So I'm Thinking About AI!

[dakareng]

I can tell that you are very excited and that is great but I echo kddani and sageof ages in saying that it is much better to be anxious and eager in August than June. If you were to call Pi Beta Phi headquarters you wouldn't find anyone there who could answer your questions now or Monday. Our Convention starts tomorrow and HQ staff isn't there (at least not the staff who could answer your question).

Please realize that things could be happening behind the scenes that you aren't aware of and HQ staff would not be able to confirm. Secondly, if a group does have Convention this summer, that probably means officer changes so that any inquiry sent last week will be part of a huge file being transferred. If you have not heard anything by mid-August THEN it is appropriate to send another inquiry, perhaps with a preface that you understand that summer is a busy time for officers but you want to reinforce your desire to join.

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

We don't have convention this year, but we do have Leadership Training (always in the off convention years) going on right now so other groups may have that as well..........

[ASUADPi]

Since I don't know the organizations you have sent letters too and I'm not sure ADPi is one of them, but in the off chance that we are I feel I might be able to give you some information.

AI is still so incredibly new for the alumnae chapters, even though we have been doing it for years. Heck at convention I met a sister who went through AI in the 90's. I was shocked because I hadn't heard anything about AI until about 3 years ago.

Anyways, since AI is still so new some alums just don't really know how to feel or what to do about it. That was actually one of the things we discussed at convention, getting th word out.

Now right now ADPi really would prefer that PNAM's are contacted by an alum/collegiate member not the PNAM contacting EO. I personally see nothing wrong with PNAM's contacting EO to get information, because where else are they gonna get it from, but that is my personal opinion.

But, we do have International Officers whose "job" is specifically AI, so the information would be forwarded to the appropriate sister. I'm sure the same thing happens in the other sororities (where the letter would need to be forwarded to the appropriate person).

Just be patient!!!

I'm not going to say "I know" because I don't know. I don't know what you are going through. I don't know what it's like to wait and wait and wait for a sorority to get back to you. But I do have faith that everything will work out for you.

[lake]

Everything ASUADPi says is right on the mark! - especially the part about alum groups and collegiates not being familiar at all with what AI is or how to proceed if someone contacts them about it.

I specifically spoke to Tri Delta officials only on the National level during my "pursuit" (as opposed to contacting local alum groups) and then communicated with the local Tri Delta women they (Tri Delta National) put me in contact with. That way, I was assured I was approaching people who knew what I was talking about and who could point me in the right direction.

When it came time for my initiation, my sponsor discussed my upcoming initiation with the chapter at their weekly meeting and informed them what AI is, why I was being initiated, etc. But apparently, the chapter had no idea about AI. My sponsor had been initiated with an AI (or "honor initiate" as Tri Delta calls it) so she was familiar with it, but it was still a learning experience for her too.

[lake]

I also wanted to add that the National Tri Delta officers I spoke with preferred to contact the "local" groups or individuals first, for me, rather than me contacting the locals directly. This was to eliminate any confusion.

At least twice that I can remember (before I was introduced to the woman who eventually sponsored me and just prior to my initiation) Tri Delta's honor initiate coordinator told me she would contact the necessary people first so that she could explain that she was the person in charge of Tri Delta's alum initiation program, what honor initiation is and why she was introducing me to them. I specifically remember being told that most Tri Delta's aren't familiar with honor initiation/alum initiation, which I assumed.

I guess my point here is to suggest that you determine who the national officer is in charge of AI for the group(s) you're interested in, and make ALL your inquiries and follow-ups through that person or persons ONLY, until they can offer introductions for you on the local level.

Just my two cents!

[SFHopefull!]

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[lake]

Originally posted by SFHopefull!
Lake - Right when I finished reading your post I looked out my window and a car drove by with a Tri Delta bumper sticker!! (I don't see many GLO bumper stickers in the San Francisco area - so it was kind of excitiing since it was right when I was reading a post by a Tri Delta!).

That's so cool!! Strange coincidences like that always seem to happen to me too.

[The B Girl]

SFhopeful - I agree with everything that has been said that you just have to be patient. Our last meeting in Ft Lauderdale was in June (ritual and luncheon) and we won't start up again until September. I do wish we would have someone that would like to join with the AI process, since I am very familar with it now from reading all of the stories on here!

Anyways, I see that you are from San Francisco. I will be re-locating out there with my company in the middle of August! I am really excited about it. What are the best places to live there? (that are somewhat affordable )