As West Chester students settled into the routine of the spring semester, four leaders of the fraternity and sorority community hopped on a plane to partake in a conference with 3,000 other leaders.
From Feb. 7 to 10, four delegates and two advisors of the fraternity and sorority community traveled to Indianapolis for the Central Fraternal Leadership Conference hosted by the Association of Fraternal Leadership Values and the National Black Greek Leadership Conference.
According to their website, the Association of Fraternal Leadership & Values (AFLV) exists to stimulate the growth and development of fraternity/sorority leaders by promoting leadership, education, and values based experiences.
Alexis Townsend and Angelina Reiher (Panhellenic Council), Jared Epstein (Interfraternity Council), and Richard Gonzalez (Black & Latino Greek Council) were fortunate enough to attend this conference, each representing their rightful council, along with Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life advisors Cara Jenkins and Meghan Gaffney.
This four-day conference consisted of early mornings and long nights filled with educational sessions. Each morning started off with a different keynote speaker. The keynote speakers were honest with their presentations, especially Campus Speak speaker David Stollman, who spoke about accountability in chapters. After the morning keynotes, attendees could attend their sessions based on interest. Special programs, like an Affiliation Luncheon, allowed all members to interact with brothers and sisters from chapters across the nation.
“The greatest thing is meeting those from other schools…[it] was [an] inspiration,” said Reiher. The leaders also returned to campus with a long list of potential speakers and presentations for future fraternity and sorority programming.
Gaffney said, “I was excited to see them share ideas with other members and imagine what the experience could be like at West Chester. I know our delegates will make a difference.”
Jennifer Bowers is a second-year student majoring in business marketing. She can be reached at JB758558@wcupa.edu.