F O U N D AT I O N
Preparing Pi Phi Leaders for the Real World I was speaking in front of hundreds of people,” Kelley says. “I was having difficult conversations and influencing members who were only a year or two younger than myself. You cannot learn those skills in a classroom, and you don’t learn those skills in corporate America until you have five to 10 years under your belt.”
From left: Florida Alpha JACQUELINE NUGENT FLAKE, New York Delta LAUREL KRUKE, Kentucky Alpha MAGGIE IBRAHIM-TANEY, Florida Alpha KATE TAYLOR, Virginia Zeta AMANDA KIRPITCH and Kelley.
As a U.S. Solution Assessments Lead at Microsoft, Tennessee Gamma KELLEY GOLDEN knows the real-world value and impact of fraternity and sorority involvement. Kelley has witnessed how Pi Phi prepares young leaders for the workforce and she notes that some of the strongest potential candidates come from the fraternal community. “People who were involved in the fraternity and sorority community, and especially those who held a leadership position, know how to build relationships and have a social IQ that is oftentimes missing in a professional environment,” she says. Looking back at her collegiate experience, it’s no wonder Kelley found the success she has today. She was the only freshman on the University of Tennessee’s Panhellenic Council and finished her time in Knoxville as Panhellenic President. Kelley was involved in a variety of campus organizations—opportunities she wouldn’t have been exposed to if not for her involvement in the fraternity and sorority community. Kelley’s Panhellenic involvement eventually propelled her to apply for the Leadership Development Consultant (LDC) Program where she experienced the impact of Pi Phi’s leadership programming firsthand. “At 22 years old,
28
The nine-month experience had a powerful impact on Kelley and wouldn’t have been possible without financial support from Pi Beta Phi Foundation. “Based on everything I learned as a consultant, I felt like I was five years ahead of my peers when I came out of the LDC program,” she says. “When you look at what you can achieve in your career because of these leadership programs—especially for students who really want to participate and grow— the impact is obvious. No matter what field you enter, you’re going to have skillsets that set you apart. We need to continue offering leadership programming for the next generation; I think we’d be doing a disservice to our members if we didn’t.” Several years after her time in the LDC program, Kelley stepped into action and established a Chapter Leadership Education Expendable (CLEE) Fund for North Carolina Delta—the chapter she supported as a second-year Resident LDC. CLEE Funds provide financial support for chapter members to attend Pi Phi leadership training opportunities such as Pi Beta Phi Leadership Institute or College Weekend and can also be used to provide leadership education for an entire chapter. Kelley notes that newer chapters don’t always have funds to provide From left: Kelley and Grand Vice President Fraternity Growth ANA MANCEBO MILLER at the California Omicron Chapter Installation.
