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First time headed to Greek conference? Have no idea what to expect? Nervous with no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into? I was right there with you last year.

We identify ourselves and others with many different labels. Where are you from? What school do you attend? Which sorority or fraternity are you in? The answers to these questions communicate a different story to people about who we are and what we believe. These labels can also come with baggage.

It takes many forms. It's goes by many names. It's that "one thing."

During the summer as you ran around on your study abroad and worked at your dream internship, did you ever feel like you were pretending to be an adult? Maybe you were a camp counselor leading children or maybe you worked in retail earning money for tuition. Regardless of what you were doing, summer is usually a time where we are trying new things, learning about who we are and learning just how wise we think we are. It's an experience that we try to carry over with us as we go back to school in the fall. 

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 

One month after I became a Greek InterVarsity alumni, I was able to reflect and see what Greek IV has done to me.

I did not expect myself to be challenged in my faith and be tested as a person as I got myself deeper into this community. The more I found myself involved, the more actually (dare I say) wanting to quit half the time. I remember trying to find excuses to not engage my sisters in spiritual conversations because it was intimidating. I remember the lonely times I felt being the only Asian American (aka a minority) in my Greek IV chapter thinking nobody else understands why it is so difficult to be myself sometimes. I remember the times I was angry at the fact that things seemed to be “falling apart” with my Greek IV chapter as the attendance slowly dwindled. I remember the frustrating moments I had from not seeing fruit in the people and “things” I spent so much time investing in.

How did you first get connected with Greek InterVarsity?

My friend and sorority sister Riley was already a leader within InterVarsity on our campus and she had heard about the Greek InterVarsity conference that was going to be held in Indianapolis. Riley and I had been friends since 6th grade, we joined the same sorority , and we also had a faith relationship. She strongly encouraged me to attend the conference with her because she felt that she and I had been called to attend this conference. 

I have the luxury of working in the Bible belt, where everybody is Christian yet few people are following Jesus.

Introducing Alison Smith, a Greek InterVarsity campus staff worker at the University of Utah. She is a frequent poster on the Greek IV blog, so get to know her here!