Joining Zeta Phi Eta was one of the biggest risks I took as a student at Hofstra. Going into college, I knew that fraternities and sororities were not for me, but then I discovered Zeta. During the first round of recruitment, I was still skeptical, but I left knowing that Zeta was something I really wanted to be a part of. Through Zeta, I have made some of the closest personal and professional connections that I will have for the rest of my life.
After my first semester as a member, I decided to run for the events co-chair position on a whim. When I realized how much planning was involved I was a bit intimidated, but with the help of my co-chair, Shayla Ridore, the hard work that went into planning events paid off.
We were the people in charge of finding people to come and speak about what it’s like to be a communications industry professional in the real world today (scary!). And as daunting as the real world sounds, most professionals in the industry want to see us succeed. They’re always willing to provide professional advice and share their experiences so we can learn and grow from them too.
When Shayla and I were planning the internship panel, I did not know where to start, but with the help of other members, we were able to secure three panelists, and a moderator, Dean Oppenheim. It felt great to see him promoting an event that Shayla and I put together to everyone in the School of Communications.
I loved being able to meet with the panelists before the event, but the best part of the process was watching people walking in the room to listen to what the speakers had to say. People were tweeting about the panel (#ZetaPanel) and our panelists were re-tweeting the tweets. It was great to see Zeta making a name for itself and showing the Hofstra community that we are more than a social org, we are a strong professional network as well.
Even though the job market is increasingly competitive, networking is one of the best things you can do. Being a part of Zeta and helping other students grow their professional network has been hard work but also extremely rewarding.