Grateful To Be An ELC

by Jordan Devine, Sigma Alpha (West Virginia U), 2018-2019 ELC

Being on the 2018-2019 ELC team has brought so many great things into my life. First, it’s given me some pretty priceless life lessons, like what to do when you miss a flight or when you accidentally scratch the rental car (yikes!). But it’s also brought some amazing people and memories into my life, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Some of these memories are the result of spontaneous outings, like walking down to the corner store to grab some well-deserved post-recruitment ice cream with the Beta Gamma women at Michigan State University or taking a car full of people to get In-N-Out to celebrate my last evening with the Zeta Thetas at California State University, Chico.

Then, some of these memories have come from exciting adventures exploring local hotspots, like accidentally stumbling across a beautiful wedding at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco with the women of Delta Sigma at San Jose State University or petting snakes among the red rocks in Sedona with the women of Theta Omega at Northern Arizona University or even having the chance to experience a Meat Pie festival with the Kappa Chi women at Northeastern State University in the one and only birthplace of meat pies (and the film, Steel Magnolias), Natchitoches, Louisiana.

And some of these memories have been made during late nights, where sleep is easily replaced by conversation, like the night (or early morning) that the members of Alpha Pi at Florida State University gave me such a special house tour or the evening that a few members of Gamma Theta at the University of South Florida and I ate our way through half a bag of Halloween candy, a family-sized box of Goldfish and a gallon of neon green Hawaiian Punch as we talked and laughed about everything.

In addition to the memories that have helped to make this job something very special, I’ve also been able to meet some amazing AOII women, including the nine other women that form the ELC team with me. These nine ladies have become my #GIRLGANG. They are always available to chat, swap funny selfies or just offer up a bit of inspiration and motivation. These are the women (and our amazingly kind and funny supervisor, Kaya) who make this job possible. In addition to my nine teammates, sisters and friends, I’ve also had the chance to build a friendship with Ashley, a woman I met at my very first visit at the University of South Florida. She’s quickly become one of my biggest supporters—if I ever doubt myself or my abilities as an ELC, she’s always there to set me straight—and I know she’ll always have my back, even when we are ten states and three time zones away from each other. Though I work and travel alone, I am rarely ever lonely because I know that Ashley, my teammates, and the sisters that I encounter all over the country will always be there for support and friendship, and I’m extremely grateful to AOII for that.

These memories and friendships, and the millions of others that I’ve made, are what have made my ELC experience something that I’ll never forget. They have helped to remind me, time and time again, just how special being an ELC can be; that every single day, I have the chance to work with women who all share and love these AOII letters just as much as I do. Though I’m only half way through my term as an ELC, this experience has already given me so much more than I could’ve ever dreamed of. I’ve loved every minute and every moment I’ve had so far, and I can’t wait to see what kind of memories next semester brings!