Diem Brown

Woman Crush Wednesday: Diem Brown

My woman crush for this Wednesday would have to be Diem Brown. Most would recognize her from the MTV show, The Challenge. She caught her fame first on the MTV show Real World/Road Rules Challenge. If you kept up with the show, you are probably aware that Diem was diagnosed with cancer. Through out her time on the reality television show, she shared her story & showed what true courage is.

Through her battle, she became an inspiration to others as she founded MedGift.com, a support registry for anyone suffering from an illness. Her smile was infectious & her love of life was an inspiration. She was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 23. She was then diagnosed again in 2012. But she kept hope and she kept fighting the fight. By August 2014, the cancer had spread to her colon, stomach, lymph nodes and liver. Still, she continued to fight until cancer eventually took her life on November 15, 2014 at the age of 34.

Diem was a Delta Gamma at Florida State University. She loved her sorority and everything that it stood for. In her remembrance video played at her memorial service, it shows pictures/videos of her college experience with her sorority sisters. Touching pictures of Diem and sisters doing the famous DG pose at a Race for the Cure. Her sisters supported her and loved her through her difficult times and were by her side through it all. THIS is what being is a sorority is all about. THIS is the support you may not have the opportunity to have unless you are a part of something so much bigger than yourself.

Rest in Peace Diem Brown & thank you for being a true inspiration for everyone around you.
For more on this story & to view Diem's memorial video visit: http://www.people.com/article/diem-brown-memorial-video.  To view Diem's blog through her battle visit: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20675903,00.html

#diembrown #cancer #MTV #therealword #thechallenge #deltagamma #FSU #flordiastate #DG #WCW #hope #medgift

Are Greeks considered leaders?

From all of the pictures put in your head about greek life, sometimes it is hard to not think of greeks as being alcohol-crazed, party animals who only care about themselves and their organization. This is a sad truth of the way people see Greeks, but it is not entirely true. Yeah, you are going to get some of those members because not every member can be that perfect image president, but the real truth of the matter is, Greeks are leaders and sometimes that light is hidden from the "movie stereotype" that we all come to know. So this interesting image shows some statistics of Greeks and their leadership around this nation and around the world. Take a look.

What is a Greek Social like?

Part of being in a Greek organization, are the socials. It is something that we all look forward to and they are nothing like the stereotypes they portray to be like.

Sitting in a weekly chapter meeting, like every other Monday, when all of a sudden the sister directing the meeting, stands up and says, "this chapter is going to be a little bit different". We all knew it was coming, we just didn't know when. Rather than having a chapter meeting, we had a social and it is called "Grab-a-Date". It is exactly that, you have 15 minutes to find a date, and to meet at a specific location. There is when they would tell you what you were doing for this social. This specific "Grab-a-Date", we had a paint war at a local park.

Another social that we have every year with the Sigma Chi Fraternity is "Italian Wedding". For this, we are given a theme and we dress accordingly. This year's theme, since it was so close, was Halloween. We are assigned a 'husband' and they are given time to come and propose to us in a fun way. Once they propose, we have a set wedding day and this is when we all get married. There are vows, a cake, celebratory cider, and each girl is given a ring to make it official. This is a time for us to hangout with other members of the Greek community and get to know each other. Some sisters and I, thought it would be fitting to dress like 'frat guys' for this social.



P.S.- It is a root beer can in that koozie.

#greeksocial #sigmachi #alphaphi #grabadate 



Woman Crush Wednesday

Carrie Underwood was a Sigma Sigma Sigma (Tri Sigma) at Northeastern State University. She later went on to win the 4th season of American Idol.  As a successful music artist, she has more than 15 million albums sold worldwide, 18 #1 singles, and six Grammys.

Read more: http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/us/bio#ixzz3ImDwHozk

 

 

Carrie also started a charity in 2009 entitled: The C.A.T.S. Foundation (Checotah Animal, Town, and School Foundation). The C.A.T.S. Foundation helps to improve Checotah, Oklahoma by assisting with causes, fulfilling needs, and providing services to the community and surrounding area. Funds for the Foundation are raised through public and private donations as a way to support on-going efforts in communal areas as well as aid for the local school system for projects such as updated computer labs to enhance the learning experience, musical instruments and equipment for music education, new playground equipment to promote being active, and the building of a new animal shelter where emphasis is placed on the importance of spay and neutering, pet adoption, and general pet welfare.

Read more: http://www.thecatsfoundation.com/about

 

 



 

In her music video for her hit song "All-American-Girl", she was shown wearing her Tri Sigma Greek letters.

 



#carrieunderwood #WCW #CATSFoundation #trisigma #sigmasigmasigma #allamericangirl #NSU

Sorority Girls in the Armed Forces

In honor of Veteran's Day, I would like to honor two of my sisters who exemplify service. One of Alpha Phi's six values that we strive to live by is service. When most think of service, they think of going out in the community and helping others in need. However, two women from the Alpha Phi chapter at SUU have devoted their lives to service through the National Guard. There is nothing that I love more than America and my sorority and these two women exemplify both of these. Thank you for your service Jami Bolhuis and Alexus Galassi, I look up to both of you so much.































#alphaphi #armedforces #veteransday #service #nationalguard

Do Sororities Haze?

One of the first questions that comes up during rush week is, "Do you girls haze?" So throughout this blog post, I will explain the new member process, and how we feel about hazing.

During the new member process, girls will learn all about what is defined as hazing and the university's strict no hazing policy. What a lot of people don't know is, hazing is illegal & is not tolerated at any university, specifically SUU. Hazing defined to all of the members of Alpha Phi at Southern Utah University is, being told to do something you don't necessarily want to do. Any action or situation that endangers the mental or physical health of safety of an individual, regardless of if you have consent of the participant or not, is what defines hazing. When people picture hazing, they see an older member of an organization (Greek, sports, etc.) making an newbie drink as much as possible until they blackout, sometimes ending in death. Hazing is not always to this extent, it can even be a simple activity such as a scavenger hunt. So again, hazing is illegal and is not tolerate at any university.

Rather than endangering our new members, we believe in loving them unconditionally. Quite frankly, we spoil them way beyond belief. All new members will go through a new member process in which they learn all about Alpha Phi, including our values, founders, traditions, founding, symbols, mottos, etc. They will also participate in ritual ceremonies. Leading up to initiation there are two full weeks filled with fun activities and rituals. The first is big sister/little sister week. The new members will receive a gift/surprise every day of the week, this could include but not limited to, their favorite candy, drink, flower, having their room/car decorated, silly gift, hand written notes, crafts, etc. all given anonymously from their big. At the end of this week, their big sisters will be revealed. The second week is inspiration days, this is the week directly before the girls get initiated. During this week, there is an activity or a ritual each night for the entire chapter to attend. To us, this week is a memorable time for all of us to bond with our sisters on a deeper level. My I-week is still one of the most memorable times I have had thus far in the last two years. It was more than I could ever expect, but better than I could have ever imagined. So to answer the question, hazing is illegal and we believe in unifying our organization through rituals, sisterhood and leadership. Hazing is not part of our initiation & is not part of our sisterhood in any way.