How Alpha Gamma Delta Influenced My Career Path

The following is an excerpt from a scholarship application letter to the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation. It details how I have integrated the Alpha Gamma Delta Purpose into my life and how it has influenced my career choice by mirroring it with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. 

              "As Alpha Gams we are regularly told to “Live with Purpose.” I have taken this to heart and incorporated it into my current field of study and lifelong career goals. I am a social work graduate student at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. As most Americans are aware, my state, and Detroit in particular, has been hit very hard by the economic recession. In order to honor my home, I have chosen to be a change agent where I live. Homelessness, unemployment, sickness, hunger, and high crime rates are just a few of the social problems facing my home today. As a social worker, I will seek to soothe the pain of hunger, ease the burden of joblessness, advocate for healthcare for the sick and raise awareness of crime rates and homelessness. In addition to contributing to the world’s work in my community, I also seek to improve the health of my fellow Detroiters through individual therapy and advocacy.

The National Association of Social Workers has set forth a list of six core values that all social workers must adhere to. These core values include service, social justice, preserving the dignity and acknowledging the worth of the person, acknowledging the importance of human relationships and maintaining integrity and competence. Based on these core values, an entire Code of Ethics has been written. When I see these values and the Code of Ethics, I can see plainly the similarities between these documents and the Alpha Gamma Delta Purpose. 

Being a competent social worker involves gaining understanding and knowledge so that I might be of the most help to my clients. It also involves networking and cultivating acquaintances with colleagues so that I will be aware of resources in my community. Truth, sincerity and kindness are all necessary to developing and maintaining healthy and constructive client relationships. Surely when Emily Helen Butterfield wrote the Purpose, she had high hopes for her community. It is a happy coincidence that I, a sister of the Fraternity she helped to start, should be continuing to act on these values in her own home community of southeast Michigan long after her passing. The ideals set forth by the Alpha Gamma Delta Purpose and the NASW Code of Ethics are high indeed and must be realized to their fullest meaning in order to be an effective social worker and loyal sister." 

Do you have a "purpose," special Bible verse or other creed close to your heart that has shaped your course in life?

Keeping Up Appearances

As I might have mentioned before, I am a Recruitment Specialist for Alpha Gamma Delta. My Provinces are 21 and 22, which means I oversee recruitment for the 7 chapters in Michigan's lower peninsula. This weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the Zeta Sigma chapter at Northwood University. What an outstanding group of women! I had such fun and I think we all learned a lot.

One of the universal topics that comes up during recruitment is "image." The chapter's image, each sisters personal image and the type of reputation the group has. Of course, being visible on campus, participating in campus events and other student organizations and always being well groomed and presentable come up as ways to achieve and maintain a positive "image."

As a visiting Recruitment Specialist, I like to do a combination of observing the chapter while they have their own discussions while jumping in and facilitating where necessary. As I was listening, I was also applying this concept of "image" to my own newly-begun professional life. This is just one more place where being Greek gives us an edge up over non-Greeks - everybody hears how important it is to clean up your online presence and dress appropriately, but few can actually see in action just how important those "silly" things really are!

I am currently working for a domestic violence and sexual assault agency. I did an internship there last academic year and now am working there part time as a paid employee. I love the agency, I love my co-workers and I am passionate about our mission and philosophy. I hope to be employed there for a long time! I am grateful that I made such an impression on my supervisor who helped me get this job; without her, I would probably still be unemployed and wondering how I was going to pay for my gas and books this semester!

So how does a chapter's image during recruitment relate to my personal work life? Well, even though I would like to be employed there for a long time, it might not work out that way. A full time position that I'm qualified for may not be available when I graduate. It might not pay what I need in order to make my loan payments as well as every day expenses. In this case, I would need to find another position.

