Sunny & 95!

Hey Everyone!

It sure has been a while since I last posted! I seem to be only posting on my breaks, coincidence? I think not. Anyway, I am currently in Tempe, AZ enjoying some down time with Ross, Sarah, and of course their Jack Russel Terrier, Mack. The current daily temp in Phoenix has been 95 degrees...in November! How crazy?! I have been here since Sunday and have had a good, lazy time. This is how my days have gone so far...

Mack usually wakes me up at 7 a.m.
We watch the Today show.
We take a nap from about 10-12 p.m.
Eat Lunch.
Play fetch.
Work on some reports.
Take a walk.
Watch TV and wait for Ross and Sarah to come home.

Let's just say, it has been a pretty relaxing break so far. I finished two reports today, but need to get cracking on two more tomorrow because Ross, Sarah, and I are going to go down to Sedona, AZ on Friday to go hiking and check out the beautiful views. On Saturday, we are going to take in the ASU vs USC football game. I am so excited to see a big NCAA football game even though the Sun Devils aren't doing so hot this year! :)

My last three visits have been great and I have even had some celebrity sightings! My first visit after my break was to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. I was there from October 20th - 24th. It was really a neat visit and I enjoyed seeing Pittsburgh, as I had never been before! Plus, Carnegie Mellon is home to Randy Pausch, the author of "The Last Lecture." If you haven't read this book yet, I highly suggest that you do. It is so meaningful and makes you really think about what is important in life.

Next, I went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City. I went a day early so I could hang with my friend Emily Scheich who is going to Law School at the U of I. I really made it in good timing because I arrived on the eve of a Hawkeye football game against Michigan State. I don't know if you have heard, but Iowa has been kicking butt in football this season! On Saturday night, Emily and I met up with some of her Law School friends and watched the game at a local sports bar/restaurant as the game was at MSU. Iowa went on to win the game with literally 3 seconds remaining! It was insane! Everyone was running around downtown cheering and hooping and hollering! It was pretty cool to see the team go 7-0 and make history! They are now 8-0 and ranked 4th in the BCS! Let's hope they make it all the way to play the Gators in the championship game. I always have to root for the underdog! Especially from the midwest! I had an awesome time seeing Emily. We got to catch up and chat and even met for lunch and coffee a couple of times during my visit. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends!

After that little one day break, Em dropped me off at the chapter house and my visit lasted from October 24-29. The girls at the Theta at the U of I were really nice and I thoroughly enjoyed their House Mom who reminded me of my friend Jill's mom Gail! :) While I was in Iowa City, I also got a chance to have lunch with former ELC and current IU Greek Advisor, Melissa Shaub. It was really fun to swap stories with someone who truly understands what this crazy job is all about. She took me to a great local restaurant called Atlas where we ate burritos that had BBQ pork, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes in them and were topped with fried onions. It's a strange combo but so yummy! One day, I also had the chance to dine with Mary Jane Beach, who is Theta's current Panhellenic delegate and is a former Grand Council President. It was pretty great to dine with a Theta celebrity like Mary Jane! Emily joined us for lunch and we enjoyed talking about nerdy Theta stuff as well as life and of course football. It was so much fun catching up with some great Thetas!

My finally visit of this three visit stretch was back to Lawrence University for pilot support from October 29-November 1. The Alpha Psi chapter at Lawrence is one of our chapters that transitioned to a smaller officer structure. We are visiting these chapters twice to ensure that the transition is going smoothly. I enjoyed coming back to this chapter and working with these fantastic women. Another great part of this visit was that I got to stay at a hotel! This is a pretty big perk when you are used to staying in sorority houses or dorm rooms! Not only did my hotel contain not one but two queen sized beds with down comforters, it also was the hotel that the Minnesota Vikings were staying in for the Viking/Packer game! What are the odds?! I didn't get to see Brett Favre, but I did see Vikings head coach, Brad Childress and ran into a couple of other rather large men, which I assumed were Vikings players. I didn't get any autographs because I would rather sit in my bed and watch TV then wait for the Vikings to come out of their hotel rooms, but it was still pretty cool! I think I was the only one in the hotel who wasn't going to the game, but never the less, I enjoyed my stay in the Radisson!

