Genevieve Blesch

The July 30th spotlight features Genevieve Blesch, a Fall 2010 initiate of the Theta Tau chapter. 

Alpha Chi Omega has been in my family for two generations prior to me, but I only learned the true meaning of this fact after I had made the decision that Alpha Chi Omega was right for me. My father’s mom, Lela Jutton, and her two sisters, Mary and Dorothy Jutton, were all in Alpha Chi Omega at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The mother of those three women, Mary Busey, was also an Alpha Chi Omega at UIUC. Because my father is an only child, Alpha Chi Omega had to skip a generation, but when it became my turn to choose a sorority, my father did not want to overly influence my decision. I had always heard stories about the sorority that my grandmother was in, but I did not realize the significance of joining that sorority until after I accepted my bid to Alpha Chi Omega. My father and I were both thrilled that I was going to continue the Alpha Chi Omega legacy! The sisters and best friends that I made through Alpha Chi Omega are the ones I want to keep in my life forever. I cannot even begin to imagine what my life would be like without my experience in Alpha Chi Omega.

Katherine Kuzma-Beck

The July 16th sister spotlight focuses on Katherine Kuzma-Beck, a Fall 2006 initiate of the Theta Tau chapter. 

I joined Alpha Chi Omega because I wanted to have female friends. At the time, I just had my high school boyfriend and all of his friends, I sort of failed to make my own way in high school and once I got to Rutgers, I wanted to make my own path and my own friends.

I joined the fall semester of my junior year. It was the second sorority that I had visited during informal recruitment. The first one I had gone to had been loud and clicky and it was obvious from the moment that I had walked in that it was not for me. My roommate got invited to a recruitment event and so I went, totally by myself. I was so incredibly nervous and had literally walked into a house full of strangers alone. However, it didn’t feel like I was out of place or wrong to have gone, instead I started talking to girls and soon I found a few girls from my hometown and even some girls who I didn’t know, but had so much in common with. I got my bid that night and accepted it the next morning.

My time at Alpha Chi Omega was crazy and sometimes indescribable. I took four littles, I held an executive position on Panhellenic and a non-executive position in the chapter. I also doubled majored and worked—I learned what burn out was and I learned what it meant to keep a schedule.

I also learned grief. I only had a big sister for about a semester and a half. My big is Meghan McGrady and almost immediately after bonding with her and becoming her friend, she began her battle with Ovarian Cancer. Watching her be so sick, fight so hard and then pass away at such a young age completely derailed me in a lot of ways because seriously, why does someone so wonderful have to die so young?
I just didn’t realize then that it was by knowing her and watching her go through so much that she left her mark on my life. Meghan made me want to give to people like she gave to us. Meghan taught me that that was important and that it was okay to be the biggest nerd, even if that wasn’t “cool.”

Today, I am not the swanky art gallery owner I thought I was going to be. I graduated Rutgers with a dual degree in art history and journalism and went on for my teaching certification in English literature and am currently in my second to last semester of my masters program where by December, I will have my MA in English literature and creative writing. I currently teach 8th grade language arts at Grace A. Dunn Middle School in Trenton, NJ where I am more to my students then just their teacher. Students who struggle with poverty and violence need someone to listen to them and love them as well as teach them, I try very hard to be all three for them—a lesson that Meghan taught me.

I’ve also written a book, Miss Burton’s Class The First Year: Tales of a 5th Grade Teacher Turned Zombie Survivalist and have also been published in USA Today, The Thought Catalog and in art exhibitions like “Earth from Above” and “Honoré Daumier & La Maison Aubert: Political and Social Satire in Paris.”
A lot of this I do owe to my time at Rutgers and with Alpha Chi Omega, because in the end, what I walked away with was believing that it was not only okay, but good to be who you are. Meghan really enforced that with me, I have yet to meet someone who is as young as she was and as comfortable with herself as she was.

So, had I not came to that tiny house at 4 Union Street that fall night, I would not have met Meghan and I probably would not have met my other sisters who I have kept in contact with since graduating in 2008. To some extent, I even question if I would be a teacher at this point in my life as well. Alpha Chi Omega helped set me on the path to myself and for that, I am very grateful.

Kelly McCormack

 

The July 2nd Why Alpha Chi spotlight features Kelly McCormack, a Spring 2010 initiate of the Theta Tau chapter and co-president of Xi Tau Xi.

"I joined Alpha Chi Omega for the sisterhood. I'm an only child, and I'd always wanted siblings. When I learned what a sorority was, I decided that when I grew up I was joining one. During recruitment I was overwhelmed, and wasn't sure if I would find my "fit". When my friend brought me to an Alpha Chi Omega event, the women were real and genuine, and they made me laugh. I decided that I would give their organization a try. We had our ups and downs as a chapter, but the women quickly became my sisters. They were the women I knew I could turn to in my darkest moments and the women who would celebrate with me in my finest. They helped me gain self-confidence over time to become the Real, Strong, Woman I am now as a Co-President of Xi Tau Xi Alumnae Chapter. I believe in Alpha Chi Omega, and have a goal to give back to the organization that has given me so much so that other young women can find their "fit" and start their own story with Alpha Chi Omega."

Allison Clawans

Our June 25th Why Alpha Chi Wednesday spotlight features Allison Clawans, a Spring 2010 initiate of the Theta Tau chapter and Xi Tau Xi's Liaison to Undergraduate Alumnae.

"I joined Alpha Chi when I was a freshman because it felt like my home when I met my sisters. I could see myself going to the house just to talk to my sisters. Over four years later, I am just as in love with Alpha Chi Omega as I was my freshman year. Without my sisters, I would be lost. I don't know how I would have made it through my college experience without them. They were there for me when I needed them, no questions asked. I loved being a part of Ritual because it is what binds every Alpha Chi Omega together, and it is what reminds me that no matter where I am in life I am connected to my sisters. Alpha Chi Omega is what made me who I am today because I am stronger and able to combat anything that comes my way."