After doing my research I was able to create a pretty organized and comprehensive itinerary for myself for my big trip. However, I found a bit of a bump in the road in the form of the states of Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Because these states are right in the middle, getting there while on the way to other states would prove difficult.
Thankfully, these three states aren't like California or New Jersey which have more than ten chapters spread out throughout the span of the entire state. In Michigan we have Beta Omicron in the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Beta Pi in Eastern Michigan University (which I, unfortunately, was just informed is defunct), and Beta Omega in Wayne State University. I figure I can knock these out in one short trip. I have managed to make my Fall schedule in such a way that I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off. With that being said, there is a week in September in which the university is closed on a Monday. I figure that I can get a cheap flight (via Spirit $9 Club!) to Detroit from Friday until Tuesday.
Hopefully, more opportunities like these will pop up so I can get to Wisconsin, which only has one chapter! Phew! Gamma Mu chapter in the University of Wisconsin in Madison. That can be knocked out in a weekend. Amazing!
Illinois is going to be the biggest challenge of these three states, hands down. There are eight chapters in the state of Illinois. The good thing is that five of them are in the Chicago area, but the bad thing is that the other three are three hours away or more. I'm either going to have to find people who love road tripping or hope that sisters from the far-away ones will be in the area. Who knows! I think Chicago will warrant a full week or maybe a week and a half. Illinois has Beta Phi at the University of IL at Urbana-Champaign, Beta Chi at Eastern IL University in Charleston, Beta Psi in Northwestern in Chicago, Delta Mu in Western IL University in Macomb, Delta Nu in Loyola University in Chicago, Epsilon Beta in the University of Chicago, Epsilon Gamma in the University of IL at Chicago (Est. Fall 2009!), and Epsilon Delta in DePaul University in Chicago (Est. Fall 2009!).
I'm going to make it my goal to knock out Michigan and Wisconsin by the end of the Fall semester. I'll have more details to come. Get excited because I am!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The First Entry
There are many things in life which are considered difficult. One of those difficult things is starting something. It is also, indeed, even more difficult to start something when it's the first of its kind. A fine example of this is right in front of you! This! My very first entry!
Jokes aside, I am starting this in the hopes that I will be able to commit to this blog and consistently update it with entries about the travels I plan to pursue. I am, however, getting very ahead of myself. I should back track a bit before I give away my purposes.
Going back to talking about when something is the first of its kind, I am proud to say that I am part of an organization which is the first of its kind. In the early 1970s, the United States experienced a massive wave of immigration from Latin American and Caribbean countries. The Northeastern region and Southwestern region of the United States, in particular, had a great amount of these Latino immigrants residing within their cities.
Also occurring during this time period, there was an increase in the amount of women who were enrolled in institutions of higher education. Sadly, many of these women and Latinos (and Latina women, go figure!) were met with hostility which made pursuing an education and working for that American dream all the more difficult. Kean University (back then Kean College) in Union, New Jersey was one of the first institutions of higher education with a bilingual program. In this institution, history was made. Seventeen ladies were joined by a vision aimed at empowering the Latino community and the "Universal Woman," who represents all women, not just Latinas. What started as a support group blossomed into what became the FIRST nationally recognized Latina Sorority in the United States.
That's right. You caught me. I'm a sister Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated.
Since becoming a member of the collegiate Greek community, my life has changed substantially and it has been bittersweet. There were moments of laughter and moments of tears, moments of frustration and moments of bliss. I wouldn't change any of it for the world.
With that said, allow me to introduce you to the purpose of this blog. Currently there are 108 undergraduate chapters throughout the United States. These chapters span over 22 states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Jo, why are you giving us an lesson about your sorority? I'm not! I have a point, I promise!
The purpose behind all of this is that not too long ago, I started formulating an idea in my head. Would it be possible for one person to visit every undergraduate chapter in the country? *gasp*
Granted, not all chapters are still active. I realize I will have to do a great amount of research (which I have been). I want to begin my journey in a very "chick movie" kind of way. I'll start in May right after my graduation and hopefully manage to finish by July or August. I more or less already have somewhat of a plan mapped out in my mind. It still has a great deal of fine-tuning to be done.
From now until the end of my journey I plan to chronicle this "Latin Greek Odyssey" on this very blog site. Until May, I will document my planning procedures and my visits to the chapters within my home state of Florida and the chapters in New Jersey, which I plan to visit in December. Once the real journey has begun, I will write about the people and things I encounter and post photos and videos. I'll try to visit para stores and interview people/other Greeks I encounter about different topics ranging from the Greek experience, life/contemporary issues, or even random things.
Well here it is! My FIRST entry. Hope I've sparked your interest. Enjoy!
Jokes aside, I am starting this in the hopes that I will be able to commit to this blog and consistently update it with entries about the travels I plan to pursue. I am, however, getting very ahead of myself. I should back track a bit before I give away my purposes.
Going back to talking about when something is the first of its kind, I am proud to say that I am part of an organization which is the first of its kind. In the early 1970s, the United States experienced a massive wave of immigration from Latin American and Caribbean countries. The Northeastern region and Southwestern region of the United States, in particular, had a great amount of these Latino immigrants residing within their cities.
Also occurring during this time period, there was an increase in the amount of women who were enrolled in institutions of higher education. Sadly, many of these women and Latinos (and Latina women, go figure!) were met with hostility which made pursuing an education and working for that American dream all the more difficult. Kean University (back then Kean College) in Union, New Jersey was one of the first institutions of higher education with a bilingual program. In this institution, history was made. Seventeen ladies were joined by a vision aimed at empowering the Latino community and the "Universal Woman," who represents all women, not just Latinas. What started as a support group blossomed into what became the FIRST nationally recognized Latina Sorority in the United States.
That's right. You caught me. I'm a sister Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated.
Since becoming a member of the collegiate Greek community, my life has changed substantially and it has been bittersweet. There were moments of laughter and moments of tears, moments of frustration and moments of bliss. I wouldn't change any of it for the world.
With that said, allow me to introduce you to the purpose of this blog. Currently there are 108 undergraduate chapters throughout the United States. These chapters span over 22 states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Jo, why are you giving us an lesson about your sorority? I'm not! I have a point, I promise!
The purpose behind all of this is that not too long ago, I started formulating an idea in my head. Would it be possible for one person to visit every undergraduate chapter in the country? *gasp*
Granted, not all chapters are still active. I realize I will have to do a great amount of research (which I have been). I want to begin my journey in a very "chick movie" kind of way. I'll start in May right after my graduation and hopefully manage to finish by July or August. I more or less already have somewhat of a plan mapped out in my mind. It still has a great deal of fine-tuning to be done.
From now until the end of my journey I plan to chronicle this "Latin Greek Odyssey" on this very blog site. Until May, I will document my planning procedures and my visits to the chapters within my home state of Florida and the chapters in New Jersey, which I plan to visit in December. Once the real journey has begun, I will write about the people and things I encounter and post photos and videos. I'll try to visit para stores and interview people/other Greeks I encounter about different topics ranging from the Greek experience, life/contemporary issues, or even random things.
Well here it is! My FIRST entry. Hope I've sparked your interest. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)