Well, I better hit the hay. Mack's 7 a.m. pouncing wake-up call is going to come early! I have had a wonderful time in Phoenix so far and am really looking forward to this weekend! On Sunday I am back on the road for another three visit stretch...Michigan State, University of Wisconsin, and University of Delaware. After my three visits, I head back home to ND (yippee!) on November 20th. I will be home for about 6 days, then our family is going to Las Vegas to meet up with my dad's side of the family and celebrate Thanksgiving...Viva Las Vegas Style! It should be interesting eating a Thanksgiving buffet, but I'm sure I will enjoy it regardless!

Until the next break,

Lyss :)

P.S.~ My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the three members of the DSU softball team who tragically died this week. It's a stark reminder that we must live each day to the fullest and to be thankful for what we have. ~A

R&R

Hey All,

I have been home this past week for a little R&R and let me tell you it has been amazing! Once again, Laura, being the saint that she is, picked me up at the Bismarck airport on Thursday night. The ND weather decided to be fickle (as always) and decided to rain/sleet all night, but I made it home safely to a yummy home cooked meal. Most of my time at home has been spent writing reports, getting re-organized, and repacking for the change in seasons, but I did enjoy watching the Sioux/Gopher hockey game with the rents this weekend. Once again, the Sioux dominated those silly Gophers! We won 4-0 Friday then tied on Saturday. I am so excited for hockey season! The team is looking good, even though they are pretty young. I feel a national championship coming on...well I hope anyway!! Tomorrow night I will be driving back to Bismarck and staying with Laura and Gerald. My flight leaves at 7:40 AM on Tuesday morning, so thank goodness I have amazing family members who always have an open bed for me!

My last visit was from October 6-11 at the University of Delaware, which was absolutely great! The girls were SO nice and welcoming. I am excited to go back in the middle of November! After Delaware, I flew to Indianapolis for mid-semester meeting. It was so good to see all of the ELCs and hear their stories of life on the road. We had a great time catching up, giggling, and swapping sorority tales :)! I am so lucky to have such amazing co-workers/friends! I know often the rebuttal to not joining a sorority is that people "don't want to buy their friends." Well let me tell you, I surely did not pay enough for my sorority sisters, we once figured out that it was $5.50 per sister! Ha ha! Soooo worth it! Anyway, I had made a comment to the other ELCs during training that we were so lucky, we get paid to be friends! Which is amazing! Ha ha!

On Tuesday I head to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA from Oct. 20th to the 24th! I'm pretty excited! If you have ever read the book "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, you would be excited to go to CM too! If you haven't read "The Last Lecture," you should! It's a quick read and gives you a great new perspective on life, which I am all about these days! Another great book is "The Secret." It will make you think a little differently about life.

One thing that I am learning from this job is that I am alone a lot, which I really enjoy. This seems completely ridiculous, since I was always the person who loved to be in big crowds and hanging with tons of people! I have learned to love being by myself. I have learned so much about what I am capable of and what I have to work on and that I have so much more to learn! It's great. So, my hope to you this week is that you get at least 10 minutes to be completely and totally by yourself and just chill. It makes such a huge difference!

I hope you all have an excellent Monday! I will be packing and tying up loose ends at home before I hit the road for Bismarck tomorrow night, then it's PA on Tuesday!

Keep in touch! Give me a call sometime or send me a text, it's always good to hear from the people you love out on the road!

Chapter Houses!

I decided to post some pictures of the chapter houses that I visited. This is one of my favorite parts of my job! The different facilities are so different and unique and some chapters do not even have houses!

Clemson University (Clemson, SC), the Delta Phi Chapter

California State University Fresno (Fresno, CA) Gamma Chi Chapter

University of Montana (Missoula, MT) Alpha Pi Chapter

The College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA), Beta Lambda Chapter

Hanover College (Hanover, IN), Nu Chapter

I am currently visiting the Zeta Tau chapter at the University of Delaware! I will post a pic of their chapter house soon! I also promise to be a better blogger. After a day of writing reports the last thing I want to do is type some more, but I will suck it up and start posting more! I promise! :)

Hello for South Carolina!

