Episode 11: The Importance of Ritual with Dr. Mari Ann Callais

As a follow up to Dr. Callais' guest blog, "Ritual - Why Then? Why Now?, I spend some time chatting with Mari Ann on the importance of living our Ritual today more than ever before. Some may say that parts of our conversation are controversial and we are both ok with that. I hope it allows some deeper thinking about the promises we made when we first became members of our organizations and how we can challenge one another, years later, to still live up to those promises. We put out a call to action for our fraternity and sorority leadership to step outside of their comfort zone. Spend time with us as we share our thoughts, feelings and questions on how our Rituals impact our daily lives.

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Episode 10: Title IX Regulations, Recommendations, and Updates

Sarah Harring has a background working as an advocate for those who may have experienced sexual misconduct and she now works as a Title IX staff member. Join me as Sarah shares some updates, recommendations, and regulations, as well as what our campuses may be able to expect in the coming months.

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Episode 9: Interview with Emily Patterson - A COVID Conversation

Today I interview Emily Patterson who is a Kappa Delta alumna from Westchester University. She shares her experience as a founding member of her chapter and what life was like on campus and in her chapter during the height of the COVID pandemic.

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Episode 8: The History of Sororities

As we celebrate Women's History Month, I wanted to share the history of sororities and how courageous and powerful our founders truly were.

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Episode 7: Interview with Dr. Steven Veldkamp, Director of Piazza Center at Penn State

I have been intrigued by the Piazza Center at Penn State since its inception several years ago. The work the Center has done captured my interest originally when I began my own dissertation research on fraternity and sorority life. Reaching out to Dr. Veldkamp finally gave me the opportunity to gather new and exciting information about the Center, what plans they have coming up, and how to become more involved with their work. This podcast is informative and educational in nature, specifically regarding the current and upcoming research the Center is working though - it is an exciting time for sure! Take a few minutes to listen and hear about the research plans on educational outcomes of fraternity/sorority membership and how they may compare to outcomes of our institutions of higher education. Dr. Veldkamp also shared how institutions and headquarters can get involved in the Center's current research methods. Happy listening, friends!

Feel free to check out all of the amazing things the Center has going on, how to get involved, or how to donate at https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/piazzacenter/about

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Episode 6: Presidential Leadership Academy at Penn State University

I had the opportunity to spend some time at Penn State for the past few days. I was able to meet and spend some class time with students that are in the Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA) here at Penn State. Melissa Doberstein is the Director of the PLA and has worked at Penn State since 2002. Melissa and I met originally when we worked together in Residence Life. Melissa provides information on how PLA originally got started, what the goals of the program are, how it has grown, and some of the things that the program plans to offer in the future. 

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Episode 5: College Students & Mental Health, Part II

Moving along to Part 2 of our College Students and Mental Health, we speak with another current college student and a parent of a college student who has worked with her student to address her mental health needs. Continue our journey through their eyes on how to uncover signs and symptoms and ways to appropriately manage mental health situations.

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Episode 4: College Students & Mental Health, Part 1

We are seeing more and more mental health issues on our campuses and within our organizations. In this podcast we speak with a current college student and a Fraternity/Sorority Advisor. Both share their experiences with mental health, whether it is assisting students when they need it most or how to take the best care of yourself throughout some challenging mental health experiences. Take a journey through their eyes on how to uncover signs and symptoms and ways to appropriately manage mental health situations.

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Episode 3: Recruitment Experiences from Alumna, Sarah Iaquinta, M.A.

As recruitment is occurring around the U.S., we wanted to offer the perspective of alumna of Pi Beta Phi, Sarah Iaquinta. Sarah shares her experiences as a Potential New Member going through recruitment, as well as some of her experiences learning about formal recruitment as a collegiate member of her chapter. Finally, shares some of her alumna experience, as well as offering some advice to chapters as they go through formal recruitment this fall.

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Episode 2: Defining Brotherhood & Sisterhood

When we consider the true definition of brotherhood and sisterhood, we can certainly come up with examples to showcase what we have experienced. Research has been conducted to help us have a better understanding how our collegiate members define brotherhood and sisterhood. This episodes provides some information on that research and takes it a little further on how we can utilize that information as we continue to prepare for upcoming recruitment efforts.

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