5 minute read
Jump in With Both Feet
BY LAURA KNOBEL (IOTA ALPHA, ALUMNAE INITIATES), ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF LIFETIME ENGAGEMENT
Brandi Peacock (Iota Alpha, Alumnae Initiates) is a lot of things: New Jersey native, Rutgers University alumna, holder of a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, clinical research coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania and hopeful future medical student.
She’s also one of the newest alumnae members of Alpha Chi Omega.
Each year, outstanding women from across the country decide to add Alpha Chi Omega membership to their list of accomplishments, bringing the best of the best into our sisterhood. Seeking membership through the National Alumna Initiate Program (NAIP) can mean stepping outside their comfort zones, but time and again they share that it was worth it.
“On my first meeting with my now alumnae chapter [Pi Pi in Philadelphia] on Founders’ Day, I had a feeling of home amongst a group of women I had never met before,” Brandi shares. “Everyone was so warm and welcoming to me. I knew that this was a feeling I wanted to continue.”
It is that same sense of home and community that welcomes thousands of collegiate new members to their Alpha Chi Omega chapters during recruitment. Whether it’s receiving a warm welcome from sisters at a chapter facility or exploring our mission and vision online, each sister can recall a moment when she felt in her heart that Alpha Chi was the sisterhood for her.
“Researching alumna initiate programs, finding Alpha Chi Omega and seeing ‘Real. Strong. Women.’ in bright scarlet and olive letters finally felt like exactly what I was searching for,” Brandi recalls.
One special benefit to alumna initiation is the opportunity to start giving back to Alpha Chi Omega from day one.
“It was important to me to get involved right away with Alpha Chi because I know joining as an alumna, your experience can be what you make of it,” Brandi says. “I really wanted to dive right in and see what opportunities were available so that I would be able to meet new people and build new connections within the sisterhood.”
And dive right in she did! In her first few months as a member, Brandi applied for and was accepted into the Social Justice Institute (SJI), Alpha Chi Omega’s newest experience for alumnae and collegians who share a passion for domestic violence outreach; community support; and diversity, equity and inclusion.
“I leapt at the opportunity to join SJI because social justice initiatives are a passion of mine and I wanted an opportunity to learn how I could grow into not only a better Alpha Chi but a better woman in general,” she shares.
Brandi also had such a positive experience as an alumna initiate candidate that she decided to give back to the program as a NAIP volunteer. “I had a great time,” she says about her candidate experience. “Working with Loy and Lauran was honestly one of the highlights for me. They always made me feel so at home…they always made time.”
Brandi is referring to NAIP panel members Loy Holt (Iota Alpha) and Lauran Casteel (Epsilon Lambda, The University of Texas at Arlington), two of the volunteers who steward alumna initiate candidates on their journey to initiation. This team of 12 sisters works year-round to meet and interview potential alumnae members, teach these new members all about the history and traditions of our organization, and identify and connect candidates with alumnae to serve as sponsors.
It was clear to the panel from the start that Brandi was a go-getter who would give her all to Alpha Chi. Brandi wrote in her initial application, “I aspire to grow into a real, strong woman by joining this organization and learning from the real, strong women before me.”
Loy and Lauran picked up on Brandi’s energy right away. “From the very beginning of our education with Brandi, she wanted to know everything about Alpha Chi Omega,” Loy recalls. “She especially wanted to know how she could get involved once she was initiated … We are so proud of her jumping right in to volunteer.”
For Brandi, joining NAIP as a panel member was a natural next step to enriching her alumna experience. “Volunteering with NAIP has felt like a truly full circle moment in that I have currently joined the interview panel that played such an integral role in my process in becoming an Alpha Chi,” she explains.
When asked what she would say to women who are considering alumna initiation, Brandi says, “Take the leap, even if you are nervous doing something outside your comfort zone. Joining Alpha Chi was very much outside of my comfort zone, but I couldn’t be happier that I did it and made the friendships that I have been able to make because of it.”
