Who Are Your Stars in 2012?

One of my favorite Alpha Chi Omega Convention traditions is Star Booth. For a small donation, you can honor the sisters who have touched your life or inspired you.

All the funds raised support the mission of Alpha Chi Omega Foundation - helping sisters learn and grow, assisting survivors of domestic violence and the agencies that serve them, and commemorating our musical heritage through support of the MacDowell Colony.
When you purchase a star (which you can do online here), Foundation sends an email to the recipient on your behalf. This is new this year and it's been fun receiving stars in my inbox. Convention attendees also get stars to wear on their name tags, and I've traditionally mostly bought stars for women I know are attending but I thought this year it would be fun to recognize four young sisters who are devoting time to making a difference in the world.

The first three are 2012 graduates of my home chapter, Zeta Upsilon, at Case Western Reserve University, all of whom were selected for Teach for America. They are training now and will teach children in underprivileged schools for 2 years, starting this fall: Abi in Oklahoma; Candace second grade in New Mexico; and Erin high school English in Memphis.

Abi, Erin and Candace at Alpha Chi Recruitment this winter. 

If you're not familiar with Teach for America, learn more here. Also, follow along as Erin is blogs her training and teaching experience here. 

My fourth inspirational sister is Victoria. Another Zeta Upsilon alumna, she graduated CWRU in 2011 and after completing her masters in Engineering and Management this spring, is spending the summer cycling across the US with Bike & Build.

Bike & Build organizes cross-country bicycle trips which benefit affordable housing groups.
Specifically, we fund projects planned and executed by young adults. Over the past 9 seasons we have donated more than $3.3MM; built for more than 100,000 hours; pedaled over 5MM miles; and engaged more than 1500 young adults in spreading the word about the affordable housing crisis in America.

Victoria's journey will take her from Providence, Rhode Island to Seattle, Washington. Along the way, the team will take breaks from riding and participate in building projects made possible by their fundraising.

Victoria in Pennsylvania en route to Seattle

Follow along with Victoria here and see the route (and where she is today (until August 21) here.


Who inspires you? Recognize her with a star here: http://www.axostarbooth.com/

See also
Who Are Your Stars? Don't miss the great comments
Alpha Chi Omega Star Booth