Rose Williams

Internship Final Paper

Spring 2017

Last semester I had the great opportunity to begin an internship in the office of student

Leadership and Activities (OSLA) at Delaware State University. During that time, a few

challenges arose due to the director being out for the semester. Although it ultimately was a great

learning experience I desired more and after speaking with Dr. Loomis and the Director of

OSLA, it was decided that I could gain a much broader experience if I continued the internship

this semester. I am happy to say that was one of the best decisions I could have made.

Upon continuing the internship this semester, I knew I wanted to drive into the leadership

side of things because this was much of what I missed last semester. Thus, when I approached

the conversation about objectives this semester I was guided by what I didnt learn last semester.

After speaking with the director, we came up with 3 objectives this semester. Those three

objectives were: Successfully execute the Greek Leadership Retreat, Advise the National Pan

Hellenic Council, and Create the Greek Life Handbook. As you can tell my main area of focus

was Greek Life which ties right into what I am interested in pursuing.

Objective #1: Successfully execute the Greek Life Retreat

Last semester while interning, I inquired about an annual Greek life retreat. I found that

there was a student leadership retreat, for all organizations that took place each year, however,

nothing specific that catered toward the Greek community. With understanding the uniqueness

that is associated with being a member of a Greek letter organization I found this odd. Greek life

on a college campus, I would argue, is one of the most esteemed group of people. And because of

this much training and leadership development is needed for each member. Taking this approach
and presenting the idea to the director, she agreed it was needed and allowed me to take this

retreat on as a project.

After much planning, securing speakers and locations, in January 2017 the first annual

Greek leadership retreat took place. This retreat consisted of a day full of team builders, speaker

sessions focusing on leadership development and involvement development, a networking round

table, and a group outing. I sit back and think of all the preplanning that went into this 6-hour

day and I stay in awe. I learned so much. I learned that its vital to have a plan A, plan B, and a

plan C. Let me explain. Along the planning there were many hang-ups. Securing the speakers

was the biggest one. We had to change the date many times due to key administers who needed

to be present. Therefore, it made it hard for me to confirm the speakers I initially wanted. Budget

was also a big deal. As a first, this retreat wasnt in the initial budget. So, we had to find ways

to be creative and find donations for food, t-shirts, travel, and much more. Ultimately, the retreat

was one that pushed me to stay calm in the mist of confusion and be proactive in planning.

Objective 2: Advise the National Pan Hellenic Council (NPHC)

As I am no stranger to advising a group of students, I was completed changed by advising

NPHC. As a Resident Director, Ive advised our residence hall association which is can be

slightly compared to the size of NPHC, however, its far from as intense as I found NPHC to be.

I started working with them last semester which made this semester a smooth transition, but that

didnt take away from our struggles this semester.

One of our biggest struggle, which carried on to this semester, was organization.

Unfortunately, this executive board started its reign without any guidance. They didnt have a

firm foundation on how to conduct business meetings, they didnt set a consistent time for
meetings, but most importantly they never truly had a solid understanding of what their purpose

was as a collective group of all the Greek letter organizations on campus. At first it was very

frustrating, however, much of what helped me advise them was understanding where they lacked

training and in turn provide them with that training and resources for them to uphold their

positions effectively. I believe the leadership retreat was a great start to that and after the retreat

was held I saw a lot of improvements afterwards.

Objective #3: Create the Greek Life Handbook

Much of my internship was directly involving hands on experience with students and what i

quickly learned that there needs to be a set-in stone document that guides us in how we run this

large part of Student Life. The director shared with me her vision for this handbook and I started

the research on it quickly. I contacted many student life departments to seek guidance and

comparison. I spoke with Greek life coordinators and they shared their handbook and best

practices with us. This was most helpful because we wanted to make sure we tackled everything

in this handbook. We hit every area from membership intake requirements and guidelines,

academic requirements, program requirements, hazing and much more. I am happy to say that

with the help of the student activities coordinator we have completed the handbook and it is now

in the process of getting approved.

Reflection

This internship had many challenges but overall I learned so much. Having the ability to see and

be involved in the ins and outs of the Office of Student Leadership and Activities really gave me

much insight to what I would be doing if I choose to take my career in this direction. It was

many long nights, an intense balancing act with trying to please administration and students but
ultimately it was a very positive experience. I had moments of questioning if I could see myself

in this office long term and honestly, I am still trying to figure that out. But this internship gave

me the perfect experience I needed to make the best professional and personal decision for me.