Welcome to the Greek Spotlight series!
My purpose is to show all of the positive aspects of the sororities and fraternities here on Gannon’s campus. With so many lovely men and women, there are a lot of people to talk about.
This week, we meet Maria Hays. She is an English major with a professional writing track and will be graduating from Gannon University in the spring of 2019. She is a member of the sorority Phi Sigma Sigma, and she has been in Phi Sigma Sigma for three academic years.
When asked about what positions she has held in the sorority, Maria said, “Immediately after joining my sorority during my sophomore year at Gannon, I was nominated and chosen to be the public relations chair for Phi Sig. I was responsible for designing tee shirts, running social media accounts, and creating posters, flyers and advertising for our events on campus.
That same semester, I was again nominated and chosen to serve as the Vice President of Public Relations on Panhellenic Council, the governing body of sorority life. In this position, I created Greek life social media accounts, designed shirts for Greek Life events, ordered Greek Life items to give out such as frisbees and fanny packs. Being on the executive board of Panhellenic Council, I participated and helped facilitate many Greek Life events on campus.
In the fall 2016, I became president of Panhellenic Council and was able to attend the National Greek Leadership Association Conference held in Hartford, CT. As president, I worked with an incredible group of women from every sorority. Together, we planned events to get Greek Life more involved on campus and continued to refute the negative stigmas and stereotypes of Greek Life nation-wide. Serving as president of Panhellenic Council challenged me and allowed me to grow substantially as a leader and to this day, it is one of my proudest accomplishments in my Gannon career.”
Maria also felt comfortable enough to share any struggles she had over the past few years and how Phi Sigma Sigma helped her get through these times. She said, “My sorority welcomed me with open arms from the second I signed my bid. Without my sisters, I never would have become the person I am today. Confidence was incredibly foreign to me throughout middle school and high school. When I came to Gannon, I began to branch out more, but it was Phi Sig that pulled me so far out of my shell that I stood in front of the entire Greek Community during our Greek God and Goddess contest and absolutely humiliated myself. The best part was that I didn’t mind being embarrassed, because I knew my sisters supported me and loved me regardless. I left that event with new friends that I hadn’t known before and a newfound respect for myself. Without them, I never would have had the courage to even consider stepping out of my comfort zone. Since then, I have continued to take chances and work hard for what I want to achieve because Phi Sigma Sigma has taught me that there aren’t any reasons to believe I don’t deserve it.”
