Why I Joined Greek Life

Posted on January 31, 2017
by Sarah Stephens

Joining a sorority here at SUNY Oswego really had a huge impact on my years here. My sisters are my best friends, my bridesmaids, and the girls I can cry to about anything. Growing up I had many friends, until high school that is. High school was a dark time for me. I never really fit into a friend group. People weren’t nice to me either. This is not a sad story though. High school is in my past. I came to SUNY Oswego and became a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon. The sorority has helped me network and find internships, but also is my home away from home. I really discovered myself within the sorority. I was able to hold leadership roles as a younger sister, but now it is super special to watch my younger sisters take on leadership roles now. Are you interested in joining Greek life? Here are some reasons why people joined Greek life.

“I joined Greek life because I was honestly struggling to make friends. I had my roommate who was interested in joining a sorority. I never really thought about it, but she convinced me. It was the best decision I have made in all my time here at SUNY Oswego.” – Alexa Shumway

“I decided to join Greek life for the strong sense of community. Greek life brought me close to so many amazing people inside my own organization as well as the others on campus!” – Mackenzie Wetzel

“I joined Greek life because I wanted o be a part of something bigger than myself and was really interested in giving back to the community.” – Sarah Henry

“I joined Greek life because I felt like I was looking for a place where I fit in. Once I joined I felt like I had this support system that I could have only dreamed of. It’s a huge community full of amazing people.” – Jaime Krasner

“The Next Step”

Posted on January 20, 2017
by Ilyssa Weiner

What does leadership mean to you? Do you know what your purpose in life is? These questions and more were asked when I attended Oz Leads’ first ever “Next Step” Skill Building Workshop on Jan. 20. Honestly, this event was much different than what I expected.

The day started with a workshop set up by a speaker from Collegiate Empowerment. The workshop was not just another boring lecture or continuous Q&A about leadership and how to prepare for life after college. Instead, our speaker, Joe, motivated the crowd of about 20-30 students with his enthusiasm and interactive activities (which included A LOT of high fives). My biggest takeaway from Joe’s lecture was his point about how we are not measured by our “Grade Point Average” after college (but don’t, like, fail all your classes). Rather, we are measured by our “Real GPA,” which helps us move toward our goal after college. Joe breaks down the “Real GPA” with three words: Genius (what we’re best at), Passion (what we love), and Achievement (what’s meaningful to us).

During lunch, we were encouraged to sit with recruiters from the different companies that were there, including Target, Verizon, and the Peace Corps. I had a wonderful conversation with a lady from Theater Du Jour, a small dinner theater group from the Central NY area.

After the second part of Joe’s presentation was over, everyone broke off into four different breakout sessions (we had to pick two out of the four sessions). The first breakout session I went to focused on how to overcome obstacles as we go forward in our careers. This session was lead by Oswego alumnus Phyllis Moore Holloway (’76), a former administrator from the Syracuse City School District who now serves as the volunteer Interim Director for Dunbar Center. Her discussion hit close to me, especially when she explained some of the problems she had to solve. Many of her situations were ones my parents, who are both teachers (my dad retired from teaching almost three years ago), may have had to face during their career.

The second breakout session I went to focused on how your major doesn’t define you and how you can find jobs outside of your major. This session, led by Career Services Associate Director Mallory Bower (whose focus is more on business, communication, STEM, and healthcare industries), stemmed away from the original discussion to focus more on how we can better our resume and cover letter to fit a certain job description, regardless if it fits our major or not. Bower’s big takeaway: “Don’t be well rounded. Be amazing at a few things.”

The day ended with another brief networking session with the representatives from the companies. I had a good chat with a recent Oswego alumnus who works at Enterprise Holding, as well as a recruiter from the company.

Overall, the workshop was a fantastic day and extremely helpful for everyone who attended, regardless of major and whether he or she had a leadership position on campus. It’s definitely an event I would recommend anyone to go to next year in order to prepare for your “next step” after graduation.

Networking 101

Posted on October 13, 2016
by Sarah Stephens

Hello everyone!

