Incongruency

To be Honest... the first impression that I got from Greek was totally different from how I feel about it now. Before going to college, the only way I could know about Greek orgs is from movies or shady friends that were already in college. I did not know that Greek orgs do anything else other than parties, TGs, and mixers. My impression towards Greek Organizations did not change till I got into college and get to know some of the sisters from Kappa Phi Lambda. After hanging out with them, I got to know a lot more about how the Greek systems works.
After joining my sorority, I realized that there are so much more that we do in fraternities and sororities other than just party and drinking like how people think stereotypically. There are so many requirements, locally and nationally that we need to make as a member. We have to raise money, we have to commit a certain number of community service hours, we have to hold cultural, and philanthropy events that many outsider will not think of. As a sister now of my sorority, I understand that an pledging process is more about bonds, instead of the stereotypical hazing. What pledging meant to me was not about doing stupid stuff like drinking, but about establishing bonds with the sisters, as well as the entire sorority nationally.
Some of my friends from high school would always ask me questions that are very stereotypical. It is upsetting that they would think that I will change into another person after joining sorority. It is hard to explain to them that being in a sorority has a lot more to do than just having fun.  

Kappa Phi Lambda's Mission Statement-- Congruent and Incongruent

Our Mission is to......

Promote Cultural Diversity


As a cultural sorority, our main mission is to promote cultural diversity on campus as well as within the whole Greek community. We tried our best to host as many cultural events as possible, in which we involved many other Asian organizations. 


Congruent 
Couple weeks ago we had our iron chef event. The purpose of this event is not only to enjoy different foods from different cultures, but to foster a greater sense of unity within the campus community and to promote cultural awareness. Having these kind of cultural events allows to have more interaction with other organizations on campus, as well as getting more experience on hosting events. The other major event that we had during fall was the haunted house event, in which we raised money for our national philanthropic cause NAPWAF. This event got many positive feedbacks from people and we decided to make it an annual event.  
Kappa Phi Lambda is relatively new on campus comparing to other greek organizations. We are still on our way of learning. Hopefully having all these kind of event will help us gain more experiences. 

Incongruent 

Since it is very important for us to promote cultural diversity, having supports from different organizations for us is very necessary, especially from non Asian organizations. Having more social events and get to know other greek organizations as well as letting them know us is something we need to work on at this point. 

Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.

Being in Kappa Phi Lambda with my sisters is one of the most lucky thing ever happen in my life. We represent Sisterhood, Service, and most importantly Cultural Diversity......

Since we are a very small chapter, every single person is extremely close to each other. We spend almost every single moment with sisters, it's like having 12 extra siblings in my family. I think the real meaning about sisterhood is to have someone to be there for you when you need them, or just to have someone to goof around with and share good memories with. 

"We fought, we patched up. We laughed at jokes that no one can understand. We said some of the meanest things to each other. We defended each other when others won't. We did some of the silliest things together and there's so many stories to be recalled when we are together....
Do you have a sister? If you have, you'll know what I mean."

I shared this quote on facebook and made myself shed a little tears, especially when I think of I am leaving my sisters within a year. Although sisterhood is something that every sorority emphasize...duhh~ I somehow feel like Kappa Phi Lambda is really special for me since we are really close to sisters from other chapters too. We would visit sisters from U Mich, CMU, Miami U, and all the others from all the way in New York and New Jersey. Without Kappa Phi Lambda, I wouldn't have the chance to meet all these people from so far away. Without Kappa Phi Lambda, I won't be able to make friends from all over the country and have life long sisterhood that I will cherish forever. It is just amazing how you realize you realize you won't be able to meet or even know about these people without Kappa Phi Lambda. 

Here is a very cute rush video made by sisters from Cornell chapter, enjoy :)

Whattt are my VALUES and whaat do they mean to meee?

My values are very important to me and to my everyday performance~~

First of all, of course......FAMILY<3<3<3<3o(≧v≦)o~~

My FAMILY is relatively smaller comparing to all the others, just because I am the only child, and because of that, my parents and I are extremely tight. Since I am the only daughter that they can rely on and count on, they expect me to be the best person I can be ever since I was little. They gave me the best things in the world, best education, and everything else that a daughter can ever ask for. In exchange, I always try my best to be an awesome daughter because I know that my whole FAMILY is so proud of me and would always be there for me. They are my motivation of my life, and the biggest reason for me to stay strong and be the best person I can be. 

Second of all, FRIENDSHIP ~\(≧▽≦)/~

Like I said, I am the only child in my family, that's why I always wanted brothers and sisters, or just simply people that I can trust and count on besides my parents. It is very important to have a few FRIENDS that you can total trust. When I was in second grade, my parents sent me to boarding school, where I met my first group of close FRIENDS in my life. I shared a room with 8 other little girls that are my age. That was the first time ever that I know how it feels to have sisters. We spent every single moment together, and we trust each other on everything. Then I realized to have close FRIENDS in your life is very important. And because of this, I chose to join a sorority, because I miss having a group of girls that you can totally trust and rely on, and share your values with. 

Third of all, Loyalty \(^o^)/~

Having someone besides my family to rely on is extremely important me. That's because being LOYAL to my friends is one of the most important value to me. I believe that true friends are all about trust. If you want friends that you can trust, first of all you have to make them trust you. That is extremely important to me. I realized this even better ever since I joined my sorority. 

And...... EXCITEMENT(∩_∩)

Being in college is one of the most EXCITING things in my life. Here I realized that having something EXCITING and spontaneous happen is extremely important. It made me feel that I came here and meet all those people in my life for a reason. Because of all those EXCITEMENT, I enjoy my life so much and cherish everything and everyone around me even more. 

Who am I and what would I do to change the world...???

Hmmmm...good question. I think Ima introduce myself a little bit first. My name is Michelle Zhu, I am a 3rd year senior majoring in Aviation :) and I'm in Kappa Phi Lambda sorority. I think what makes me special is that I am a girl, and I like stuff about aviation, which most girls don't. I started flying helicopter 5 years ago, and since then I decided to make this my career. woooo whoooo~~~ As to what I would do to change the world. I think since we are all just ordinary people, there are very limited things that we can do for now. But I would love to make everyone around me to have a better mood everyday, so they will be enjoying their day and maybe in a good mood of helping out other people. Hey, just like how we did in our first class, paying it forward. I love posting random little things, such as pictures, videos on my friend's wall whenever I found something funny or cute. Even though they are kinda random and came out of no where, but hey they may probably make that person's day :)

As for the future, I'm hoping that I can become successful in my career so I can represent women in aviation. This means a lot to me since the aviation industry has always been dominated by men. I would be honored if I can prove that woman can also be very outstanding and can be even with men at this industry. So hopefully I can become one of the women that help contribute one changing the world's view on women in aviation.
P.S. the panda above is one of the random cute pictures that I posted on my friend's facebook wall. this cute little thing makes me smile because it believes it can fly even though it is a panda! lol