Pi Beta Phi

The Mission of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women is to promote friendship, develop women of intellect and integrity, cultivate leadership potential and enrich lives through community service.


Congruence: [kong-groo-uhns, kuhn-groo-]

–noun

1. the quality or state of agreeing or corresponding.

Promote Friendship: If there is one thing I have learned since becoming an Angel, it is the true meaning of friendship. Never have I met a group of girls so tight knit and caring. I have always cared about others, but these past two years- I have learned what it truly means to be there for someone in her time of desperation. When a sister is upset, has had two hours of sleep, or any other problem- she can count on another angel to bring her a coffee, write her a note, or just provide a shoulder to cry on.

Develop Women of Intellect & Integrity:  I believe that Pi Beta Phi has definitely improved in this section a good amount over the past few years. Collectively, we are studying more and more and thus, getting higher grades. However, there is certainly still room for improvement. I believe we are 11th out of 17 sororities in terms of grade point average. We should be higher on this list.

Cultivate Leadership Potential: Our sorority gives countless positions to encourage and develop leadership skills. Members not only have executive positions (president, vice president of membership, vice president of fraternity development etc.), but there are also chair positions available. In fact, I am the yard chair. If anyone has seen the beautiful mums outside of Pi Phi-- you know who planted them!

Enrich Lives Through Community Service: Pi Phi has many opportunities to serve the community. We participate in the Boys & Girls Club, In2Books, and our national philanthropy- First Book. Together we are committed to bringing new books to children from low-income families in communities across the United States and Canada. Pi Phi and First Book have already donated $1 million and 2 million brand-new books since the beginning of the partnership. Although this is a really nice figure, I think that as a whole should have higher participation rates. Serving the community is such a great cause and we should be even more active.

SIDE NOTE: We are having our second annual dodgeball event- Dodge the Arrow- this November 14. It is such a great cause and so much fun. Please come out and help support literacy. All proceeds go to First Book!
Here is a link! Dodge the Arrow

And on a completely UNRELATED note...I saw this Youtube video and thought it was funny!

Companies and Values

In this day and age, it is very easy to wonder if companies have any values of merit. These past few years, I can recall seeing numerous horror stories on the news about businesses cheating their customers out of millions of dollars (retirement plans, investing schemes, etc.). I automatically went straight to the negative which is mainly what our news channels broadcast.

Then, one company came to my head; The Coca-Cola Company. I have never heard anything negative about Coke as a company (excluding the nutrional facts). In fact, I have only seen them participate and give money to different charities. They give away millions to help others, but what else does this company entail? What are they all about (ie-values)? To find this out..I went to their website. This link goes specifically to a page dedicated to their mission statement, mission, and values-- Coca-Cola.

These are the values that encompass The Coca-Cola Company (from their company website)...

Leadership: The courage to shape a better future

Collaboration: Leverage collective genius

Integrity: Be real

Accountability: If it is to be, it's up to me

Passion: Committed in heart and mind

Diversity: As inclusive as our brands

Quality: What we do, we do well

I chose this company not because it is a multi-million dollar enterprise, but for the fact that these traits are so similiar to mine. I truly believe that this company tries to live by these seven values; from the bottom up (vendor to the CEO).

One value that Coca-Cola didn't list, but that I think also fits them pretty well is Family. There's just something about opening an ice cold bottle of Coke with the family..

Here is a link to what other Coke fanatics have to say about this combination...Coke/Family Stories

And with a commercial completely devoted to POLAR BEARS..how could I not pick The Coca-Cola Company?!

1. Achievement

This is something that has always been close to me- from when I was little to almost a twenty-one year old now; achievement. All the way up through high school, a majority of my achievement was due in large part to my competitive nature, but now more so it has to do with my individual drive and will to succeed. Bng a junior in college, I have been in many clubs and accomplished many things especially during high school and these past few years at Ohio State- but that's not enough for me...I want to do even more and what better way than to be even more educated? This is why after I get my undergraduate in Marketing, I will be attending Law School (probably not OSU- I love this college, but I want warm weather- I hate looking like Queen Elizabeth in the wintertime), which will probably take three more years of schooling.

