I’m writing this as we have just
elected a new President of the United States of America. There are very
polarized feelings of great fear and great hope across the country as this
was a very close election. Our Founders in 1912 were not afforded the rights
women have today, including the right to vote. And while many are concerned
today about women’s rights given the recent turn of events of the election, we
as a sorority should continue to stand for the rights of women by honoring our
past sisters, supporting the present collegians and alumnae, and nurturing the
future of our organization.
The world we live in today is vastly different from
the world our Founders’ experienced in 1912. I don’t think they could have imagined the technological advances we
have made or the issues we are facing as a society. Yet the values they felt were important
enough to base their fledgling organization on, are still important and relevant
to us today. Justice, friendship, and
truth still resonate with our members, both new collegians and more seasoned
alumnae.
We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings at
the University of Michigan. Much of our
growth has occurred quite recently in our history. That success over the years is due, in part,
to the efforts of women who remained involved for many years. Part is due to women who volunteer for the
first time right out of college or perhaps after a gap of 10 or even 20 years
with no involvement. Past Grand Councils
have focused on growing our chapter base, developing a support system for those
chapters, increasing alumnae involvement, professionalizing our National Office
staff and generally bringing us up to speed with the rest of the NPC community. This is the “sandbox” we play in, if you
will. We must continue to strive to be
competitive with other NPC groups or we will cease to exist. In many ways a national sorority is like a
business. We are competing for the women
on our collegiate campuses, mainly with other NPC groups but also with other
organizations in general. If we don’t
have something of value to offer these women, they will choose to spend their
time elsewhere.
I believe we do have something of value to offer women
of all ages and I know you all believe that too or you wouldn’t read this blog,
volunteer your time for Theta Phi Alpha, donate to the Foundation or keep in
touch with other sisters. It’s been said
that managing your problems can only make you good, whereas building your
opportunities is the only way to become great. Yes, we have some problems—every organization does. But, we want to focus on building our
opportunities. Because of the efforts of
our faithful members throughout the years, Theta Phi Alpha is in a very good
place with an exciting future. Grand
Council will be meeting for an extended time in January to celebrate past
accomplishments and determine how to capitalize on our opportunities to
strategically plan for the best interests of the Fraternity. We are all excited and looking forward to
this time together to dream and plan for the future that we have already begun
preparing.
We are all challenged to live our creed in our daily
lives and committing to meaningful opportunities that align with our values. I invite you in the comments below to
celebrate your chapter, your association, or a sister for creating a valuable
Theta Phi Alpha experience for which you are grateful. We should share our successes and pat
ourselves on the back.
Yitbos,
Susan Lee
National President
National President
