I used to romantize this organization and believe there were no imperfections; this of course is not true and while this was hard to swallow at first it also gave me a passion to help improve this organization.
My answer to the question, "Why did you want to be a Leadership Consultant?" has changed a lot during my year of travel and right now my go to answer is something like this: Because I love Alpha Delta Pi. I believe in the mission we all share. I firmly believe that Alpha Delta Pi has the power to change women for the better and I enjoy being part of that journey. I think that sometimes our Alumnae forget who this organization is all about, and I am so lucky to be able to work in the trenches with these women on chapter issues. That's something I always want to remember: Alpha Delta Pi was put in place to enrich the lives of collegiate women and to add to their college experiences.
I have been very blessed with strong female leaders in my life and it can be discouraging for me when I'm not surrounded by fellow strong female leaders.
This job has taught me how to be sure of myself in all situations. Self-esteem and body image are still things I struggle with at times (what women doesn't?) but I have learned to be sure of myself and my body because those have been my only true constants in this job.
Sometimes this job sucks, just plain sucks, and it is not as glamorous as one would think from the outside looking in. Sure all the consultants seem put together and ready to take on the world when viewed on social media, but I know for sure that this job is not always that way. To steal a quote from Mindy Kaling, "Sometimes you just have to put on lip gloss and pretend to be psyched." This is a great skill to have in life.
One of the hardest parts of this job is finding a place in a chapter's sisterhood and true friendship bonds with women and then leaving the next day. I've cried multiple times leaving a chapter.
One of the coolest parts of this job is knowing that every visit has an expiration date. This is the silver lining when a visit has proved to be difficult emotionally, physically, and mentally.
I have learned to meet a chapter where they are. Not every chapter is a Golden Lion Chapter (top award in ADPi land) or even a Diamond 4-Point Chapter (base award in ADPi land). This took far too long for me to learn but once I learned this and put it into play for my chapters I learned how to help them get to the next step. Even if that next step is just turning in paperwork on time.
This detailed orientated gal has adopted a new outlook of the bigger picture and understanding that the minor details sometimes won't matter in the long run. There are bigger fish to fry in the consulting world.
Life is so much more enjoyable when you are true to yourself (even if you're a little weird). For a while in this job I was trying to live up to what I thought an LC was and be what I thought others expected me to be during chapter visits. However, I found that I don't function well like the image I've conjured in my head. That's okay. I found it's more than okay for me to be me and to be a servant leader at my visits. Multiple times collegians and advisors have told me I'm a "different" consultant, and I still don't know if that's been a good or bad thing.
While I am genuinely sad to leave this job, I am ready for the next adventure and to serve Alpha Delta Pi somewhere else.
