If
you would have come up to me as a new member and said, “In 2016, you will get
to go to convention as the official delegate of your chapter,” I would have
told you that you were crazy. Yet here I am, 3 years later (and 3 years wiser)
wishing my time in Phoenix, Arizona had been much longer. I can truly say that
every late night, every early morning, and every hour of missed sleep was worth
every obstacle I’ve faced in the past 3 years - obstacles which seem so small
and irrelevant to me now that I’ve gained a truer knowledge of the meaning
behind “Zeta is forever.”
My trip to Convention began long
before the opening celebrations. I can still remember the butterflies I got
when I received my flight information months ago (this, however, was nothing in
comparison to the excited I felt as I packed my bags the night before - always
the procrastinator). I crammed a whole bunch of clothes and statement necklaces
I thought were crucial to have in my tacky zebra print suitcase and prayed I
hadn’t forgotten something important.
When
Carly, Shauna, Kati and I landed in Phoenix we were met by TLCs (traveling
leadership consultants) who escorted us to our shuttles that would soon take us
to the resort & spa that would be our home for the next few days. On the
shuttle bus, Carly (VPII, friend, fellow awkward appreciator of dumb jokes) and
I spotted a GIANT cactus at the same time. So, naturally, we made a scene. Yes -
at 7 am, us “Texans” were freaking out over the ultra-foreign Saguaro Cactus
and thought it was the most hysterical thing in the world.
We got to the resort and everywhere
you looked were the letters “ZTA” and the women who wore them proudly. The
first day, after checking in, included the opening session and opening dinner.
The opening session was all about “Inspiring greatness” (which also happened to
be the overall theme for the Convention 2016). Our National President, Carolyn
Carpenter, spoke along with other leaders in ZTA and they all encouraged us to
take our time in our college years and truly spend it wisely, to not be afraid
to take on big leadership positions, to take interest in joining an alumni
chapter, and to give back as much and as often to the organization that goes so
much more beyond the word “organization.”
Inspired
to seek greatness, we broke out for various meetings, shopping, and other fun
options we had. Of course, I went shopping first, and I have never in my life
seen so much ZTA gear in one place. Hats, buttons, bags, scarves, jewelry,
jackets, and enough shirts to clothe a small army overwhelmed both my eyes and
my wallet.
After
a quick nap to recovering from “shopping ‘till I dropped” it was time for the
opening dinner. We were again encouraged to inspire greatness except this time
it was more focused around leadership. At this point I had only been there for
10 hours and I was already amazed at how just being there at Convention would
open up my mind to so many things.
Day 2 was fairly similar - it began
with a welcome, then a lunch, then more free time, and then a dinner featuring
the Zeta Tau Alpha Housing Corporation Awards. Wearing my business attire, name
tag, and button, I had never felt so official in my life. (The night before we even
practiced the processional for the meeting, where each official voting delegate
got her own seat in reserved chairs. Yep, I felt official.)
Day 3 was jam-packed. We attended another
business meeting, a lunch to award the scholarship recipients, the philanthropy
program, Crown Chapter dinner, and a ritual to finish it all off. Starting
bright and early with a business meeting, our chapter was awarded the Helping
Hands Award- an award that recognizes chapters for contributing to the overall
good of the fraternity, one that we are very proud to accept. At lunch, along
with announcing the scholarship recipients, we were awarded the Founders Club
award for raising at least $25,000 this biennial with our philanthropy
fundraising (an AMAZING accomplishment!). I am so excited to take this award
back to the chapter and prove to them that every passed out pink ribbon, every
Pink Out game, every golf tournament, and every donation collected was SO worth
it. Not only does it feel good doing these things to raise awareness, it feels
SO good to know that the hard work we all put in each year truly does pay off.
That night was the big dinner, the
moment we were all waiting for. When they began to announce chapters to receive
their own Crown Chapter awards, we got nervous, excited, and probably a little
too loud for our table because we were trying to distract ourselves as to not
think about it too much. Chapter after chapter was being called out, and the
longer we were there the antsier we became. Finally they got to “G” in the
alpha bet and we saw “Gamma Phi: Crown Chapter” in big letters on the screen
above our heads. I swear I don’t even remember hearing our name get called, I
just remember standing up, holding back my tears of joy, and accepting the
award on behalf of the chapter from Lynn Chapman, VP Collegiate II. Next thing
I knew, we were back at our table taking snapchat after snapchat to document
the moment. It could not have been a more perfect night. As we posted pictures
and notified our chapter that we had won, they went crazy! Knowing that this
last semester was by no means easy for us, we reached a goal and I couldn’t be
any more proud of Gamma Phi as I am today.
Friday was our last full day of
programming and it began with a continental breakfast to kick off collegiate
programming. For programming, we were divided into large groups that rotated
throughout the buildings at a different station. I traveled to each station
with our VPI while Carly, our fabulous VPII New Member Coordinator, got to
present to every delegate at convention about the brand new New Member program
that Nationals unveiled this year. Our chapter got to pilot the program (a HUGE
honor) which meant Carly was the perfect woman for the job!
The rest of the day was full of
Panhellenic love, academic achievement awards, and Crown Chapter Awards for the
Alumnae chapters. All seven alumnae chapters in our province won Crown Chapter
Awards which meant that every single chapter, collegiate and alumnae, won a
Crown Chapter Award – how amazing is that?! And on top of that, our very own
Province President, Stancy, received her Honor Ring. The night was full of fun,
laughing, dancing, and cheering!
On
our final day was the election and installation of National Council. Taking my
seat as official delegate (again, feeling very official) and seeing this
process was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Just knowing that we got to see
women undertake huge roles of leadership in our sisterhood made me think about
how there is so much room for growth in Zeta. Outstanding mentors, advisors,
and alumni who have contributed so much time and effort to making ZTA great got
to step into roles that could truly make a difference in our community.
The next morning at two a.m., we got
on our shuttle and left the resort with a bittersweet goodbye. I said goodbye
to my roommate, goodbye to the giant cacti, and goodbye to Convention 2016. Looking
back, winning Crown Chapter is definitely one of my favorite moments but I will
never forget staying up until 4 a.m. with my Zetas from all over the US talking
about anything and everything under the starts (the epitome of sisterhood). I
will also always remember the dinner where previous Convention attendees had a
standing contest to see who had been to the most Conventions in their life. The
winner, a sweet elderly woman in a wheelchair, had been to 27 in her life (that’s
a lot). Her story made me feel like no matter what I do or where I go, Zeta will
always be the sisterhood that changed my life for the better. I wished my time
in Phoenix would have been longer, but I knew that my home away from home was
waiting for me right where I left it. Though now, I feel more prepared to take
care of it than ever.
Jordan Roberts,
President