2. Bravery

Over the past few years, I've had to become something that I have never been-- brave. With an ill parent, you have to be by his or her side no matter what, cheering he/she on-- trying to get him/her through the toughest time of anyone in your family's, life. Although I would never dream of a parent getting a cancer (or anyone for that matter), I would have to say that it has definitely made me grow up and mature much faster that my life path was originally on. It is certainly hard to look at anything but the negative in this situation- but I have started focusing on more of the positive of this terrible situation and one positive value that i've learned to be is brave (especially true when your parent is so strong and brave...how can you not follow in his/her footsteps?).

This is a picture of my parents and best friend, Lindsey, on our cruise this past summer.

3. Fitness

http://www.dictionary.com/ tells us that fitness means..

1. The state or condition of being physically sound and healthy, especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition.
2. A state of general mental and physical well-being.
3. The state of being suitably adapted to an environment.

Since obesity is one of the things I would like to change in the world, obviously it has to me one on my core values. Growing up, I had always been an active girl (playing mainly basketball and softball year round), but somehow I always managed to struggle with my weight. As a junior in college, I have finally figured it out- not only have I been exercising (normally 5-7 times a week), but I have also cut down my proportions, which has produced pretty good results as far as physically and emotionally. My exercise regimen usually consists of running on the treadmill Monday-Thursday from anywhere between 3 to 5 miles, with mixing in weightlifting twice a week, and playing tennis and/or swimming 1-2 times a week.

4. Honesty

In middle school and elementary school, I didn't exactly hang out with the "best" crowd, which is why honesty has quickly become another one of my core values. It may not always be the best thing to say, but in the end it will have the most favorable result. I surround myself with people who also uphold and cherish this value because not only am I looking for friends, I am looking for quality friends, which is why I joined Pi Beta Phi. These girls not only are drama free (considering there are 100 members), but I can count on them to tell me what they really think (even if my outfit isn't cute haha). This is why a majority of my bridesmaids will be my sorority sisters.

5. Humor

What is a life without laughter? Not a life at all- or a good one at least. Even when I'm having a bad day- a good laugh can ALWAYS brighten it up. Being funny is something that I pride myself in because I love to make people smile. Also, a good laugh even tightens and works those stomach muscles. 2 for 1 (ab workout/good laugh)? I THINK SO!

Whenever I need a laugh, I watch this Youtube video...

Who am I? How do I want to change the world?

My name is Lauren Kemp. I am a twenty year old female from Columbus, Ohio (yes I chose to go to school far from home haha). I am in my third year at The Ohio State University majoring in Marketing. I have a wonderful mom and dad along with just one sibling--a 25 year old brother named Jeremy.

My high school had around 2300 students attending it, which is why a school as big as The Ohio State University wasn't a complete culture shock. Growing up sports were always a part of my life specifically basketball and softball. I loved the team atmosphere and being surrounded by a close knit group of friends. This is why I had to get involved at college. I decided to rush and eventually joined Pi Beta Phi. It is a decision that has forever changed my life-- for the better.

Changing the world at age 20? If Haley Joel Osmond can do it in elementary school (in the movie, Pay It Forward), then why can't I? The world is a great place, but there is always room for improvement...

One thing I'd like to change is obesity. A normal person is supposed to have a BMI of 18-25, whereas an obsese person has one in excess of 40. Hundreds of thousands of deaths each year are due in large part to this epidemic. The thing that gets me most frustrated is that this problem is preventable.

Now for the solution...I would like to come up with a variety of advertisements to be shown on the television, heard on the radio, read in magazines and newspapers, etc., each day. This strategy, overtime, should work. For example, Mcdonald's has countless ads each day and now "I'm lovin' it" is permanently burned into our brains. Another thing that would be beneficial is to have government agencies (FDA etc.) come out with updated food label standards. Currently, companies are following standards from 1968. Letting consumers have the most up to date information with regards to what they're eating will cut down on obesity.

This epidemic, if dealt with properly, will save hundreds of thousands of lives each year. This link is about a documentary, Supersize Me, done about a man eating only McDonald's for 30 days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRgY9YZaVnU