Whether you are a Communications, Accounting, Health Science, or Education major (etc.) it is so important to begin networking now. I would like to tell you a little story about WHY it is so crucial to network.

When I was applying for internships I had no idea where to start. I began discussing with my Mother possible internships I could apply to, which leads to network one. My Mother set me up with her friend who worked at Newsday Media Company, which is the Long Island Newspaper. From there I was able to land an interview in the Event Marketing Department. I got the internship! At Newsday I met so many great employees. Some who I actually stayed in touch with, which leads to network two. Here at Newsday I met Kim. Kim and I worked very closely together on the events Newsday would be holding. It wasn’t until Kim and I discovered that we were in the same sorority that our friendship expanded.

It is so important to maintain these relationships we make. I reached out to Kim after my internship ended and asked her if she had any connections with anyone at a Radio Station. This is where network number three comes in. Kim set me up with Joe from Connoisseur Media Long Island. This Media Company is the home of five Long Island stations. I was able to send Joe an email because I was already back in Oswego. In the email I stated that unfortunately I was already back in Oswego, but would love to send him my resume. His response back to me left me speechless. Joe responded with “I would do anything to be back in Oswego”. I was able to send Joe my resume and land an interview at this Media Company. I became a Promotions Intern. After my internship ended I got hired to work on the Events Team.

To sum this all up, I want everyone to be aware with whom they meet. You never know what networking with people can do for your future.

quest report: business and leadership sessions

Posted on April 20, 2012
by Quest

Submitted by Kaila Curatalo

Etiquette: Minding Your Manners

The first presentation that I attended was a presentation about the different types of business etiquette. What to do and not to do in the work place, interview etiquette, email etiquette and in case you ever want to quit your job, the successful ways to go about it. To start off with the topic of interviewing, always be early. Whenever attending an interview it is crucial that you dress appropriately in business attire. When meeting the person who is interviewing be sure to shake their hand and be prepared for small talk. Also be sure that you listen carefully through out the interview and if you do not understand something, speak up and ask them to repeat themselves. Make sure you always being extra resumes and although most people do not think to send a thank you note, it shows that you are appreciative and serious about the job position.

Through out the presentation the group discussed the six rules of business etiquette, which are promptness, preparation, appearance, decorum, e-mail formatting and communication appropriateness. By being prepared in those six skills you will look more professional and more likely be hired for the job. One of the most important skills to have in this technological day in age is good email etiquette. Be sure that you are not using email just to avoid face-to-face communication. Always know that email is not private, so your messages need to be professional or work related in case they get into the wrong hands, and as always be sure to reread your emails and make sure your grammar, spelling and punctuation are all correct.

Quitting a job always seems like it would be an awkward or uncomfortable process, but after watching this presentation, leaving a corporation or business in the correct fashion can actually help your future endeavors. Always give enough notice to your job when you are putting in your recognition. The standard is two weeks, but some companies may require up to a year in advance notice. You never want to burn any bridges with your employers so letting the company have adequate time to replace you is the respectable thing to do. Ask if you can train your replacement, finish any projects that your working on, leave a clean workspace, ask for references and thank your supervisor for the opportunity and training. After watching this presentation I am more familiar with what I need to have to have good business etiquette.

Networking: Your Key to Success

The next presentation I attended was about what may most be the most important aspect of our society today, networking. Networking opens up new doors for you every day. Meeting new people and making new connections proves to be very beneficial in the business world.

There are many places right on campus at SUNY Oswego that open opportunities for you to network. The Compass has services such as the Leadership Development Program, Major Career Exploration, Career Services and Experience-Based Education. The ASK mentoring program pairs you with an alum to explore your field of career interest. With the help of your alumni mentor, you can find what truly interests you and they can help you to begin to network yourself.

Being involved around campus can quickly increase your networking status. The many different jobs the school offers in places such as residence life and housing, Cooper and Glimmerglass gyms and the dining halls can help you meet new people and create networks. Also the different activities and clubs such as Greek life and the numerous different varsity sports can help you network yourself. Although social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become highly popular within the last few years you have to be extremely careful about what you put on your site. Some companies hire people who can hack your account to see the types of things you put on your page. Always make sure you are putting things on the Internet that you would want people to see, not something that people could use against you.

