The Jade Times

This past month we asked our own Delta Phi Lambda alumnae to take some time to provide their words of wisdom for our undergraduate sisters. We hope these tidbits of advice help you as you embark on your next journey in the new year.

“I wish I had kept my options much more open, not considering loved ones I might be leaving behind. Family will always be there, but if there’s a certain significant other who’s holding you back, you better be strong-willed enough to do the right thing for you while you’re young, while you still can. Don’t settle – although if you take one route, there may always be a detour up ahead, so keep your eyes peeled!”- Savitre “Rapture” Geeratisoontorn

“To my undergraduate sisters, I could tell you to put yourselves out there, be bigger parts of the community and advocate your passions… but chances are, as sisters of Delta Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated, y’all already do. So here is my piece of undying advice: NEVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CANNOT DO. Y’all have already beaten the odds… less than 7 percent of the United States population will attend college this year and less than 3 percent of the United States population is involved Greek life. To be a Dedicated Female Leader, you must first be dedicated to your self-worth.”- Linh “Artistry” Huynh

“Self care is extremely important. As you navigate through undergrad, you’ll often feel that you’re being pulled in a million directions. Well here’s what I’ve learned –  there is nothing wrong with doing less. Slow down the multi-tasking and breathe! Ever notice how cramming for a test never equals an easy A? Likewise, tacking on tons of events and to-do’s into one week won’t make you an outstanding sister or chapter. When you burn yourself or the chapter out, sisterhood diminishes greatly. Everyone accomplishes less feeling exhausted. Self care means taking an hour to talk to a sister about what’s really going on or taking a weekend to relax with family and friends. Wear our letters with pride… just don’t let them wear you out.” – Huong “Ambrosia” Phan

“I wish I knew how to be more laid back when I was in college. When a problem arose, I tended to focus more on the problem than a solution and that led to a lot of unnecessary worrying and stress. Being in college can bring bad grades, sad breakups, and empty bank accounts, but just shrug it off and keep it moving. Life goes on and so can you.” - Nyla “Prevail” Lieu

“One big thing I wish I knew as an undergrad is that there is no need to rush. We often get caught up in life and think “I HAVE to graduate in four years,” “I HAVE to be in a relationship by this time,” “I HAVE to have the perfect job before I’m X years old,” when in fact there is no universal life plan. Each of our paths are unique, and sometimes clarity of our own path comes with appreciating what we have, taking the time to clear our minds, and simply enjoy living in the here and now.” - Jennifer “Salomé” Albesa

By Oanhie “Shinsen” Pham

Veterans Day, which is celebrated on November 11, honored those who served in the armed forces. Gwen “Staccatö” McMillion talks of her father and grandfather, who are both veterans.

A family photo of Gwen McMillion and her parents. Photo courtesy of Gwen McMillion

“My father was in the Air Force from 1978-2007, My grandfather was drafted to the Army for the Korean War, my great Uncle was in the Army during WWII, one of my cousins was in the Marines during Vietnam, another was in the Air Force as a dental hygienist in the 80s.”

She said her grandfather doesn’t have many stories to share, but he enjoyed telling a particular time when he experienced a culture shock.

“He frequently retells his story of what happened when he sounded the alarm for attack when he was guarding the DMZ,” she said. “He heard a bunch of yelling and loud noises in the middle of the night, so he thought they were going to be under attack. He sounded the alarm and everyone woke up and readied themselves. His CO realized in about 10 seconds that the Koreans were celebrating their new year. He got a rather bad reprimanding for that.”

As for her father, McMillion said he didn’t have many funny stories to share. McMillion said he acquired the nickname Pitbull while he was in the military.

“He’s a pretty straight-laced guy. Most of his stories were him telling officers to ‘kindly’ get off his flight line. He worked flight maintenance and ran flight lines primarily when he was in.”

McMillion said officers sometimes get too big of a head and try to take charge of the flight line and tell people not under their charge what to do.

“Stepping on toes is bad,” she said. “My dad has never been one to put up with people’s BS.”

She said having family members in the armed forces “reinforced a sense of patriotism, general love for the country and troops that serve to keep this country safe.”

Also, it made a huge impact in her life.

“I was actually born overseas,” she said. “My dad was serving in Japan with TDYs (temporary duty) to the Philippines, where my mom was living. That’s how my parents met. Not exactly sure how since I don’t get the same story from either one of them.”