Hi friends!

Currently, I am visiting Wofford College in Spartanberg, SC! After a much needed vacation home in which I got to visit Grand forks(!), I have once again hit the road on the longest stretch of visits that I have so far. Let me tell you what I have been up to lately...

Home was great! My mom picked me up from the airport in Bismarck late Friday night (Sept 5) and we stayed at Laura & Geralds. On Saturday we woke up early and drove to Portland to visit family and friends. There was a whole crew of family members visiting my aunt Shari and uncle Dennis' house in Portland! The following family members were in attendance at our festivities: my cousin April and her gorgeous baby Noah, my aunt Molly and uncle Glen, their daughter Angie, her daughter Lizzie, my cousin Kelsey, my cousin Sara and her daughter Colby, my cousins Jason, Samuel, and Wyatt, and of course Molly and Glen's kids a.k.a dogs Maddy and Rudy. We had so much fun having a mini family reunion! Noah is an absolute doll and it was great to hold him and give him big kisses! It has been so much fun watching him grow up!

Not only did I get to see my family, but I also traveled to Grand Forks and got to see my UND family! It was so so so much fun to see all of my friends and the renovations of Theta! The living room looks amazing and I know that the girls are going to rock recruitment! After GF and Portland, mom and I came home (on Monday Sept 8) and the sleep deprivation finally caught up with me as I got sick :( If my body could have planned a perfect time to get sick it was definitely then! I slept pretty much the rest of my vacation, so needless to say, I did not get much work done, but I did feel a lot better! On Wednesday night I drove back to Bismarck and Laura dropped me off at the airport bright and early Thursday (Sept. 10) morning so I could travel to Virginia.

I got to Williamsburg at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday night and started meetings right away! W & M was absolutely beautiful! It was so cool to literally be a stones through away from Colonial Williamsburg! The Theta house was a beautiful old colonial home (I know, weird huh?!) that had a lot of character. I assisted the women with recruitment and am proud to say that the Beta Lambda chapter has 28 new members! I had a great time and found an amazing coffee shop called Aromas that served the best vanilla lattes that I have ever had! Being Norwegian, it is my duty to find a coffee shop wherever I go. My UND Theta sister, Samantha Haz drove down to Williamsburg (her hometown of Richmond is only one hour away) on Saturday to visit me. It was so great to see her and to catch up! She is training for a triathlon and is looking so buff! It's always great to see someone from home!

I left Williamsberg on Tuesday (Sept 15) and traveled to South Carolina, where I am now. Everything has been going well here and all of the members are welcoming and nice. Southern hospitality is not just a saying. I am staying in the dorms with a couple of the Thetas because the chapter doesn't have a house. I can honestly say that I never thought I would be staying in the dorms at the age of 23, but it's been good!

I will be in Spartanberg until Sunday morning (September 20th) then I head back to the Midwest and visit Lawrence College in Appleton Wisconsin (September 20-24)! After Lawrence, I visit Hanover College in Hanover, IN (September 24-28). Then, I finally get a break and head to Minneapolis to chill with my favorite dental student Amy (September 28 - October6)! I can't wait to sleep in, work on reports, and literally do nothing! Amy and I are going to drive from the cities to Grand Forks for homecoming the first weekend of October! I'm excited to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Greek Life and catch a football game and the homecoming festivities! I cannot wait to see all of my Union friends and college peeps! Until then I better catch up on reports! I'm so far behind, I'm almost ahead! Hope things are going well wherever you may be!

Thanks for following me! :)

Heading Home

So, I"m sitting here in the Seattle airport getting ready to board a plane to fly to Denver then to Bismarck! I just finished up my 12 day visit at the University of Montana. The visit was great! Missoula is a beautiful city with its own unique flair. I highly suggest taking a vacation to Missoula if you haven't yet. There is so much to do in one little city; hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking, shopping in the adorable shops downtown, and so much more! This is a place I could definetily see myself living someday!

