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Jonna Fronk
Ms. Hamby
UWRT 1101-019
10/08/14
Real Strong Women
Alpha Chi Omega Kappa Rho Chapter. Alpha Chi was founded in October 15,
1885; But for the Kappa Rho Chapter of Alpha Chi at the university of North Carolina at
Charlotte, that was founded by 150 girls and myself. Officially founding on November
14, 2014. When I first heard about AXO I was completely blind. None of my family has
ever been in a Greek organization and I honestly never pictured myself in one. The only
thoughts I had were negatives one. I stereotypically characterized sororities as one big
party where people just payed to have friends. I thought they would be full of chatty
drama much like the Plastics. It only took one meeting with my lovely advisors, Lindsay
Lausten and Alexa Gates, to fall in love with the organization and put all those
stereotypes to rest. If it only took one meeting to want to jump in head first into an
organization, I knew I was making the write decision. There are so much more to
sororities and do not even compare to the stereotypes that portray them.
Methodology
Being in the sorority myself I have been an active participant in my research. All
the observations I have made have been from first hand. I attended Chapter Meetings,
went to social events, and personally spent some time talking with girls in the sorority
about their opinions and decisions. We also have books about our history, values,
guidelines, and goals as a sorority where I took time to read through and pull out

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important information. We have a national website which also helped me pull
information and went to the forum board and observed how the girls talked and acted
when someone asked a question or needed help. A big part of my methodology was the
interview my advisors gave me so much information because of their wide array of
knowledge about Alpha Chi and their first hand experience, both being in a sorority for
four years and now working for the Alpha Chi Omega nationally and helping start up The
Kappa Rho Chapter.
When observing the meetings I just made side notes in my head, but when
interviewing I took immense amounts of notes. Which at times in the interview it was
hard to keep up writing it all down and that is why the interview was recorded as well. I
prepared questions before hand, but when interviewing I started to ask others I did not
prepare coming off of what they said. In the interviewing process the fly on the wall
tactic was not useful. I knew my advisors and so when I asked them questions and they
gave me answers sometimes they would ask questions back and talk to me about it. The
interview process was not difficult due to the fact of how comfortable I was with my
interviewers and how prepared I was coming into the interview.
I did not experience many limitations when doing this process. The one thing that
limited me the most was my inexperience in ethnographys. It is a whole different
structure of writing that I had never experienced before. After my instructor gave out
examples and a template, and also held an in class workshop I started to get a grasp of
what I was really suppose to write. Another limitation could be that I have only been in
the sorority for a couple months know so I do not have the same knowledge as someone

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who is an upperclassman, but I also think it helped me while writing the paper as well
being knew to the organization.
Analysis
When I conducted my interview I found out much like myself, Lindsay when she
first joined the sorority came in with the same mindset. She was blind and new to the
process and none of her family was ever involved in Greek life. The perceptions she had
were the crazy parties and cattiness. After being involved in the organization and
experiencing it first hand, her perception soon molded from a social perception or the
sorority to a hardworking one. She saw how all the woman around her worked hard and
pushed her out of her comfort zone to be a better woman. She went from just having a toe
in the water to diving in and helping out wherever possible in the sorority.
Alexa on the other hand came in with a completely different perception. She
heard from the beginning how Alpha Chi had high standards to withhold and were very
grade oriented. She knew Alpha Chi was were she wanted to be, but it scared her as a
Freshman not knowing how well she would do in college and afraid she would not be
good enough. After joining the organization she saw how yes they did push her to have
high grades, but they just wanted to see the woman strive for excellent grades, they did
not have to be perfect. Alexa jumped right in to serving and helping the sorority. Now
both Lindsay and Alexa work for Alpha Chi so they continue to be very involved to this
day.
I have this same passion to jump right in and help wherever needed or necessary. I
have already ran and won a position, VP Pan-Hellenic Delegate, and volunteered to help
make things, table, and even perform for homecoming.

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As a whole, Alpha Chi Omega nationally has a very prestigious reputation. They
hold their members to high standards and will not settle for anything less then the best.
Each and every Alpha Chi Chapter is a discourse community itself though, and the
reputation it holds is what the members give it. This excites me because I am a founding
member of the charlotte chapter so my class gets to decide and make what that reputation
will be. All my fellow sisters so far are shedding such positive light so I have no doubt
the reputation will be very positive.
When interviewing Alexa she pointed out to me Maslows Hierarchy of Needs,
which consist of Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth,
sex, sleep. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability,
freedom from fear. Love and belongingness needs - friendship, intimacy, affection and
love, - from work group, family, friends, romantic relationships. Esteem needs achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, and
respect from others. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, selffulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. (Simple Psychology) Before
joining Alpha Chi her biological, Physiological, and safety needs were all being met, but
it was not till after being apart of the organization where her love and belongingness,
esteem, and self actualization needs were met.

I never fathomed how much one organization could mean to me in such little
time. Surrounded by 150 beautiful, strong, and real women whom all are so eager and
willing to jump in full force just like me, put me in awe. Together let us seek the
heights. This is our motto, which our organization stands by. I see each and everyone

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one of these ladies exemplify joining together and reaching to be better and do the best
they possibly can. Their core values really match up with mine as well, they encourage
us to strive to better individuals, to build a better community, to be independent, and give
back. The values correspond directly with self- actualization. I see I really belong
someplace that believes and fights for the same things that I do.
Esteem needs come from our philanthropy, Domestic Violence Awareness.
Domestic violence really hits close to home, because one of my moms husband use to
beat and abuse her. I watched, saw, and experienced first hand what it was like to live at a
safe house. I watched her overcome the situation and realized she was worth so much. To
be able to help other women at local shelters in Charlotte means the world to me. If I can
play a small role in their recovery makes me ecstatic. So many girls around me I see
become so dependent on other people in their life, and the fact that Alpha Chi pushes us
to be independent creates confidence in ourselves, which helps us become and fully
develop into who we want to be.
Love and belongingness comes from one of the advantages to being in a sorority,
which is having a new family that will support you and be there for you while youre
away at college. In this sisterhood you create so many awesome friendships. Already if
one girl needs help or has an issue another sister is right there ready to help. It ranges
from anything to rides, tutoring, decorating, and supporting other groups on campus,
going to health classes, and so much more. There is a forum board on our website were
the girls will post on there if there is an event or need help with something and by the end
of the chain there are at least 200 comments with girls willing to help out and serve
wherever they are needed. These post range from homework help, bringing supplies to an

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event, crafts, transportation, donating clothes to shelters, and those are just a few. To
have people willing to help in whatever is thrown at them is truly amazing to watch and
experience.
Conclusion
Being in a sorority is so much more than parties and drama. It is about
discovering yourself and having your personal needs meet and not just the physical ones.
It is very easy to judge and stereotype someone when you are not very knowledgeable on
the community or subject. I hope this will shed some positive knowledge and give insight
to what Alpha Chi Omega is really all about.

Works Cited
"INTRODUCING JED." Alpha Chi Omega HQ. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
<https://www.alphachiomega.org/>.

"Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Simply Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
My Chapter Room. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. <http://axokapparho.mychapterroom.com/content.asp>.
Lausten, Lindsay, and Alexa Gates. "Discourse Community: Kappa Rho." Interview by Jonna
Fronk. n.d.: n. pag. Print.