By Dipika “Quiescence” Joshi

Can I just say I’m not a fan of pecan pie? To me, pecan pie is a disastrously sweet, syrupy concoction that tastes like sugar, piled on with more sugar. Don’t get me wrong, I have a huge sweet tooth but I’ve never been a fan of the corn syrup monstrosity known as pecan pie.

Then I met the boyfriend. And the boyfriend’s family.  And both entities declared it cannot be a true Thanksgiving meal without the pie trifecta: two Publix pumpkin pies (don’t even try another brand), and a homemade pecan pie.

So last year, after having desserts assigned to me, I decided I was going on a hunt for an edible pecan pie recipe! And thanks to SimplyRecipes.com, I found a kindred spirit who eliminated the crazy amounts of sugar most pecan pie recipes call for… And the recipe was a huge success!

Here is the adapted recipe from SimplyRecipes.com (yields 8 servings):

• 1 9-inch pie shell, frozen (if freshly made, chilled for an hour)
• 1 ½  cups of pecans, coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup “pretty” pecans, preferably whole, for decoration
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon molasses (optional)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons of flour, sifted
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Butter flavored cooking spray

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spread the coarsely chopped pecans at the bottom of the pie shell, and arrange the “pretty” whole pecans in a decorative manner in the center, if so desired.
3. By hand, mix together eggs, brown sugar, molasses (optional), butter, flour, salt, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Coat a measuring cup with butter flavored cooking spray, and pour in corn syrup. Then pour syrup into mixture (The butter spray will not let corn syrup stick to the cup).
4. Mix all ingredients gently until all ingredients are combined, but do not over mix. Pour mixture into pie shell.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Don’t panic if the pie puffs up, it will settle back down once it cools.
6. Half-way through cooking time, use a pie crust shield or aluminum foil tents to protect pie crust from browning too rapidly.
7. Remove from oven, and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

By May “Mosaic” Advincula, on behalf of National Board

Thank you to all sisters who traveled to Washington, D.C. this year to join us at the 2012 annual National Convention! We hope you enjoyed this year’s conference and learned valuable information that you can utilize at your campuses to further our mission and strengthened bonds with sisters across the nation.

For those of you who weren’t able to join us this year, we’ve included some highlights below to ensure you’re up to speed on everything that we covered! If you’re looking for more detail, all Convention items are saved on Groopt in the “National Events” folder.

What’s Groopt? That’s another story! Check in with your chapter president or Vice President of Records May Advincula (vp.records@deltaphilambda.org) for the scoop.

Friday Highlights:

Chapter Executive Board members had the opportunity to attend various workshops designed to enhance their leadership skills by providing supplemental information in the areas of public speaking, risk management, finance and budgeting, as well as introduction to tools such as Groopt.

Friday activities concluded with the “In My Heart” showcase in which sisters from 5 of our chapters shared their array of talents to express their love for our sisterhood.

Saturday Highlights:

Opening Remarks: “We need our own place at the table.” – Councilmember Grace Han Wolf

Councilmember Grace Han Wolf presented opening remarks from the Town of Herndon. Being the first Asian American elected official in the state of Virginia, Councilmember Wolf, provided an inspirational message to our sorority leaders emphasizing the concept of “firsts.” She encouraged sisters to hone in on their strength and smarts inherited from the women in our families who came before us and to continue to strive to have our “own place at the table” in order to be seen and heard in communities across the nation.

General Meeting Next Steps Overview:

Action items from the 11^th session of the National Convention General meeting included:

1. National sorority to utilize Groopt as the platform to disseminate national information and provide chapters with an opportunity to collaborate with one another as well as within their own chapter
2. Chapters to review Circle of Sisterhood and provide feedback as to whether we should proceed with partnership
3. Volunteer for National Committees:

Alumnae:

• Convention Awards
• Judicial Committee

Undergraduate and Alumnae:

• Ritual Committee
• SE Formal Committee
• MW Formal Committee
• Expansion Committee
• Convention Committee

LEAP Development Workshop: “You have all opportunities to blaze new trails”- Linda Akutagawa

President and CEO of LEAP, Inc. Linda Akutagawa presented “The 21^st Century Leader: Surviving and Thriving in the 3^rd Millennium.”

Representation of the Asian-American community still has much room for improvement, and Akutagawa’s presentation provided a framework for sisters to be able to evaluate their goals, expand their self-awareness and create an action plan.