I thought being in one spot for almost two weeks would be really difficult, but I found that it was actually more difficult for me to leave today. The women of Alpha Nu were so unbelievably welcoming and fun! They are a very driven group of women who really have come a long way this year. They took me around campus, hiked a mountain with me, took me to "out to lunch" at the park and made me feel at home. They reminded me so much of my own chapter! There was actually a girl named Anna who completely reminded me of my friend Jessie! It was uncanny! They are both so spunky, fun, and friendly!

While on my visit I helped the chapter with their pre-recruitment workshop last week then with recruitmen this week. The chapter did so well! They made quota plus one and will be COBing some amazing women who suicide bid Theta! (Pretty much they rocked at recruitment!) The chapter did the best out of the four chapters on campus...everyone wanted Theta!!! It was an amazing accomplishment for a chapter that really struggled with recruitment in years past.

While at Missoula, I got to catch up with my friend Shannon Burthold, who is from Bismarck. Shannon and I were in the same dorm my first year at UND. She transferred to the University of Montana last year. It was so great to see a friendly face from home and to walk around downtown Missoula on a Saturday morning checking out craft fairs, street fairs, live music, and open markets. It was a great time.

Another awesome thing that I got to do in Missoula is climb the 'M' Moutain. This is a very steep hill that has a great big M on it for the Univ. of Montana. It was a difficult hike that reminded me that I need to continue to run everyday, but was an amazing view of the campus and the city.

Today I am meeting my mom in Bismarck and tomorrow we are going to Portland to see my family which I am very excited about. I am also going to Grand Forks to see my family of friends and to reminisce about our college days :) I am so excited to see the renovations to Theta!!! I can't wait!

Well, I better go board my flight! See you all in ND!

Lyss ;)

Recent Travels

Hello my Blog Friends!

I have been informed by my very blunt friend Amy that it has been a while since I have blogged and she's right, it has been a while! I got caught up in all of my exciting adventures that I forgot to document them! Currently, I am at a visit at the University of Montana in Missoula. It has been an amazing two weeks and I am so so so glad that I have had the opportunity to visit this gorgeous part of the country. I have decided that Missoula is going on my list of places that I could live. I will fill you in about Missoula hopefully tomorrow, but for now, let me tell you about my last two visits.

My very first visit was to Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Justine, another ELC, and myself flew into Clemson on August 11th and stayed until the 16th. It was a really great first visit. The women of Delta Phi showed us hospitality at its finest.*

*Quick side-note for those of you who are not Thetas... each one of our Kappa Alpha Theta chapters are named by the Greek alphabet to differentiate one from another since we are all Kappa Alpha Theta. For example the first chapter of Theta established is known as the Alpha chapter. As chapters were added they continued down the Greek alphabet. Once they got to the end of the alphabet they started doubling letters, for example Alpha Pi chapter (UND). I hope this makes sense.

So anyway, we started our ELC adventures staying at the advisory board chairman's home. The ABC, Lynne, was an amazing woman who lived in a gorgeous house by the lake. Too bad we didn't have time to enjoy the view from the double decker dock! Instead, the next morning we jumped in a car with the Thetas and traveled to a retreat center in the woods of North Carolina for a recruitment retreat. The drive was absolutely beautiful, as we drove through the Appalachians the entire way.

The chapter hosted their recruitment retreat at this neat camp center in the middle of the woods (we were warned that their have been bear sightings and to ensure that we walk outside with a partner Eeeek!). It was 3 fun-filled days of learning all about recruitment, teaching songs, facilitating workshops, and much more. After the retreat, our visit continued on campus in Clemson. We met with the rest of the chapter officers and got to see the adorable parts of Clemson. The town is so cute! There are cobble-stone streets lining the "main drag" and the entire town is decorated in orange, as orange and purple are the school colors.

Football is to Clemson as Hockey is to UND... the entire town and the surrounding area goes absolutely crazy for Clemson football! In fact, it is almost impossible to get a game-day ticket as they are sold-out so far in advance! If students park their cars in any parking lot on campus they must be moved for gamedays (even students living on-campus) because fans rent out all of the parking spaces on campus for tailgaiting. It's insane! I really want to come back for a football game!

