fraternity and sorority members in the Northeast. Through this process, the board developed a comprehensive mission: “NGLA builds community among students from a variety of fraternal experiences, challenges members to align their actions with fraternal values, and empowers advocates to transform and improve their communities. “ This mission is best envisioned when:

• Fraternities and sororities in the northeast provide co-curricular learning experiences that prove to be essential in furthering the mission of their host institution;
• Fraternities and sororities in the northeast are high performing and are looked to as a model of best practices;
• Fraternities and sororities members in the northeast can articulate their founding principles, strive to live these principles, and challenge peers whose behavior is inconsistent with these principles;
• NGLA is known to members on every campus as a valuable resource that provides a demonstrated return on investment.

The strategies to accomplish this mission and vision are as follows:

1.  Use mission, vision and values to drive expansion of services
2. Strengthen board infrastructure, operations and communication
3. Expand and cultivate volunteer base
4. Improve communication with members
5. Leverage talents of partners to create value
6. Formalize mechanisms for defining, tracking and celebrating achievement
7. Create value NGLA membership through access to resources
8. Build community within diversity

Accomplishments to date
Using these strategies as our guide, to date, many volunteers who support NGLA have worked tirelessly to accomplish many of the initiatives outlined in the strategic plan. Here are some of the highlights:

2013 Philippi and Guenzler Award Winners Announced

We are very excited to introduce two of our award winners presented at this year’s 2013 annual conference.

Guenzler Award

Dr. Kent Gardner, Executive Director Emeritus, Order of Omega

Philippi Award

Dave Conner, Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, The College of New Jersey 

2013 NGLA Award Winners

Impact Awards

Academic Achievement

Award Winners: Southern New Hampshire University, Inter-Greek Council

Honorable Mention

• New Jersey Institute of Technology, Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity
• University of Maryland, Campus Panhellenic
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Alpha Xi Delta Sorority

Chapter Development and Leadership

Award Winners

• Columbia University, Inter-Greek Council
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Greek Community
• The College of New Jersey, Campus Panhellenic

Honorable Mention

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alpha Chi Omega Sorority
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity
• Quinnipiac University, Campus Panhellenic
• University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Campus Panhellenic
• University of Maryland, Campus Panhellenic

#NGLA13 Annual Conference Highlights

Check Out the NGLA Annual Conference Stats

Do you know how many delegations attended NGLA? How about how far the delegations traveled? Click the image above to find out the latest stats on the #NGLA13 annual conference.

Check out the great memories from #NGLA13

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Zeta Tau Alpha Supports Development of Advisor Academy

The Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation has granted the Northeast Greek Leadership Association (NGLA) a $5,000 grant to be used toward the development of an Advisor Academy for the Association.

The partnership of the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation further supports the efforts of NGLA to provide resources that elevate fraternity and sorority communities in the Northeast.

“Zeta Tau Alpha’s generous annual support is enabling NGLA to develop programs and services that will have a meaningful impact on fraternity and sorority members and their advisors across the northeast region.” states Wendi Kinney, Executive Director of NGLA. “The organization clearly understands the value of elevating the dialogue on values based leadership for all members, regardless of affiliation. I am looking forward to embarking on this new initiative with them.”

The Advisor Academy committee has a target 2013-2014 launch for the program.