Takagawa emphasized, “When you write [your goals] down it become tangible, then share it with someone you see as a mentor to lead you to opportunity.”

APIA Vote:

With the 2012 election fast approaching, it is important for our sisters to become involved in registering members of the APIA community to vote.  Information regarding voter registration can vary by state, but there are resources available to help you determine eligibility and the voter registration process (http://www.canivote.org/)

For more information specific to the APIA Vote initiative, you can contact: tchung@apiavote.org or vlam@apia.vote.org

Banquet:

With a DJ, specially made white chocolate Blue Roses from our very own alumna Gyn Wei, new tank shirts, and great food, we started the night with the New Colony Recognition ceremony for the recently established charter classes of University of North Carolina Charlotte and University of Albany.

We were also very excited to present the official charters packages to the active chapters of Delta Phi Lambda and honored the outstanding accomplishments of our sisters with the annual Convention Awards. This year we would like to congratulate the following award recipients:

• Chapter of the Year:
  Emory University
• Jade Award:
  Grand Valley State University
• Best Philanthropy:
  University of West Florida
• Blue Rose Award:
  University of Cincinnati
• Sister of the Year:
  Susan “Aura” Nguyen
• Mission Award:
  Karen “Murrina” Cheng
• Academic Excellence Award:
  Jennifer “d.E.lux” Tsai
• Alumnae Award:
  Jessica “Cider” Chui

The night ended on an emotional note with the announcement our new Eta, Theta, and Iota chapters! Congratulations to DePaul University Eta Chapter, Emory University Theta Chapter, and Grand Valley State Iota Chapter on your recently acquired active status!

Sunday Highlights:

Sunday morning kicked off bright and early with the Recruitment, Marketing, Alumnae Engagement, and Affiliate Member workshops.

Recruitment Workshop attendees received information on building the skills necessary to have a successful yearlong recruitment. Attendees were asked to consider evaluating their recruitment process based on values to ensure that potential members are already exhibiting the virtues of a Dedicated Female Leader. Attendees also had the opportunity to share ideas in groups to discuss various ways recruitment is conducted across campuses.

Marketing attendees received information on evaluating promotional sorority materials to ensure that all marketing aligns with Delta Phi Lambda standards. Attendees learned the importance of branding and received information as to what resources are available and what chapters can do to create their own brand that is in accordance with DFL standards.

Alumnae Engagement attendees had an interactive discussion about how to continue to engage alumnae as they make their transition upon graduation from their Institution. Attendees discussed the principles of life-long membership and how sisters can remain involved on the national level post-graduation.

Affiliate Member Education Workshop attendees were provided an overview of the roles and responsibilities of an Affiliate Member Educator. With training in critical thinking and risk management, the goal of the workshop was to empower AME’s as they embark on the upcoming fall semester.

Ritual Ceremony Presentation “May your light shine forth”

Elizabeth Thai and Linh Van concluded the Convention activities with the Ritual Ceremony demonstrations as outlined in the copy of the first publication of the Ritual Book. Each chapter also received their own book cover, which is large enough to store the ritual book and any ritual materials that may be utilized in the ceremonies.

Sisters in attendance were also introduced to the meeting ritual. When entering the room sisters are greeted with the following: “May your light shine forth.” The appropriate response is “Every moment, everlasting.”

Any questions regarding ritual ceremonies or interest in participating in the ritual committee can be directed to Linh Van at vp.internal@deltaphilambda.org

Convention 2013:

As we embark on our 15^th anniversary, we are excited for the year ahead and look forward to celebrating the outstanding efforts of our sisters nationwide at the 2013 Convention on August 2-4, 2013 in Atlanta, GA. Stay tuned for addition Convention 2013 information!

By Kristine “Aster” Medina, Staff Writer

Grand Valley State University was lettered as Iota and awarded the Jade Award at the 2012 National Convention in Washington, D.C.

Active sisters from GVSU came to their chapter adviser, Melanie “EXPRESS” Kom,  last spring and asked her for a letter of support. Kom has always seen the goal of achieving active status in the mind of every sister since she crossed as a part of Alpha class in fall of 2009.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the chapter changes its perspective in being a lettered chapter,” Kom said. “It’s such a high standard to uphold, and I want to see what they can achieve and what goals they have set.”

Although sisters from Iota chapter have been recognized for the work they have accomplished since chartering, Linda “Hayven” Teng wants to keep her sisters motivated in moving forward with bigger goals in mind.

