FSU Alpha Chi Omega

VP Membership Programming Emma and Sisterhood retreat chair, Emma worked with their advisor and committee to plan the most epic sisterhood retreat! Following an amazing option sleepover and outer banks watch party at the house, nearly 200 sisters arrived at the house to have amazing breakfast to go bags for the ride! (thank you Chef Duski, Chapter Advisor, and committee for putting this together for us) We then loaded the most amazing double decker buses for the trip to Orlando (thanks 5 star) When we arrived we were handed tickets good at both parks – and we were off on a day of adventure! Amazing rides, great food, non-alcoholic butter beer at Hogwarts and countless opportunities for photos and bonding with sisters! We arrived back in town in time to rest to have a productive Sunday before the week starts! Thank you again to Emma and Emma for planning such a great event!

New member Kiersten T who sisters on the Programming committee planned an Outerbanks watch party and sisterhood sleepover at the chapter house the night before the sisterhood retreat! The group had all the snacks, thanks to Chef Duski! The night was a blast and the sisters were able to spend quality time before the retreat!

The ladies of Alpha Chi Omega celebrated Chinese New Year! Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. We celebrated on January 22nd. Members received red envelopes at chapter – They are a traditional gift for children or elderly people during Chinese New Year. In China, the red envelope (money) is called ya sui qian (压岁钱 /yaa sway chyen/), which means ‘suppressing Sui [the demon]money’. Those who receive a red envelope are wished another safe and peaceful year. In lieu of money we provided inspirational quotes and messages about the meaning. We then worked with our chef, Duski to have a traditional meal. The chapter also invited members of the FSU Community (graduate and PHD students) who would be facilitating at Alpha Chi Omega Leadership Academy to the chapter house to join then for the meal (Sweet and Sour Chicken or shrimp, with rice, egg rolls and potstickers – dessert was orange Sherbert) and to get to know the leaders who would be traveling to Leadership Academy with them!

Leadership Academy is Alpha Chi Omega’s premier training for newly elected chapter presidents and executive board officers. Held annually, the weekend training combines innovative learning sessions with sisterhood to inspire new officers as they take on leadership positions in their chapters.  

Alpha Chi Omega is excited to host chapter presidents, vice presidents risk management, vice presidents new member education and vice presidents membership programming at Leadership Academy 2023. 

The Greek Leadership Summit is a 3-day leadership retreat held each year. Attendees will participate in leadership development activities and have in-depth conversations about current issues in the FSL community. Chapter presidents and council executive board members are required to attend. This year the event took place, the first weekend of the spring semester. Chapter President Leah was able to attend and represent Alpha Chi Omega .

This past week the three spring new members received their big sisters! It was a memorable day for all and we are so happy our Alpha Chi Families have grown a tad bigger!

Over the weekend, the Alpha Chi Omega National collegiate growth team enjoyed spending time with VPs recruitment, VPs recruitment information, and VPs public relations and marketing during Collegiate Growth Academy. Beta Eta Members, Maddy, Zoe and Julia attended. It was a great weekend filled with connection, leadership, growth and fun. CGA is part of the Real. Strong. Women. Experience, allowing Alpha Chi Omega to act on its commitment to provide structured programming and a community environment where members can live and grow as real, strong women.  Collegiate Growth Academy includes large-group keynotes, educational sessions specific to each officer role and breakout discussions – in addition to plenty of sisterhood time and fun with Alpha Chi Omega leaders from chapters across the country! 

Step Afrika is a professional stepping company, that blends dance styles practiced historically by African American fraternities and sororities, traditional African dances, and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into one show. They integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation to make their performances unique and entertaining.

We had the opportunity to ask member Kylie about the performance, and she shared ” Attending Step Afrika was a unique experience that I really enjoyed. Step Afrika did an amazing job at explaining the history of stepping on college campuses, and helped me build an appreciation for this art form. It was really amazing to see the Florida State community, and all 4 councils come out and support the show!”

To recognize Black History Month, sisters came together to watch Hidden Figures, a film focused on African-American women and their contributions to the US Space Program.

Sisters had the opportunity to share their thoughts and big takeaways from the film. Sister Isabella shared, “the women supported each other and helped each other in the struggle, if you push for/ really want something you will achieve it no matter the obstacles, and it takes courage and resilience being a woman of color in the 60s in order to be taken seriously.”

Another sister shared, a few things I learned from this movie was the effect of the Jim Crow laws on black Americans lives and how it made them feel like they weren’t even real humans. I learned how important it is that we treat everyone equally and not make assumptions or stereotype people based on how they look or their skin color. I also loved how this movie focused heavily on women’s rights and how women are just as capable as men to achieve all their goals! This was a really cool and impactful movie to watch.”

Hillel members Halle, Eric, and Kale came to Alpha Chi Omega to share Hamantaschen cookies and the historical significance behind them. Halle, the Vice President of Greek Life engagement spent Saturday morning baking the cookies with Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion- Anna. Halle brought the baked cookies to Alpha Chi and sisters (and even our servers stayed) to decorate them with various toppings. Halle and the other Hillel representatives shared the story behind the cookies- Purim.

The name of the cookie, Hamantaschen, actually refers to the villain in the story of Purim, Haman. The cookies are triangular shaped, representing Haman’s ears, as the name Hamantaschen means ‘Haman’s ears’ in Hebrew. Halle explained the significance of Purim and why it is important to the Jewish faith. Sisters enjoyed a fun evening of conversation, education, and cookie decorating!!