Thank you to the men and women who have given their lives to protect ours.

After an absolutely fabulous week of "Spring Break," I hit the road today for the last time as a 2011-2012 Alpha Delta Pi Leadership Consultant. Even if I typed that a hundred times, I don't think it would ever seem real. Instead of getting all nostalgic though, let's focus on the three amazing chapters that I'll be visiting over the next two weeks!!!

Not surprisingly, I haven't blogged in about a month and a half. Let's do a brief catch up:

- Visited two chapters in Florida AND got to drive my own car both times. #winning

* Was offered the position of 2012-13 SENIOR LEADERSHIP CONSULTANT. Ahh..tears of joy ensued.

- Flew back to the Midwest where there will soon be TWO chapters in the great state of Oklahoma.
(You won't be riding solo much longer, Alpha Omicron!)

- Made a visit to the Peach State. God is so good for letting me be close to home while my Dad underwent open heart surgery the same week.

- Was surprised to fall in love with Pittsburgh.

- Saw a bit of why my Consultant Sister loves West Virginia.

- Exceeded my birthday week expectations thanks to some amazing Zeta Sigma sisters at the College of Charleston.

- Met an incoming 2012-13 LC at Virginia Tech and became instant bffs. Her excitement reminded me why I do this!

* Relished in all things Spring Break...sleeping in my own bed, home cooked meals, watching the news, finally drinking coffee for the first time since February.



Life. Is. Good.

I can't believe that it's been 48 days since I've been home. It has been a whirlwind month and a half! Since January 3rd alone, I have been to 6 states, made 3 chapter visits, was a part of the initiation and installation of our newest chapter, and attended 2 District Leadership Conferences!

As I thought about all of the places that I had been during my flight home, it reminded me how truly blessed I am. Here's a very brief recap of the past month and a half to help show you why...

This was my first visit to Ohio and, I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical. The frozen North? Yikes. But boy did this amazing chapter change my mind about Ohio in a hurry. The wonderful women of Eta Epsilon made my first visit of 2012 one that I will always hold close to my heart. If you're Greek and you've never heard of Miami University, you're really missing out. The university's history handout even refers to it as the "Mother of Fraternities." Reason being, four fraternities and two sororities were founded here. The tall columns and brick buildings reminded me so much of The South.

Plus, check out their set of wooden letters. Could they be any more ADPerfect?





I woke up one morning while I was at Chico and realized that I was at my last Formal Recruitment as a 2011-2012 Leadership Consultant. Woah. I still don't think that I have fully processed that realization, but this was surely a good one to go out on! The ladies of Eta Rho chapter are pheomenal. They also educated me on the difference between Southern California and Northern California since it was my first time in the state. Apparently the most important thing I need to know is that in Northern California people say "hella" and they don't in "SoCal"...dually noted.
I felt much more prepared this go round at a DLC, but I felt a little apprehensive considering I had only made one chapter visit in District V last semester. However, that feeling did not last long at all. The lovely ladies of District V (and my fabulous Consultant Sister, Brett Patterson!) made me feel so welcome all weekend and their spirit was contagious! Between watching cheers, Twitter challenges, and dance parties -- from chapters and Recruitment Directors :) -- I can honestly say that I had a blast! I even scored a t-shirt from a sweet Texas sister...thanks, Kelly! (Delta chapter is still on my chapter visit wish list :)...) 

I can't believe that I leave tomorrow to begin my second semester traveling as a Leadership Consultant for Alpha Delta Pi!! I think that I type it all out to make it seem more real. Even months later, it still seems too good to be true. Now that the cat's out of the bag (I've emailed all of the important people to give them a heads up) I can tell you my full schedule for the month of January. First and foremost (as you already know if you read this post) I will be visiting the Eta Epsilon chapter at Miami University in Oxford, OH. Getting this email on my phone made. my. day.

Following what I know will be a phenomenal Formal Recruitment at Eta Epsilon I will be keeping my recruitment shoes on to visit...
To make me even more excited for this visit, I watched these videos that I found on their Inter-Sorority Council website. Such a great idea to help prepare PNMs (and apparently Consultants) for what Formal Recruitment is like at UVA.
Snaps to their Panhellenic!

As if things couldn't get any better in January, I get to be reunited with two of my other Consultant sisters at our colony to prepare for their big initiation and installation weekend at...

It looks like 2012 is already off to a great start! So excited to see what God has in store for this new year.

The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.  -Psalm 121:8

I love having that "me time" on Saturday mornings to sleep in, sip my coffee, and catch up on reading articles.  Today I found myself reading the 2011 National Panhellenic Conference Annual Report which you can find here.  Not too long, and definitely worth the read.

Five months into this position as a Leadership Consultant, I have learned so much about Alpha Delta Pi, Greek life, and myself.  One of the things I find myself most grateful for at the end of this year is the Panhellenic mindset which I have finally begun to understand.  Our NPC values are "...committed to relationships built on trust through transparency, accountability and mutual respect, innovation and our core values of friendship, leadership, service, knowledge, integrity and community..."

At the end of the day, we are all Greeks...and together we truly can accomplish so much more.  In 2010-2011 alone --

NPC Statistics
-3,031 undergraduate chapters representing 26 groups
-285,543 undergraduate members
-105,617 new members
-4,292,824 initiated members
-3,955 alumnae associations in U.S. and other countries
-655 campuses in the United States and Canada

College Panhellenics (422 of 566 reporting)
-909,065 volunteer hours devoted to philanthropic efforts
-908,905 hours donated to community service by College Panhellenic associations
-$3,327,108.41 raised from philanthropic events
-566 College Panhellenic associations

If you are a Greek woman, I'm sure you have already seen this video...but it's always worth mentioning again, just in case someone reads this who hasn't.  Absolutely worth the three minutes out of your day it will take to watch.

Now, what are you going to do in 2012 to help us reach "our" potential?

 -Jane H. Sutton
NPC Chairman 2011-2013

Each year, Leadership Consultants typically collect something on the road during their year of travel.  In the past, Consultants have collected everything from Christmas ornaments to Tervis Tumblers, t-shirts, postcards, and I'm sure many other things.  I decided to collect charms at every visit, so that by May I would have a full bracelet to forever represent this amazing year.  When I got home for the holidays, my sister (who has recently taken up jewelry making as a hobby) graciously offered to attach all of the charms I collected this semester to my bracelet.  This was no easy task as some of the "charms" weren't even charms -- they were earrings, lapel pins, necklaces, etc.  Not every school store carries charms, so I had to get a little creative.

I am still missing a few charms (Florida Southern, Furman, and Tulane) but have ordered all of them except for Tulane (if you know where I can find a Green Wave charm, please let me know).  I also still really want to order an ear of corn as my last charm for the semester -- although the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is already represented already on my bracelet, I visited our chapter there (Alpha Epsilon!!) three times this semester and think they deserve to be represented more than once.  Plus, I will always think of an ear of corn first and foremost when I think of Nebraska...Who doesn't?
As my next semester as a Leadership Consultant quickly approaches, I can't wait to see what charms I will add to complete my bracelet!