NIC Blog
Tri Delta Sisters Share UIFI Experiences
Tags: Delta Delta Delta, UIFI, Leadership, Ritual, Elevation, Change, Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute
One of the many opportunities offered to Tri Deltas, attendance at the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute (UIFI), gives members the chance to explore, define and enhance their leadership skills.
Each year, Tri Delta awards Eve Woods Riley UIFI Scholarship grants to several undergraduates. Here are some of the comments from past award recipients.
Alisha Lyon
Kansas State University
Not only did UIFI remind me why I joined Tri Delta, it also reminded my why I wanted to be a part of the Greek system at Kansas State in the first place. Beyond that, UIFI taught me how to remind my sisters why they joined Tri Delta and how to help them live by our Purpose. One of the most enjoyable aspects of UIFI for me was simply being surrounded by sorority women and fraternity men that I knew were committed to their organizations. Allowing myself to be enveloped by their positive attitudes and optimistic outlooks for a week made it impossible not to acquire their motivation and enthusiasm for positive change.
Being given the opportunity to attend UIFI is something I could never thank Tri Delta enough for. It has changed my life and surely will change my chapter. I graduated from UIFI as a better leader, woman and sister because of everything I learned and the people I met. I now realize that accountability is vital in organizations such as sororities and that values should always prevail in matters of character.
Sarah Elizabeth Rademaker
University of Michigan
The Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute was an amazing five days where I grew as a sorority leader. UIFI provided me with knowledge, ideas and memories that will be with me for a lifetime. I was taught to look past the "pretty" side of Greek Life and look the issues that plague us. I gained invaluable insight from sorority and fraternity members from across the country, with special help from our experienced facilitators.
Following our purposes and mottos will lead us in the correct direction, in the direction of establishing a perpetual bond of friendship, and developing a stronger and more womanly character; exactly the direction that Sarah Ida Shaw laid out for Delta Delta Delta when she founded it.
I have always had a deep love for my sorority, and in addition, UIFI made me understand just how important Greek Life as a whole is, and how we all need to fight together to make it the best it can be! Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity! I am extremely grateful and will take everything that I have learned back to my chapter.
Katie Buell
University of Wyoming
At UIFI this summer, I learned many things that I can take back to my chapter and my community at the University of Wyoming. The theme of the five days was how to elevate our chapters to the highest level possible. We learned why fraternities and sororities are relevant to today's society and what we can do to keep them that way. We also explored our values, including service, by going out into the Bloomington community and helping out wherever we could. One of the most important discussions we had was about our Ritual, and how to translate what we do inside our chapter rooms to what we do in our every day lives. Overall, it was an amazing experience where I got to meet other sorority and fraternity leaders from across the nation, and we got to learn together how to make our chapters and communities all they can be.
To view the entire post, please visit: https://www.tridelta.org/Document/TheCenter/UIFI_Experiences
Quest for the Future of Greek Life
Tags: Futures Quest, Educational Program, Ritual, Fraternity, Pledge, New Member
Interested in a student participants view of the NIC’s educational program, Futures Quest? Read on…
Written by: Micah Selves
One afternoon this last work term, I received an email about a scholarship available for the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) leadership camp taking place at the beginning or end of our winter break. As I read over the camp's agenda, I thought to myself, "This would probably be a pretty good résumé builder. I've done similar camps; I know what they're like. This stuff is old hat. And why not go? If I get the scholarship, this camp is free!"
I wrote my essay for the scholarship, submitted it and waited for a response. Apparently, I received the last scholarship, placing me in the latter session. I kept in correspondence, made my travel plans and coasted through the rest of work term. I made it through the break without a hitch, looking forward to the camp as a change of pace.
It snowed heavily on the drive down. I was about an hour late at 11:30, due to the road conditions, but still managed to be the fourth participant at the camp site. The others didn't arrive until 3 or 4 pm. While we waited, I got to know the mentors (other Greeks that had been through a similar camp, coming back to teach what they had learned) and administers (the president and vice president of the NIC, as I found out later). I played catch phrase, carpet ball, and euchre with AT?s, ?Xs, ?AEs, B??s, ?XAs, ???s, X?s and so on. The thought of inter-fraternal rivalries didn't even cross my mind.
When the others arrived, we stepped out into the cold wind and stood in a line, side by side, in silence. Someone said a statement. If it was true for you, you would step forward, turn around, stand for a second, and step back. Through this activity, we realized we had our own differences, but that those differences didn't make us any less of a person. At this point, the camp was just like the others I had been to.
The next exercise changed my view of the camp completely. We sat in groups of nine or so, and discussed the meaning of values and morals. Then, we each chose six values that we thought were most important to us. Then, through an epic analogy, we were forced to choose between our values. In the end, I was left with three values: Religion, Family, and Enjoyment. Not to be cliché, but at that moment, my eyes were opened. The three values that remained defined me as a person, and I base all my decisions in life off of them. As each of us sat there, pondering our own values, our mentor made an important comparison:
"Each of your Greek organizations was founded on a particular set of values. As you are defined by these three values, so is your organization defined by its values. You are your fraternity. Your values are your fraternity's values. Your fraternity's values are your values. If you aren't living by those values, hand in your badge."
This basic principle returned many times throughout the camp, but in variations. I discovered that each fraternity, though its values may be slightly different, have basically the same goal. Our organizations have similar problems. We should work together, as Greeks, to solve those problems. If one organization fails, we all fail. The letters we wear on our chest should mean the same to other people as they do to us. Everyone should be able to see our Ritual through our daily lives. In order to do so, we must learn our Ritual, live by example, teach it to our new members, and then expect it from every member of your organization.
At the end of camp, we made a promise to ourselves. One of mine was to bring back what I learned at this camp and teach it to my brothers. Brothers of Delta Tau Delta. Brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha. Brothers of Theta Xi. Brothers of Sigma Nu. Sisters of Alpha Phi. Sisters of Alpha Sigma Alpha.
The last thing that the president of the NIC said to us before we left Futures Quest Leadership Camp was this: "I believe in Fraternity. I believe in Sorority. I believe in Greeks. Do you?"
Micah is a brother in Delta Tau Delta's Epsilon Iota A at Kettering University. He serves as Public Relations chairman for his chapter. To view original post, click here.
UIFI Deadlines Approaching
Tags:
Faciliator and Intern Applications for UIFI are due on Febraury 28!
The deadline for Facilitator and Intern applications for the 2010 Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute is fast approaching. All applications are due on February 28! This is your opportunity to contribute to the premier leadership program for undergraduate fraternity men and sorority women.
To learn more about the role of a UIFI Facilitator and complete an application today, click here
To learn more about the role of a UIFI Intern and complete an application today, click here
For any questions, please contact Will Foran at foran@nicindy.org