Managing Conflict: A Soft Skill

The third presentation that I attended was about conflict management. Many people view that conflict it a bad thing, but throughout this presentation you being to see that sometimes conflict can be a good thing. Conflict is normal in the everyday workplace and normally if everyone communicates properly it can be easily solved. Conflict will test the strengths of individuals, and will help you learn about the strengths of others. It has been proven that when conflict is involved it actually improves your performance rate.

When being faced with a conflict don’t be afraid to ask questions. Getting a variety of different sources is crucial in the resolution of a conflict. In the pre-negotiation stage, first start of the conversation, and find out if everyone is willing to communicate. Then agree on the discussion rules and be organized. During the negotiation bring everyone’s concerns to light and show the current options. Once this is done, evaluate the options then write a written agreement. Last in the post-negotiation make sure you take action and seek outside support if needed. The most important aspect of solving a conflict is that both parties need to be willing to negotiate. Solving conflict will help you and your business succeed.

Becoming a Leader

The last presentation that I went to was about becoming a leader. Every good business has people that step up and become leaders to their co-workers. Every leader must have good communication traits and create different approaches to management. There are five different leadership styles, which are social, task, balance, leaderless and moderate. A balanced leader has a high concern for the task and a high concern for the people. The balanced leader is the ultimate leader and has great communication skills. A moderate leader has moderate concern for the task and moderate concern for the people, and although this is not the best case, this is in reality what most leaders are.

Leaders need to have good communication traits that will continue to make them better leaders. They have to have a willingness to communicate. Leaders also need to have a sense of argumentativeness, which is being able to exchange ideas that state positions providing support for those positions. Leaders that are high in argumentativeness are likely to have more influence in an organization. Leaders need many skills in order to be successful such as strategy, writing and speaking. Emotional intelligence, cultural literacy and listening are also key character traits of a leader. One of the most important traits of being a leader has to be credibility; if your co-workers do not think you are credible you are most likely not going to be taken seriously in the workplace.

Just Do It

Posted on June 23, 2010
by Samantha

Cloud nine can’t even begin to describe the state of euphoria I am in right now.

After working all day, my fitness editor, Mary, asked me to attend a press event with her. Clearly, I said yes. Then I found out it was for Nike and we were testing their new products that are launching in July. I couldn’t have been more psyched.

After our car service dropped us off at 555 West 18th Street, we mingled with other editors in attendance and waited for the event to start. For those of you who are not familiar with the media industry, press events are attended by various editors, writers, staffers and bloggers from multiple magazines. The goal is to find out about new products and come back with any new, exciting information that could possibly run in the magazine. Usually, you get gift bags as well so that all of the promoted products can be tested!

When the program began, a lot of the new products were discussed and technologically explained. Nike’s new gear is launching in July, and it ranges from new sneakers to sports bras. Everything discussed today was geared toward women because, well, everyone there was female and worked at some form of a women’s magazine. I’d tell you about the new stuff coming out, but you’ll have to check out my health and fitness blog, The Pulse, for that insider info.

A huge surprise came next.

Michael Johnson, four-time Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder for the 400-meter and 4 X 400 m relay, spoke to us about proper preparation for running. I was slightly star struck. To make it better, he also Skyped (possibly another system used, but I think it was Skype) with Sanya Richards, the defending U.S. and world champion in the 400-meter. She provided tips specifically for females to prepare their mind and body for running. But again, if you want that info, you’re going to have to check out The Pulse.

Finally, we were decked in Nike’s latest gear from head to toe, all the way down to the socks and sports bras. Everyone decided to run two, four or six miles and Nike brought in professionals to pace us throughout our run. I stuck with two because of my blood disorder, but I think next time I’m going to tough out four. Oh, and Michael Johnson ran with us two-milers! (I finished the run before he did, if that counts for anything.) And yes, we got to keep all of our gear, so I now have a ton of new fitness gear!

So this is just a few toes dipped into the ocean of things that magazine journalists are able to experience. I can’t wait to dive in.