ELC- Excited to Learn about Chapters...

After sending in our applications last January, flying down in March for interviews and anxiously awaiting a phone call about the job in April, the seven of us Educational Leadership Consultants survived through our first week of working at Convention in Tucson, had a few weeks at home to finish packing and now are HALFWAY through training at Headquarters in Brentwood, Tennessee.

To say we are excited may be the biggest understatement since…well…ever! In hopes of sharing our outrageous excitement and experiences while on the road, our dearest Courtney Dillard and Rachel Boison from the Communications department have launched this blog, “Suitcase Diaries” to help us reach you! So bear with us as we take a stab at blogging and putting our many visits into words to connect our sisters throughout the world and keep you all updated on everything we do, everyone we meet, and all the fun stories that come along with traveling for a year!
Since none of us will be hitting the road until August 12th, we thought we’d fill you in on our training days here at Headquarters and all the things we have got to do while in Nashville!

First off, we’d like to say thanks to the Nu Omicron women at Vanderbilt who are letting us stay in their gorgeous house while we train in Brentwood! We are so grateful for such an amazing facility that allows us a safe, comfy space to relax after long days of training! We have had so much fun getting to know each other and are so thankful for such a conducive space for bonding and having fun together. Below is not only a picture of the Nu Omicron house, but also a few houses on campus (many others are so pretty but not pictured) that are nearby!
Our normal days have consisted of a van ride from the Nu Omicron house to Headquarters, approximately a 25 minute drive. We have an awesome van that fits all of us together so that we can be economical in getting to and from work. It has been nicknamed “The Silver Bullet” and it holds a very special place in our hearts. Those mornings belting out Celine Dion “it’s all coming back to me” will be missed, not to mention the weird looks we get when people see a group of seven 22 year old women in a mini-van!

So far we have had a lot of time with the Headquarters staff learning all the ins and outs and the whos who of AOII and Greek Life! Every day we roll into the parking lot in “The Silver Bullet” and make our way into the board room where we are trained by different staff and guest speakers, including the one and only Sally Wagaman!
The last picture shows a bit of the essentials for surviving a day of training at HQ…starting from the left of the desk area: Alpha Omicron Pi highlighters, water bottle, keys to “The Silver Bullet”, to-go coffee mug, phone, iPod, Alpha Omicron Pi notepad, AOII computer, planner, comfy chair and a cardinal cardigan for the extra air-conditioned days!

I know you’re all feeling sorry for us since we’re not having ANY fun, right? Well…I guess it’s time we admit a few things to you all…even the days in the building are fun! In case that’s not enough for us though, we’ve had countless opportunities to spend time outside of the building with various Alumnae who have opened up their houses and/or schedules to mentor and inspire us! Last week we had the chance to drive to Madison, Alabama and spend the night at Carol Jones’ house, Past International President and AOII’s NPC Delegate. As we had all been told it would be, it was a blast. Her daughter and husband were also there and we enjoyed spending time with her family. She took time out of her day to give us the low-down on NPC and our role in promoting NPC’s values as we visit campuses. Not only did she help us learn about NPC, she fed us delectable food and hung out by the pool with us as we relaxed for a bit and talked about college rivalries (She is a diehard Alabama fan, so keep that in mind if you ever meet her! Roll tide!).
Below we are at Barb Zipperian’s house, our most recent Past International President. She kindly invited us into her home for dinner in Franklin, Tennessee. Her words were such an inspiration to us all as she reminded us what our jobs are truly about and what to focus on when times get tough and we get stressed; sisterhood and friendship. Her stories about her college days were hilarious and she even showed us her bid day card for AOII that she still has! For all you active collegians out there, save yours and someday you too may be a Past International President showing it to a group of new Alumnae!
For those of you that are from Nashville or have spent much time in this area, you know how many great tourist attractions there are here! We have not been too proud to be tourists, and thanks to our fellow ELC and native Tennessean, Blair Dudley, we have been able to successfully navigate our way around and visit some fun places! Mr. and Mrs. Dudley even made a home cooked meal and drove to the Vanderbilt campus to meet us and eat dinner with us. They later treated us to ice cream and a trip to the Opryland Hotel! We were so glad to get to meet Blair’s parents and had so much fun spending time with them. A true example of “Southern hospitality”! The pictures are a combination of us downtown Nashville or at the Opryland Hotel! Finally, a huge shoutout goes to the Men of Sigma Pi who are also located in Brentwood, Tennessee. On one of our first days of work we were graced with their presence and seven red roses welcoming us to Brentwood! They joined us downtown and also for a Nashville Sounds minor league triple A baseball game (Erik, a Sigma Pi, even caught a foul ball and gave it to Tracy who then made a little boy’s day and gave it to him during the game. He could not stop smiling!). We have been so swamped that we have not had much time to spend with them besides this, but they have been so hospitable and fun we’re hoping we can spend some more time with them before we leave!

Like we said, we are beyond excited to start our travels and meet you all on the road. Thanks for taking the time to read our stories. Please spread the word about our enthusiasm and our blog so we can, in turn, get to know you all!

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Also, comment on this post or on Facebook and let us know what YOU would like to hear about in our blogs this next year!

TTFN! (Ta Ta For Now!)

Tracy Ottey (Chi Psi), Clarke Erickson (Xi), Liz Pelletier (Iota), Jessica Li (Sigma Alpha), Blair Dudley (Rho Omicron), Taryn Hinderland (Xi), Written by Nicole Claudon (Alpha Gamma)