Hot August

August was a hot month, and a very busy month. The first weekend of August I had not one, but two conventions on the same weekend! Luckily both were in Chicago, and both groups were flexible so I was able to take turns going from one place to another. Because August is hectic at work, I could only take one other event and I spoke at my Alma Mater, Grand Valley State, for their new Laker Familia program.

Well that first weekend was special… not just because I had two conventions in one weekend, but because it was two groups I have had a long term connection with in this industry. I have been doing consulting for Pi Alpha Phi for maybe five years. I helped them with their application and acceptance into the NIC, and then did work with their board and NAPA. The other group, Alpha Psi Lambda is dear to my heart from my days serving on NALFO and lately every campus I visit has one of their chapters!

The best part of that weekend was getting the two organizations together. The cultural based Greeks have so much we can learn from each other, so why not meet together and share some experiences and ideas? We arranged a joint meeting at the SAE Headquarters on the Friday before the conventions. The space was perfect, one group was meeting at Northwestern, one group at NEIU, and what more inspirational place that a fraternity HQ to show what is possible… and it worked. We had a visioning activity together that worked well to dream big while in the beautiful SAE Temple.

That Saturday was hectic… morning keynote at Northwestern, quick workshop, and then hustled over to NEIU for my keynote, followed by another workshop. Wow, long day, super awesome students, and a very tired voice. No worries though, I was still able to catch up with Sigma Lambda Beta Chicago Alumni Network for dinner as part of their retreat. WHEW. Busy day.

At the end of the month I got to do my favorite workshop… Abuelitas Hands for Grand Valley State. I do love going back to campus, but this was special as it was the keynote for their new “Laker Familia” program that welcomes incoming Latino students, and their parents, for programming. I love sharing this workshop and story, but it was more powerful because the cities and stories I used people understood, and then when relating it to my success and GVSU’s role in that… made it more powerful. This story reminds student to work hard for the opportunities put in front of them, to honor their family through their hard work, and to remember where they came from… so blessed to share this story.

September and October are slow months for me speaking… so many local events and activities make it hard to travel. I will be at Ivy Tech Forte Wayne and lots of locally events and activities for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Fall weather here we come!