ELI Retreat

Recently, Alpha Phi sent Sara Montini to the Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI) Retreat on behalf of LMU Alpha Phi. The ELI retreat is a five day intensive opportunity for freshman and sophomore women to better define their voice, identify their leadership skills and abilities, and learn how to make practical changes for their chapters and communities. Emerging leaders who attend the Institutes receive a full scholarship funded by the Alpha Phi Foundation that includes all travel, lodging and meals at the Institute.

As a result of participating in the Alpha Phi Emerging Leaders Institute, girls will:

• ·      Clarify, articulate and apply the Alpha Phi values of leadership, service, sisterhood, loyalty, intellectual development, and character development. Through this process they will learn how to lead with authenticity, integrity, and confidence.
• ·      Practice their leadership skills so they may serve as effective students, leaders, and citizens within their communities. Collegians will recognize leadership as an inherently relational process of working together to create positive change and be able to apply relational leadership to their current role within Alpha Phi.
• ·      Know the history associated with women's leadership. In addition, collegians will be able to articulate the obstacles associated with women's assent to top leadership positions and know strategies for navigating around these obstacles.
• ·      Build a strong community of support for their personal self and learn how to create a team committed to common goals.
• ·      Strengthen effective communication skills so they may create healthy relationships with others.
• ·      Discover and articulate their personal core values and know that living a values grounded life is living a life of integrity.
• ·      Develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the Alpha Phi Ritual.

Sara Montini said of the trip, “The emerging leadership institute is in Indianapolis at butler university for alpha phis across the country. It's a week long program where you bond with each other, learn leadership skills, and share information about your own chapter with others. You learn a lot and grow as a person and grow closer to the 50 other girls! I've made a lot of good friends from all over  that I never would've met if it wasn't for this program.”

Philanthopy: APHIASCO!

Our biggest philanthropy event is coming up this Saturday, APHIASCO! In 1996, the Zeta Beta chapter of LMU Alpha Phi organized the first inaugural Aphiasco event, a live and silent auction benefiting the Alpha Phi Foundation, an organization that has supported women’s cardiac health. Inspired by the success of Aphiasco, the majority of Alpha Phi chapters across the country have adopted similar events as integral parts of their philanthropic efforts – our chapter is so proud to have created an event that has been able to support finding a cure for women’s cardiac disease, and The Heart Institute at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Our Zeta Beta chapter continues to be one of the top contributing Alpha Phi chapters, collectively raising over $500,000 in support of the Alpha Phi Foundation. Aphiasco is an inspiring evening that continues to make a huge difference in cardiac care through CHLA and The Alpha Phi Foundation. Last year, we made over $52,000 through Aphiasco, more than all the sororities on campus combined! We are very proud of our success through this philanthropy.

Here’s the website for our Aphiasco Philanthropy Event:

http://www.lmuaphiasco.com/

Speaking of philanthropies, this year we started a new philanthropy, DANCE MARATHON! LMU Dance Marathon is Alpha Phi’s fall philanthropy supporting the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. At this dance marathon, participants dance their hearts out for some truly incredible kids! LMU's Dance Marathon includes entertainment from the entire LMU community, including student dance crews, singers and DJ's, as well as special guests from CHLA. Dance Marathon is a nation wide philanthropy event that has collectively raised $62 million dollars for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and we are honored to have the opportunity to bring such an amazing event to LMU. At the 2014 Dance Marathon, the event raised $8,545 for The Heart Institute at CHLA. We look forward to continuing this incredible event supporting the children at CHLA.

Finding Sisterhood!

Alpha Phi is full of sisterhood opportunities, from trips to the movies, to Aphiasco, to Dance Marathon, to spa days. Wherever there is Alpha Phi's, there will be love and fun times to remember. Brinn Abbate, a Sophomore Theatre and Communications double major with a dance minor, has a few words to say about her amazing time in Alpha Phi so far:

"My favorite part about Alpha Phi is how I am comfortable to be myself around any of the girls in the chapter, whether that's with makeup or without, at school or at home, or in my pajamas! I loved doing Dance Marathon this year because I got to be with all my sisters, jumping around, yelling, and being crazy... And it was totally normal!"

We can't forget one of the most important aspects of Alpha Phi! Bigs and Littles are one of the coolest things about being in a sorority! Mo Haley, a Sophomore Communications Studies Major, loves her big, Haley Brown!

"My big, Haley Brown, is my best friend! Since the first day this year, we've been attached at the hip. I even went home with her over break to meet her parents and all her old high school friends. She's not only my big, she's my best friend, my future bridesmaid, and my sister."

Welcome Madam President, Andriana!

With the new semester coming up, a new change has happened in our Alpha Phi Chapter! We have a new president, Andriana Ricchiuti, who will be our new leader for 2015! Andriana has a few words on her accomplishment and her plan for Alpha Phi:

“I am extremely honored to follow in the footsteps of the many accomplished leaders of Alpha Phi.  With their mentorship and the support of fellow sisters, I know wholeheartedly that we will advance the mission and uphold the values of Alpha Phi.  Together, we can accomplish meaningful and productive work that positively touches our community.

AOE,

Andriana Ricchiuti

Class of 2016”

Andriana, we are so excited to see where you will take Alpha Phi and can’t wait to get back to school to see the sisterhood! Our president of last year, 2014, spoke wonderfully of her term as president and is excited to pass on the responsibility to Andriana:

“Being the Chapter President for 2013-2014 was a tremendous honor. I learned a lot about myself and am thankful for the executive board I had the pleasure of working with. Before I became President, I had no idea how special the Zeta Beta chapter was not only at LMU, but how unique it is internationally. Although it was bittersweet for me to pass on the gavel, I am extremely confident that our next Lady Superior, Andriana Ricchiuti, will do an outstanding job leading our chapter. Overall, I want to say thank you to my Alpha Phi sisters and Chapter Advisors for giving me love and support throughout my presidency. I am overwhelmed with gratitude from this experience and Alpha Phi will always hold a special place in my heart!

