Delegates Call Partnering For Success a Hit

Take these developments with a grain of salt, perhaps. Or maybe, if you must, call this blog entry a conflict of interest. But even though this reporting comes from a staff member of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and even though participants in the Partnering for Success workshops are members of the august family, preliminary results indicate that the sessions are a resounding success.

Convention delegates and chapter officers informally surveyed during a break in the afternoon meeting on Thursday, Aug. 5, raved about how instructive, helpful, and upbeat Partnering For Success was.

“We’re revitalizing our chapter,” said delegate Rebecca Lynne Kiely, treasurer at Rochester Institute of Technology, “and I really appreciate the wealth of information available to get students involved.” Emphasize networking opportunities, she gave as an example.

Delegate Emilie Anne Kudela, treasurer of the State University of New York-Cortland chapter, discovered other proactive ways of attracting potential initiates. Reach out to stellar freshmen about Phi Kappa Phi, for instance, and invite outstanding underclassmen to listen to speakers brought in by the chapter. Also, explore collaborations with student government associations, she learned, not only to entice new members but also to raise more funds.

Delegate Christine James, president of the Valdosta State University chapter, pointed to the many corporate partnerships as incentives. An even shrewder business decision was to move initiation ceremonies earlier. Previously, they had been held in April and graduation took place just a month later. “It’s better to induct initiates in the fall,” she realized as a result of Partnering For Success, because students remain on campus for many months afterwards.