“We definitely will uphold the standards of an active chapter and continue to make an impact,” Teng said. “We’re currently doing everything we can to focus on academics along with keeping a close relationship with other Greek organizations on campus and in our Midwest region. As a young chapter, we have to realize that there are plenty of new experiences we have yet to encounter and that we have to continue to work hard for the progression of this sisterhood no matter where we stand.”

Iota chapter was also given the Jade Award for the second consecutive year. Global Gala has laid the chapter’s groundwork for cultural awareness. Each year, the cultural showcase continues to grow and spark interest in the community.

“It truly means a lot to me,” Teng said. “Achieving this milestone with my chapter is honestly one of the greatest feelings in the world. I’m blessed to be able to say that I could experience this with them. Words alone wouldn’t be able to express my joy and how proud I am of each individual sister. From day one since I crossed, I knew in my heart that this is my family and they will forever be my sister’s keeper.”

By Ashanti “Accel” Henderson

Unbeknownst to Karen “Murrina” Cheng, her line sister Vanessa “Raize” Loung nominated her for the Mission Award, and she won!

Cheng, who is a senior at Georgia Institute of Technology, said she was happy and excited to receive the award at convention. The mission award is given to a sister who has put effort into spreading the mission of promoting Asian awareness.

Cheng joined Delta Phi Lambda to embrace her Asian heritage; spreading Asian awareness is something that comes naturally to her. She believes spreading the mission is easy if you make it part of what you do and think. She said it’s about the mindset, and “[She] always keep[s] Delta Phi Lambda on [her] mind.” Her vision for the campus is to see a bigger and more united Asian presence.

Cheng has seen a change in Asian awareness on her campus since she crossed when AASA, an umbrella organization at GT for all Asian organizations, was first getting started. She believes she has contributed to a greater Asian awareness by embodying the mission through her leadership positions within and outside of Delta Phi Lambda. Last year she served as chapter president, and has been an AASA officer for the past two years.

Beyond her leadership positions, she naturally takes charge by encouraging her sisters to spread the name of Delta Phi Lambda and serving as a chapter spokesperson of sorts. She is also skilled at recruiting. Whether in history class or studying abroad in Shanghai, she is always looking for people interested in spreading Asian awareness.

Cheng is internally motivated to further the mission, but also draws inspiration from other sisters such as alumna Victoria “Juicy” Huynh, who she always sees on campus supporting the Asian community with CPACS, which stands for Center for Pan Asian Community Services.

Cheng has made spreading the mission part of her life, even embedding it in her school career. She started at GT as a business major, and is currently an industrial design major. In high school Cheng excelled at math and science, areas in which women are traditionally underrepresented. She is aware that Asian women lack representation in high positions in this industry and wants to make a change in society by paving the way for other Asian women to empower themselves and break stereotypes.

By Ashanti “Accel” Henderson, Staff Writer

Jeanette “Fraiche” Agagas from the University of West Florida was surprised and honored when her chapter won the Best Philanthropy Award at convention this past summer for its Osteoporosis Festival. As the philanthropy chair, Agagas was inspired by the chapter’s Lunar New Year event to create this Halloween-themed, outdoors festival which included booths, games, giveaways, and other fun activities and free goodies. The event garnered support from the school’s Greek Office, a good response from the UWF campus and, of course, acclaim for its creativity at convention.

Agagas said she felt excited for her chapter to be recognized on a national level and believes this says a lot about the UWF chapter. She likes osteoporosis awareness as Delta Phi Lambda’s  national philanthropy because it is so specific and looks forward to continuing to promote this philanthropy. Of all her positions held in her chapter, her favorite was philanthropy chair because she enjoyed seeing how she helped make an impact on the UWF campus by encouraging awareness of osteoporosis and the sorority through fun events.

In the future she would like to see the philanthropy position expanded by hosting more philanthropy events, volunteering more and just reaching out to other students. The advice she gives to future philanthropy chairs is to make events fun and interactive; don’t be all talk.

By Kristine “Aster” Medina

This sister goes about her daily life making as many connections as she can with other sisters, her family, and her friends by scheduling as many lunch and dinner dates as her schedule allows her. She’s an avid runner, noted by her push for “Running with Aura,” a program she started in her chapter to keep sisters active in exercise. She led the initiative to plan Southeastern Formal last spring.

