Alpha Phis across the nation and at the Beta Mu chapter here at The University of Alabama thrive on five values: Sisterhood, character,
service, scholarship and loyalty. The common ground that all five of these
values have is leadership. Alpha Phi offers each member a chance to proclaim their leadership
through a program called, emerging leaders institute, commonly known as ELI. ELI
joins at Butler University in Indiana to help Alpha Phis learn how to be an
effective leader and also allows all the sisters to come together from across
the country and even Canada!
The Beta Mu chapter
was lucky enough to send four of our amazing sisters to experience ELI! Paige
Trotter, president of the Beta Mu chapter, Sara Lyerly, VP of Risk Management,
Allison Floyd, VP of Chapter Operations and Geordan Saindon. It changed each of
their lives for the best and has helped open doors to bigger and better things! Paige Trotter explained that ELI is what encouraged her to run for Chapter President because of the resources, community, and support she got there. The girls not only learned how to become the best leader possible but they had
fun while doing it! Geordan Saindon stated, “Each night there’s a fun activity
like the talent show where you get to bond with everyone that’s there and there
was always two desserts.” Allison Floyd also had the time of her life stating,
“We all couldn’t help but think this was going to be a long five days…it turned
out those five days weren’t long enough.” From all of the meetings the women
had to all of the fun filled activities and socializing the girls were
exhausted but were absorbing the information they were given like a sponge.
Saindon said, “They go into intense details about things such as ritual and
initiation, and it was interesting because there’s so much meaning behind it
all that you would never know about.” As each day went on the meetings began getting
deeper and deeper as you get closer to your sisters from different chapters;
Floyd had mentioned that, “it wasn’t the activities or the power points that
made us better leaders, it was getting to know each other on a personal level
and listening to one another’s points of view.” Saindon agreed with this
statement completely and talked about one of the most life changing experiences
with the ELI program, when they had to complete a high ropes course that helped
each woman conquer their fears and had to trust their sisters at the end to let
go.
Each Beta Mu member
had an extremely positive experience at ELI and became a great leader. Each
individual who attended has come back home to Tuscaloosa and benefited our
chapter in positive ways! Sara Lyerly talked about how amazing her experience
was and how she was shocked how quickly she bonded with the other Alpha Phis
stating, “Whenever I have a question about anything or want to visit another
school I know I can call on the girls I met at ELI for anything!” Saindon
followed up saying, “As soon as I got home I began missing the awesome girls I
got to meet, and I still keep in touch with the majority of them!” All four of
the Beta Mu girls who attended ELI said it was a life changing experience and
highly recommend it to any Alpha Phi! Applications for Summer 2014 will be
available mid-December through the link provided below.
