I served as a member of my executive board for my sorority. My position was Chief External Affairs Officer. I managed all things “outside” of my sorority that were still related to it. This included philanthropy, community service, alumni relations, and social media. My biggest responsibility as CEAO was to help organize our semesterly philanthropy events for my sorority’s philanthropy organization, CASA. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, and while we are unable to work directly with the kids in the foster system, we raise money to help volunteers with training and provide children with the resources they need to thrive. All of the money we raised was donated to the Prince George’s county CASA, so we are making an impact directly in our communities which is really rewarding.
This experience gave me a great set of skill sets. I helped to manage members who wanted to get involved with the event. This included coordinating with advisors from my sorority, CASA representatives, and University of Maryland figures as well. I created the website for the donation page, designed the tshirts that we wore, and organized the schedule of events. Being able to manage and work well with others is crucial to any aspect of life, and organizing this event helped expose me to these experiences. Another important thing to note about my time as CEAO is that my round of executive board members were the first ones back to in-person events since Covid-19. I had never even experienced an in-person philanthropy event that my sorority has organized, but I had to adapt and learn to plan it successfully. I had the help of so many people, however, being able to adjust from virtual to in-person is an example of my ability to think creatively fast on my feet.