Alpha Phi Love & Mine,

Leilani Mahoney

Class of 2015”

A Summer to Remember by Isabella Cunningham

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”  -Henry Miller

The end of the school year is always a bittersweet time; everyone itching for finals to be over while eagerly waiting for summer days to officially start. But for me, this end was especially bittersweet since I had made the decision to spend the summer in New York City, living in NYU dorms and doing an internship at a production studio in Soho. Being abroad as I was in the fall made me appreciate the genuine and amazing friends I’ve been blessed to know at LMU, while I was gone and especially when I came back. Therefore, coming back to LMU in January, I was very happy to return to these incredible, long-lasting friends. But too quickly, the semester was over.

In May, two days after school ended, I was fortunate enough to travel to Bali with my mom for two weeks. I had been to Bali once before when I was four, so naturally I barely remembered anything besides getting a $5 dollar massage on the beach by four Balinese women who giggled as they each took a limb of my body to massage because I was so tiny.

What I quickly learned is that those $5 massages still exist and the people are just as friendly and warm as I remember. My two weeks were spent exploring the city of Ubud,

biking through the remote towns in the surrounding countryside, and scuba diving at the neighboring island of Gili Trawangan. The people I met and the things I saw on that trip will vividly remain with me forever. The Balinese people are the most amazing and admirable people in the world (or what I’ve seen of it). Hindu by religion, their culture is centered around being the best version of oneself possible, believing in karma and helping and supporting one another no matter the age, job, or social class. The Balinese people welcomed us with open arms, going above and beyond what is customary to make us feel comfortable, giving us more than just material gifts but the most important gift of unconditional hospitality and welcome. For instance, when we left our hotel for only three days to go to Gili T, we came back to find hand-picked flowers arranged into a sign that read, ‘WELCOME HOME’ on our bedroom floor. To them, the people they meet and the friends they make become family, and family is all that matters in life.

Being able to experience an environment of unconditional love and acceptance with such inspiring people is the most refreshing part of my last few months. It was a trip I will never forget and I hope that everyone is able to experience what I saw and did at one point in their lives, because it’ll change his/her perspective on life and what matters most, without a doubt.

Less than a week after I returned home to San Francisco from Bali, I packed my bags and flew out to New York City, where I started my summer internship and moved into my NYU dorm in Union Square.

Since I barely knew anyone in New York, it was a blessing to have two former LMU and Alpha Phi sisters, Jordan and Clare, already living there. These women inspire me, and were my saviors in those first days I arrived and felt like a lost kid at Disneyland. Clare is my grand-big and has remained one of my best friends despite her having graduated and moved to New York two years ago. Upon my arrival, she immediately dropped everything to help me move in, take me to dinner and make me feel at home. Jordan, on the other hand, has been a great inspiration to me (and thousands of others, I’m sure). A passionate health enthusiast and blogger, she was part of some extraordinary events these past two months, and I was able to also support her in some of these awesome experiences.  I saw first-hand how amazing the people I’ve been lucky to know from LMU are. These girls made my summer transition to New York not only easy, but also so much fun. I know they will remain friends of mine forever.

These two months in New York have also been a total whirlwind, and I’ve met some incredible individuals and had some of the best experiences of my life. This city is wonderful and has so much to offer. You find yourself busy all the time. Literally all the time. It was a big and scary decision to move out here for the summer and saying goodbye to my best friends again seemed crazy, but life is all about exploring and discovering everything this vast and complex world of ours has to offer, and sharing those experiences with the people who lift you up and enable you to become a better person. And it doesn’t matter if they’re right there with you or a Skype session away. My friends back at home and I, as I like to say, are always together, never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart!

I absolutely cannot WAIT to get back to LA and be back with all the amazing people I know! 

Emilee Theno: A Reflection from the Emerging Leaders Institute

This past week, I attended the Alpha Phi Emerging Leaders Institute at Butler University. The conference was absolutely incredible and it is by far one of my favorite memories from being in Alpha Phi so far. As cheesy as it sounds, ELI really showed me that joining a sorority is really something that is not just four years but for life. I attended the conference with 49 other girls from all across the United States and Canada, and it was amazing to see how that even though we were all from different chapters, we all bonded so quickly with each other. The first day that we were there, we went to a team building challenge course, and we all had so much fun! It was a great way for us to get to know each other quickly because we had to really depend on one another during all of the activities, and we really became a cohesive support system throughout our time at the challenge course. It was so wonderful getting to hear about other chapters all around the nation because everyone had so many different ideas. I gained so much valuable knowledge from hearing about other girls’ experiences within their own chapters and I made so many wonderful friendships throughout the entire week. 
At the conference, we participated in lectures and discussions on how to refine our leadership skills not only within our chapters, but also throughout all aspects of our lives. We learned about listening skills, how to best deal with confrontation, how to best use our own values within our own leadership roles, and many other topics. We also had a question and answer session with alumnae, which was definitely one of my favorite parts of the week. I really saw how the friendships they built within Alpha Phi, as well as the values that Alpha Phi teaches its members carries on past college graduation. ELI is by far one of my most favorite memories of joining Alpha Phi so far, and I came back with so many great memories and knowledge to share with my own chapter at LMU.