Emilie Elizalde
Las Vegas, NV
Criminal Justice and Paralegal Studies Major
Leadership Track
Strengthening Scholarship
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I served as the Director of Academics for the Alpha Phi Sorority from Fall 2017 to Fall 2018. My EDGE project was focused on revitalizing this position in order to make it easier on members to send in their grade checks and to make this position more organized. In the past, there was no structured way of members to send in their grades, it just depended on who was in that position at the time. In order to create consistency, I have created a google drive account dedicated to all things academic for our chapter. Whether it was sending in grades, tracking study hours, or having a formal way of communication between members, it was all in one place!
During my time as Director, I had several goals that I wanted to accomplish. First was the tracking system in order to track everyone’s study hours for the week. This was done by creating a running google sheet. The next was to update our chapter’s bylaws. I was able to assist in raising the GPA requirement to a 3.0 from a 2.8. The next was to reward members who have shown academic excellence. I was able to give out goodie bags for those who were above a 3.7 GPA for the semester. Overall, I had a great time improving our chapter and making sure academics were a top priority for members in Alpha Phi!
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Recruitment Week 2018
When I first joined Alpha Phi in the Fall of 2017, I remember being overwhelmed with all of the information that was given to my pledge class and I. We had to submit service hours, grade checks, and other things to different people. It was difficult to remember them all and adjust to the changes when each semester came. I noticed that when someone left their position, the person that replaced usually changed how the processes were done. This caused confusion in not only new members, but active members as well. I wanted to change that or at least lessen the confusion. My mission was to create an easier way for members to submit grades and have a place where it can remain consistent for many years.
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During this project I faced multiple challenges. The most significant challenges were making sure that everyone was checking in to study hours and tracking the hours correctly. While I requested for members to check in with me in person, a lot of people either couldn’t do the hours that I set up or simply forgotten to check in or out. Members would text me the hours they completed and this created a struggle for being able to track them accurately. In order to try and fix it, I made myself available during different hours of the day as well as get some of the Executive Council to host hours as well. I created a google calendar of the hours and who would be available during that time that was updated weekly. I made sure to update my tracking system weekly and contact those who were under the hours to see what I could work out with them.
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Through this project, the main goal was to organize the position. As I left this position, it was easier to transition the next Director and let her know what worked, what didn’t, etc. I did not leave her in the dark as to how the position worked because it was all organized before hand. Since I have organized it, she is able to do more creative things with her position instead of worrying about how to track grades. She is able to link people with the same majors together so they can have a study buddy and she is able to reward members!
While I was the Director of Academics, I had the opportunity to take initiative and create this position into what I wanted to. It gave me the freedom of being creative, which is something I am not used to doing or take pride in. I enjoyed coming up with my own version of how I think the position should be ran and I received great support. Another thing that I learned was how to stand my ground. Some members weren’t too fond of having a GPA increase or mandatory study hours but I knew in the long run, that these expectations were there to help. I learned how to make sure that members were being held accountable to the expectations and being there as a resource to help them out.
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Encouraging Note handed to members!
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Spring 2018 Journal Reflection:
“Today, I was able to reward members who did well in the Fall Semester, so to those who were above a 3.7 GPA. I made goodie bags and I attached an encouraging note. I didn’t expect to get such a positive response! Members were surprised by the gift and it meant so much because something so little was appreciated. It made me feel good as to what I was doing and I knew I wanted to continue to reward members for working hard. I realized that even though we are here for our education, it is always good to feel recognized for our work.”
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