After Clemson, Justine and I had to part ways :( We had a great first visit together and we had so much fun trying to figure out what the heck we were doing! I wish we could travel together the entire year. Justine can easily go with the flow and she has a great sense of humor! Anyway, after Clemson I took a cross-country trip to Fresno, CA and the Gamma Chi chapter at Fresno State University.

Fresno was a completely different animal then Clemson. First of all it was sooooooo hot! Being a sweaty kid anyway, I did not fair well in the scorching heat, and do not see myself moving to CA anytime soon. I arrived at Gamma Chi on August 16 and stayed until the 20th. I had a challenging visit, but I learned a lot. It's crazy how different various Thetas are throughout the country. The women of Gamma Chi were great and even showed me their campus' vineyard and new bookstore! They were very welcoming and have been working hard to make their chapter better. I can't wait to find out how they did during recruitment!

One thing that surprised this little North Dakota gal was the rampant crime in California. It was insane to me that the chapter had to put up a fence around their parking lot to ensure that their cars wouldn't get broken into, as this is a daily occurrence! Also, there is gang activity in the city and the girls definitely informed me that you never walk alone by yourself at night. There was graffiti on some of the fraternitie's facilities and I felt like I was in a completely different world. This surely solidified my decision to never live in California. Anyway, it was a really great learning and growing experience!

After Fresno, I got to go home and spend a couple of days with my family! I pretty much washed clothes, caught up on the "What Not to Wear" that I had DVR'ed, wrote reports, ate my mom's delicious food, and slept! It was an eventful couple of days. A big thank you goes out to my aunt and uncle and cousin Emily for picking me up and dropping me off at the airport in Bismarck! You are so wonderful and I'm thankful for such an amazing family! :)

I will update you (hopefully tomorrow) about the Unversity of Montana (Woot!) but in the meantime, keep on keepin' on...

Love,
Alyssa

Delta Phi's Facility at Clemson University

It's on Clemson's campus and is very similar to a residence hall. None of the fraternities or sororities have houses instead they have halls. Theta has its own hall, the other sororities (excepte DZ) have one floor of a hall. All of the fraternity and sorority halls are in a semi-circle and in the middle is a lawn called the "Quad". On football game day all of the fraternities tailgate on the "Quad."

Gamma Chi's Facility at Calif. State Univ. Fresno

(also known as Fresno State)

The sororities at Gamma Chi also form a semi-circle and in the middle of all of the facilities is the Greek lawn. It's pretty neat! The women said that when it gets really hot (which for me would be 99.9% of the time) they pull out a slip-n-slide and all of the fraternities and sororities play in the water. Also, the facility's first floor was recently renovated and it looks so cool!

Meet the Educational Leadership Consultants!!

The 2009-2010 ELCs are an amazing group of women that I am so fortunate to get to work with! They are energetic, positive, encouraging, and so simply fabulous that I could scream! So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the '09-'10 ELCs!!!


Jennica Prescott
This California girl is absolutely nothing like the O.C. She is very little drama, she's a philanthropist, and an all around kind-hearted lady! Jennica grew up in Orange County but followed in her grandfather and her father's footsteps (or should I say Cougar paw tracks) to Washington State University! She served as VPPH and President in her Theta chapter, much like myself! Jennica has had a couple of amazing experiences traveling to Africa for service trips. She has helped families in Uganda and has also travelled to Rwanda. She has so many amazing stories and such a kind heart!








Lauren M-i-s-i-e-w-i-c-z...Misiewicz
Lauren is another complete and total sweetheart! She is the first to pat you on the back when you've done something well and the first to ask you if she can get you anything if you're having a rough day. Lauren is from Chicago (Go Sox!) and went to college at Purdue University in Indiana. She didn't have many positions within her Theta chapter but she sure was a strong leader on her campus' Panhellenic! Lauren knows so many student affairs personnel that you would think that she has been working in the field for years. She always knows someone at every conference that we attend! Although her name is hard to spell, and we often have contests to see who can do it, she is an all around kind soul! She can make anyone's day!










