Month: November 2020

Jane Rosen, an alumna from the Delta Xi chapter at The University of Maryland, published a new book this year! Eliza Starts a Rumor is a story centered around sisterhood. Jane attributes a great deal of what she learned about sisterhood from her undergraduate experience in Delta Phi Epsilon. Reflecting on her experience, she stated “Being in a house with so many different women from all of the country was eye opening -our similarities always far outweighed the differences.” To this day, Jane feels a special bond with her chapter sisters and knows she can depend on them to have her back.

Eliza Starts a Rumor is a fast-paced story of four women coming together to face their pasts and forge their futures. Through sharing their secrets, betrayals and triumphs, they emerge renewed in this joyful celebration of female friendship. Eliza Hunt has a big problem—since her twins left for college she has barely been able to leave her Hudson Valley home. Desperate for connection, she invents a salacious post on a local bulletin board. But is there more truth to it than she knows? Olivia York, a young mom across town, thinks the scandalous story is about her marriage. Alison Le, a single mother navigating life with a newborn in a new town, finds helping Olivia easier than facing her own relationship problems. Amanda Cole, Eliza’s childhood friend, returns from LA amidst her husband’s #MeToo scandal. She may just hold the key to why Eliza can’t leave the house.  All it takes is one rumor, and four lives will never be the same.

The four main characters each bring a different set of life experiences to the book. Jane gained inspiration for the characters from her friends and DPhiE sisters. She stated that she “tapped into aspects of the characters of the women in my own sisterhood. I thought about how they dealt with the ups and downs of their lives, and how much better they handled things when they were able to depend on one another.”

Her inspiration for the begin by wanting to tell a story that dove into the shared female experience. Like many women, Jane spent too much time scrolling through online groups just as in the novel. She stated, “Sometimes I jump on and just get lost in them, sometimes I comment, sometimes I get caught up in an intense back and forth between members, and sometimes I seek out other women’s advice on a topic I need help with.” After connecting with other women in this department, she realized she wasn’t alone. The quick reply and interest in online women’s groups inspired her to write Eliza Starts a Rumor.

The novel is centered around sisterhood, so we asked Jane to share her favorite DPhiE memory:

“ It was the 80’s so we did everything big—big hair, big homecoming floats, big football games, big theme parties and crush parties and formals. It all began with a big pledge night where the pledge class was sent on a massive scavenger hunt in the DC area while the sisters prepared the house. I was part of the group sent to Georgetown where we were instructed, amongst other things, to get our hair sprayed purple and our make-up done at a famous punk rock store, Commander Salamander. On our way home our car died right in front of the White House. With nowhere else to go we went to the gate and asked for help. At this point we were late and as you can imagine, that was our biggest concern. We forgot all about our punk rock hair and make-up. The Marines that stood guard were quick to remind us and even called up the then Vice-president George Bush to take a look at the crazy co-ed’s with purple hair. They put our car in press parking, got us a cab and even wrote us a note on White House stationary for our pledge captain explaining why we were late. If I remember correctly, they weren’t impressed!”

For sisters who dream of writing their own book, Jane encourages you to “write your first draft like no one is reading it and don’t stop until you are done.Then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. And then show it to one of your sisters for an honest opinion!”

Jane’s novel can be purchased anywhere books are sold, but she has partnered with her local bookstore, McNally Jackson, which can be purchased here. Any purchases made from McNally Jackson will receive a signed copy of the book along with a special Join The Sisterhood pin while supplies last!

Join us in January for The Eliza Starts a Rumor Book chat with DPhiE alumnae and author, Jane L Rosen.

Sorority sisters are like family. This is especially true for the Neuburger family! Ann Neuburger, is an alumna of the Epsilon Iota chapter at The State University of New York College of Geneseo, initiated both of her daughters through the alumnae initiate program. Daughter, Erica, was initiated at the 2018 International Leadership Forum in Buffalo NY. Ann’s second daughter, Melissa, was initiated virtually this Fall virtually!

The alumnae initiate program is an opportunity for sisters to share the gift of sisterhood with a daughter, mother, sister, cousin or friend that did not have the opportunity to join DPhiE through traditional collegiate recruitment. These members embody the values and ideals of DPhiE  and have all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of alumnae members. Members can choose to sponsor someone who embodies these values and ideals, they serve as a mentor throughout the training process. 

Melissa participated in the Spring 2020 training program which was modified to accommodate a completely virtual program. Each week, the alumnae initiate class received a podcast episode focused on the areas of sisterhood, scholarship, social, service and self. They connected each week to go over the training and participate in an activity to reinforce the training process.

