Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Leadership Institute 2014 - Day 1


On June 27th sisters from around Canada & the United States gathered in Franklin, Tennessee to attend Leadership Institute, it takes place every other year & Convention occurs in between.
From the Alpha Omicron Pi website: "Through dynamic speakers, we will celebrate who we are personally and who we are to AOII. During the AOII Halftime Report, we will get an update on all that AOII has accomplished since Convention 2013, and we'll learn where AOII is heading into the next year. The Learning Paths will not only share useful tools and information for your personal development, but will give you hands-on courses to help you sharpen your skills and overcome obstacles...With all of these incredible activities planned, you will leave Leadership Institute with lifelong learning that will renew your spirit and ignite your passion!"
Bags are packed & I'm ready to go! 

I arrived into Nashville & got right on the bus that took the over 700 sisters to the hotel. Once hotel & LI check in was finished it was time to quickly freshen up for dinner!
 Tables set for the first dinner, every table had a plethora of sunglasses on it - of course some fun photos were made.

After dinner & dessert it was time for awards. The Friday evening award ceremony was fairly short as we had to save time for Power Session One: The Evolution of Leadership a keynote speech given by Rick Barnes. I really enjoyed hearing him speak & yes I even took notes!
 Tamara & I finally met up at dinner!
She had been in network training for the past two days. 

 We both had PANDA nails! 

Once the Power Session One with Rick Barnes came to an end we were able to do a bit of shopping at the Emporium, take photos & meet more sisters.
Tamara, Panda & Myself

I was thrilled to meet Lambda Eta sisters!

 Our final event of the evening was the Network Celebrations, we are part of Network 8 which consists of sisters from Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, Montana, Utah & Canada! We are a HUGE group! It was fantastic to meet so many more sisters, both collegiate & alumnae. 

After quick introductions & a fun ice breaking game of BINGO (I did not win, I was far too busy getting Instagram user names) each collegiate chapter presented an AOII cheer or song their chapter does. It was amazing, some were to new pop songs, while surprisingly some of the songs were ones I knew & sang in college!! 

Then the alumnae sisters all went to the front of the room & performed a song as well, it was a blast & honestly I'm surprised I remembered all the lyrics!
Two sisters from Lambda Iota sharing their song.

Our Network 8 Celebration came to an end far to quickly for my taste. Thankfully I met a lot of sisters very quickly during that get together, I walked out of the room with a big smile & far more confident. Coming to Leadership Institute I had only met two other sisters that would be attending & I was a bit nervous about attending. I knew it would be a safe & fun event but I had the first day of school nerves leading up to LI. By the end of the night those nerves were gone!

Stay tuned for Day 2 of Leadership Institute! 

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