Susan “Aura” Nguyen, a sister from Emory University and a senior business major, was awarded Sister of the Year during convention weekend in Washington, D.C.

“Overall, it’s a real honor to be awarded and unexpected,” Nguyen said. “I just feel happy for being recognized for the things that I’ve done.”

Annie “Evita” Farrell, Theta Chapter president, nominated Nguyen for her “contagious positive attitude” and “constant willingness” to prioritize their chapter. Farrell didn’t tell Nguyen about her nomination until the day that convention began. The news of her nomination was a big surprise to Nguyen.

When her name was announced for Sister of the Year, Nguyen was still in shock but grateful to be acknowledged.

“At the dinner, when the NB member was reading what I wrote, I mouthed to her,’It’s you!’” Farrell said. “At that point, she started tearing up. She was extremely happy.”

Before crossing over to everlasting sisterhood, Nguyen’s idea of a sorority was very stereotypical. She never saw herself as a sister, but during Nguyen’s sophomore year she met sisters that she felt a true connection with and was sucked in.

Nguyen crossed in fall 2010 as a part of Emory’s Nu class. She is now vice president of recruitment for Theta Chapter. Her goal after graduation is to stay connected with the sisterhood and get a job. Her motto is to live life to its fullest.

“I try to live life with no regrets because it helps shape your future and helps you learn from the mistakes you make,” Nguyen said.

By Christine “ECKO” Ho, Staff Writer

Surely, surely other people will look at our sorority and say, “Hey, DPhiL should be slowing down some, because they’ve been winning awards left and right and accomplishing things that others could only dream about!”

Except we don’t — slow down, that is. Recently at convention, we had two chapters bestowed the honor of becoming fully fledged chapters within our organization. Eta was given to DePaul, while Theta became Emory’s new letter.

And that’s not even the end of it — Emory became our Chapter of the Year!

Not only are we growing exponentially, our chapters strive for the very greatness that they achieve locally at their own chapters. Fully recognized within the organization, our newly lettered chapters know that this is not the end of the road.

In an organization that strives for excellence in all aspects of our seven virtues, DePaul and Emory went above and beyond this previous year. They not only held the annual events, but they did more. I myself received several Facebook invites for all new events. They are part of community events and involved with many different organizations, even through the recruitment period.

Emory has implemented car washes, which was promoted on Georgia Tech’s HUGEcity. DePaul has started recruitment and have a huge following on Facebook.

Each sister played a different part and are now part of a legacy that will continue to grow — it doesn’t end because you have reached a goal. You only begin a new goal.

Visit their Facebook pages, listed below.

Congratulations, DePaul and Emory!

https://www.facebook.com/depaul.dphil?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/EmoryDPhiL?fref=ts

By Oanhie “Shinsen” Pham, Editor-in-chief

This year’s Alumna Award goes to Jessica “Cider” Chui, who graduated in 2011 from DePaul University. Chui said she wasn’t expecting her chapter to nominate her for the award, and didn’t believe she was the recipient until the very last minute.

“As they were reading out the description of the alumna, it sounded more and more like me,” said Chui. “‘She’s from fall 2008.’ I was thinking all right. There are a lot of people from fall 2008. ‘She is the chapter adviser of her chapter.’ I was, like, OK, I’m pretty sure anyone my age can be an adviser. More and more it sounded like me. As I was looking around, our girls were just smiling so I knew it and they said ‘It’s you!’”

Chui said earning the award meant a lot to her. It recognizes the work alumnae put in and shows the chapter’s appreciation.

“It was really nice,” she said. “It’s like you have that connection with your own chapter. And it made it even better. Even if I didn’t get it, it would still mean so much to me — just the thought of them nominating me. ”

Joyce “Aloha” Zhai said Chui is one of the alumnae her chapter holds in high esteem. She said that even as an alumna, Chui was active with the sorority and served as chapter adviser.

“Throughout our process of going up for status, she was a big support system. She also took a big role in planning for our Midwest Formal. She definitely deserved this award,” Zhai said.

Ellen “Roulette” Duong added that Chui, with the help with Chris-Anh “ C-Reyus” Nguyen, the Midwest Governor for Delta Phi Lambda, planned the Midwest  Formal. Chui helped with phone conferences, found the venue, divided costs and delegated jobs.

“We love Jessica Chui wholeheartedly,” Duong said. “She has been an undying asset to the chapter as our friend, our sister and our adviser till this day.”