While the plan was for Melissa to be initiated at the International Leadership Forum in Disney world, with ILF canceled we opted for a virtual initiation ceremony! To make the ceremony special, Ann invited her chapter sisters to attend. While she did not know how many would be able to attend, she was blown away by the support her chapter sisters showed. 43 members attended Melissa’s virtual initiation ceremony to welcome her with open arms into Delta Phi Epsilon.

Now more than ever we see that sisterhood is for a lifetime and that DPhiE sisters will always come together to spread Justice, Sisterhood and Love. Congratulations on your initiation Melissa!

At Delta Phi Epsilon we have an outstanding group of eight women who are described as, “The feet on the ground”. These eight women are a part of the International Leadership Consultant Program and they spend their working days assisting all 109 chapters with their daily operations. With the new virtual operation that the ILC Program has taken, these eight women could now be described as, “The hands on the mouse”. I am honored to be one of the eight. My experience as an ILC has brought me highs, lows, lessons learned, and opportunities for growth along the way, in just my first 90 days.

One constant that helps me feel accomplished each day is goal setting. The point of setting these goals is to ensure I do not lose motivation throughout the work day. When I write out these daily goals, it encourages me to continue working throughout the day until my goals are accomplished. Likewise, when working directly with collegiate members, it is important to acknowledge when they accomplish their goals. Directly helping collegiate members reach their goals, becoming their support system at a professional level, and encouraging them to strive for excellence has been a very rewarding part of my ILC journey thus far.

Being an ILC, comes with some struggles to overcome. Self-doubt is one obstacle I am working on and the program is helping me to overcome. Of course with any job, or day for that matter, you have bad experiences. I have been very pleased however, that none of my bad experiences have come from any of my colleagues or any collegiate members. My bad experiences have come from two different things; wifi troubles and self-doubt. First let’s talk about the wifi troubles. Unfortunately, where I live does not have good service or a reliable wifi connection. The issue hasn’t affected my ability to get my work done, but it has been an added stressor into my work day.

Secondly, I think I speak for many people when I say that self-doubt is a common struggle. My doubts stem from feeling like I do not know enough on certain topics. Many chapters come to me with the different challenges they are facing and sometimes, I am unsure of how to help them. When I am unsure, I go to a supervisor for advice. I have been working on becoming more comfortable with slowing down my response times to find the most helpful and accurate information to send back to my chapters. This is something that I will have to continue to work on and not let my lack of knowledge in some areas determine how I feel.  No one can know every nuance of sisterhood readily.  I am starting to understand that the support system is there to lift me up and move me forward.

Even though I have only been an ILC for just over a month, I have already learned many lessons that I will be able to carry with me. The first lesson that comes to mind is setting boundaries. My work day is typically 9:00-5:00 during the weekdays. Of course recruitment workshops, LT meetings, and one-on-one with chapter officers can create the need to be flexible with my schedule. But, by setting these boundaries it gives me time to do things that I need to do for myself, things like go to the store, go on a run, or just relax in front of the TV. Almost every day that I have been an ILC, I have learned something new about myself, about the operations of Delta Phi Epsilon, and about a collegiate member with whom I am working. Learning is growing and I am sure having quite a bit of personal development in this program!

The last thing I will touch on is the opportunity for personal and professional growth that I have begun to embrace through my experience. We were able to attend a wide range of workshops during our month of training. These workshops gave me information and a perspective that I would not have received without this program. The workshop range varied from a two part Mental Health First Aid training, to a Hazing Prevention Webinar, to a workshop about Expanding Beyond the NPC Worldview. All of those listed workshops, and many others, have helped me grow professionally, but also personally.

All things considered, I would say that throughout this next year I am in for a treat. From working and guiding collegiate members, to working on my confidence, remembering to set boundaries, and to appreciating all of the opportunities for growth that I will encounter, I am excited for this opportunity that I have been given. Throughout this next year, I hope to make a positive impact on the hundreds of sisters I will meet. I hope to improve  their collegiate experience. Lastly, I hope that by giving my all to this position I will be able to grow and develop daily, professionally and personal, and as a sister in Delta Phi Epsilon.

Madison Pecht is an alumna member of the Alpha Epsilon chapter at Kennesaw State University and a current International Leadership Consultant. Madi currently lives in Georgia. 

Applications are now being accepted for the 2021 – 2022 International Leadership Consultant Program. You can learn more information and apply, by clicking here. Interested in learning more about the program and have questions answered? Join us on November 12 for an interactive webinar, “Want to be an ILC?” You can register for that here.