Like in Greek life, being in the field of social work, human services and mental health means being in a professional community where everybody talks and has to work together. Your reputation (or that of your agency) often precedes you. The more things you are positively involved in and the more constructive interactions you have with a variety of people, the better. This is why maintaining a professional yet friendly demeanor, appropriate dress and behavior is so important - particularly for those of us just entering the workforce. The Millennials have challenges previous generations never dreamed of: we are often over-educated, underpaid, inexperienced and vying for positions people with 20-30 years of experience are also trying to secure - all while shouldering crushing student loan debt, trying to keep our chins up and our of our parents' way (many of us are living at home well into our 30's...).

But we have one thing on these experienced (often) Baby Boomers: We have not had 30 years to get into trouble. If we can keep our image sparkling clean and our reputation spotless, it can really give us an edge. We already have a bit of a reputation (true or not) of wanting everything to be handed to us. If we can show employers that we are hard workers, professional, responsible and trustworthy, we can show them that as inexperienced but motivated employees, they can mold us to the workers they want in order to achieve the results they desire within their organizations.

So what it comes down to is this: Whether you are a Greek organization trying to attract new members, new members trying to get into a fraternity or sorority, or a new professional it is important to remember this: your reputation precedes you. If what people see and know of on the outside isn't shining, they won't take the time to get to know what great things you have to offer on the inside.

Do you have any examples of where a reputation (good or bad) really had an impact on a group or individual?* 

*If it is negative, please change the person/groups name out of courtesy!

Microvolunteering: Giving Back for the Frazzled Do-Gooder

I am so excited to share with you all this new site I discovered. It's called Sparked.com and it is a "microvolunteering" website. When I first heard of it I thought, "What in the world is microvolunteering?!" It turns out that it is a way for people all over the world to help others - right from your computer! It only takes a couple of minutes to truly have an impact.

When you sign up for an account, you will be given a very brief questionnaire about your talents and the types of causes you're passionate about. Based on your responses, it matches you up with "challenges" from groups who need some type of help. For instance, I included social media as a talent and that I was interested in programs involving youth. I was matched with an organization called Asian Youth Ministries. This group is just getting started and they needed help finding out who were some top influences on Twitter that might be interested in promoting their cause. All I had to do was check out Twitter, then copy and paste the usernames of the best Tweeters I found onto a response board! That's it!

There are so many ways to get involved: helping choose a logo for a new girls school in Africa, creating a recycling program for the Girl Scouts, being a guest-blogger for an environmental group, or even translating short articles in to Portuguese! If you've got a talent and you've got a few minutes, you can truly make a difference. There are nearly 10,000 "challenges" open and in need of microvolunteers. I encourage everyone to take a look at the Sparked.com website - it's a new frontier in volunteering and an easy, quick way to get involved and make an impact!

MIA

[the Alpha Gamma Delta badge & pearls]

I feel I should write a quick post about why I have been MIA for so long: I attended a Convention for my sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, in St. Louis recently. In the days preceding my departure for St. Louis, I was packing bags, buying last minute forgotten items and working. While at the Convention, nearly every hour of my day was planned out for me and I did not even bring my computer with me! Whew! I returned on the evening of July 22nd after about a 10 hour car ride home.

The Convention was outstanding: I got to meet many sisters whom I have only heard over the phone or Skype or emailed back and forth with. They are real people, not just some anonymous person behind a screen somewhere! It also reaffirmed my love for Alpha Gam, our ritual, our sisterhood, our Purpose. For those of who are not Greek and are college-age, I highly encourage at least going through formal recruitment on your campus to see what it's about. I have gotten so many opportunities academically, socially, professionally and personally by being a member of a Greek organization.

Now that I'm off my soapbox about Greek Life, I will say this: I have been working on a new book to review! I was a GoodReads.com First Reads winner and obtained a copy of two pre-print or very newly released books. I'm not going to share the "identity" of the book I am reading right now - I want to reserve my comments until I finish just in case I change my mind. But I will say this: it's a challenge! I am looking forward to finishing it this weekend so I can share with you!

Until then, hang tight! I'm still here - and I'll be back to my usual activity soon!!