Engaging in Citizenship

When considering how I engage in citizenship in my life, I must first realize what I consider myself to be a citizen of. There are many communities of which I consider myself to be a citizen. The Ohio State Community, the Jewish community, the pro-Israel community, the women's community, and many more. In this post I will talk about multiple communities that I am a part of, and how I engage in citizenship in these communities.

1. Empowerment. Women's empowerment is something that is EXTEMELY important to me. I feel that many of my life's goals revolve around empowering women to become the best and most whole woman that they can be. Due to this passion, I decided to get involved with Girl's Circle, an organization on college campuses that reaches out to younger girls in the outside community who are in need of some girl power. We run girl's circles in which we follow curriculum that touch on various girl's issues in order to help these girls learn how to cope with their lives while feeling strong and good about themselves. I feel that by doing this, I am doing my part as a citizen of a women's community to empower others who are also a part of this community.

2.Awareness of the Issues in the Community's History. I am a zionist. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, it basically means that I believe in the existence of the state of Israel as a Jewish state. Now, in order to be an advocate for the state of Israel, I must be aware of not only the current events going on in the country, I must also have a good grasp on the history of the land. I have spent much time learning about and living in Israel, so that I have a much tighter grasp on the complexity of the historical issues of not only Israel and Israelis, but also of the Palestinians and surrounding Arab nations. It is extremely important to me to be able to be an informed advocate for the Jewish nation that I am so proud of, and so I make a conscious effort to educate myself and others about as much as I am able.

3. Empathy. Although I would not consider myself to be the most service oriented person, I have participated in a few programs that have given me a very different sense of the world through the eyes of other people. One was this summer. While living in Israel, I taught English to children from families with large socioeconomic problems. These kids were from social classes considered to be toward the bottom of society's ranking system, and were from families with little money, parental guidance, or any kind of security. I worked with these children from 9-5 everyday for two months, and was truly impacted by the difficulties they had to face. The children from Ethiopia not only had to go through hell to get to Israel from Africa in the first place, they now rested at the bottom of the social food chain, making it difficult for them to get the resources, education, and opportunities needed to make a better life for themselves. Often, their parents didn't speak Hebrew, and had little control over their children who felt superior to them due to the language barrier they faced. The Mizrachi children faced similar dilemmas, because society deems them less desirable than the lighter skinned Ashkenazi children whose families originated from Eastern Europe. On a daily basis I was able to see what these kids were going to have to overcome in order to improve their life situation, and gained a better understanding for many of the social complexities of Israeli society.

Post Numero Uno!

1. Why did you choose to become a recruitment guide?
   I chose to become a recruitment guide for a few different reasons. First, I consider myself a leader, someone who other people don't mind looking to for advice, guidance, or an honest opinion. I know that one of my passions in life is to be a role model or a mentor for other girls, because I myself have gone through really difficult times in which I have been guided by someone who I looked up to, and now that I am on the other side, I would like to do the same for other girls. I felt that being a rho gam would be an amazing way to practice this kind of mentor/role model job.
   Another reason that I decided to become a Rho Gam was because I really feel uncomfortable with the process of recruitment. It felt wrong to me to determine the fate of another girl after such a limited experience with them, like I was just judging them without giving them enough of a chance. Being a Rho Gam is an opportunity to get to know these girls on a different level, and build a real relationship with them, and make them feel comfortable in this process by being there for them.
   
2. What is the purpose of a recruitment guide? (In your personal view... don't give us a job description.)
   I feel that the purpose of a recruitment guide is to be someone who inspires the PNMs to become a member of the Greek community. I feel that it is the job of a rho gam to represent Greek life in a positive way, but also in a realistic one. What I mean by that is that the girls are going to be spending a lot of time getting to know their rho gam, and they will see what a sorority girl is really like rather than a quick fifteen minute conversation during rounds that may not touch on anything real. These girls are going to look at the Rho Gams as women who have gone through the process, established themselves in Greek life and in the university, and who have a perspective on the recruitment process that the PNMs do not.
   
3. What are your responsibilities as a recruitment guide? (Not just tasks and logistics...)
   My responsibilities are to look out for the best interests of my PNMs, and to not let my own biases interfere with ensuring that my PNMs end up where they should, not where I believe they should. My responsibilities involve being patient with the girls, being understanding and empathetic, and representing myself as a Greek woman in the most positive light possible.
4. Why are recruitment guides important to the Panhellenic and SFL communities?
   They are important because they serve as a tangible representation of Greek life, so the PNMs can get to know someone who is already a member of the community, but also someone who is relatable and approachable, someone who the girls can identify with and think to themselves, "I like her, she reminds me of someone I know, I think I could do this too." The rho gams can make this experience much more pleasant and less scary for everyone involved.