Hilary Holmes
Hilary, with one L NOT two, was probably the most surprising woman of the bunch. At interviews she was so quite and professional, but now that we know the real Hilary, we know she is super outgoing, incredibly fun, and LOVES adventure! Hil went to Ohio Wesleyan University, but grew up in New Hampshire. This wonderful lady has a true passion for none other than the late Michael Jackson (may he RIP). In fact, Hil is so passionate about MJ that she taught all of the ELCs the Thriller Dance, then went on to teach the entire crowd at our Risk Management on the Road Conference the dance as well. I see a future in choreography on the horizon!











Jill Werner
Jill is a southern bell with an absolutely adorable accent! This girl knows more about recruitment than Bettie Locke herself! She comes from a chapter with big frills and has managed putting together some amazing recruitments for the University of Kentucky! Jill is a Lou-a-Vulll, (Louisville) Kentucky native and is proud of her bluegrass roots. She is a HUGE and I mean HUGE Pittsburgh Steelers fan! She has jerseys and has even painted her face black and gold on game day! Little did we know, Jill can also rap! She is full of surprises! Jill can lighten any mood with her adorable giggle! This semester, Jill will be based at our new chapter at Auburn University with Whitney!










Whitney Scott
Whitney is a true beach babe! I don't think Jimmy Buffet is as beachy as her! In fact, her name means "from the sandy islands." She is the first to tell you that she is a HUGE Gator Football fan! This lady bleeds orange and blue! Go Gators! As a graduate of the University of Florida, Whitney has a lot to be proud about! Not only did her team win not one but two National Football Championships, but she also was an amazing VPA for her Theta chapter. Whitney has a bright disposition and could be best described as sunny. I honestly think that she has figure out how to bottle sunshine and bring with her wherever she goes. Whitney will be hanging out with Jill this semester based at Auburn University!








Taryn Dorfman
Taryn is the lone second year ELC, and with all of her knowledge, we immediately dubbed her our Mother Duck! She is often seen with her eight "ducklings" following her around ask her, "Taryn what do I do when..." or "Taryn how do you..." She has been so patient with us and we truly appreciate it! Taryn calls Fort Lauderdale, FL home and is a graduate for the University of Central Florida. This aspiring political analyst, loves American politics, despite being a Canadian citizen! Taryn was born in Montreal and moved to FL at a young age and grew up under the sun! Taryn served as VPE and Chapter President at UCF's Theta. We are so glad that she knows a ton about Theta and is more than willing to share all that she knows!








Mallory Butts
Mal-Gal is a native of Columbus, Ohio and attended college at the Ohio State University. Mallory is a first year ELC and is a social butterfly. She is never afraid to meet anyone and always makes new friends wherever we go! Mallory has been a leader since she first stepped foot on OSU's campus. As a sophomore, she served as chapter President and as a Junior served as Panhellenic President! She sure knows her stuff! Oh and I can't forget, she also served as the all important Music Chairman! She has an absolutely gorgeous voice and makes us all look bad when we sing in the car! :) Mallory is expecting her first niece this year and we are so excited to hear all about this future Greek lady!









Justine Fowler
I think this is soooo cool...Justine is a founding member of her chapter at Quinnipiac University! Isn't that neat!? She helped start her chapter and played important roles as VPE and VPD. Justine is from outside of Boston, Massachusetts but went to college in Connecticut at Quinnipiac. Justine is so much fun! She always knows how to make you laugh and sure can sport some sweet neon shades. Justine will be meeting me at Clemson University for our very first visit. I am so glad that she will be there to help me figure out what I am doing! Justine is very calm and easy going, which I think will certainly help on our first visit! She has told me that when she is home for a while she has a Boston accent, so I hope she shows up to Clemson with it! We will be quite the combo...ND accent and a Boston accent in South Carolina...hhhmmmm... I can't wait to see this lady tomorrow! Yay!




Well there you have it ladies and gentleman, the 2009-2010 ELC's! Aren't they amazing?!!!

~ A :)