Sigma Kappa President Jordan Barnett applied for a leadership consultant position with her sorority’s national office because she said she is passionate about continuing to change students’ lives and giving back to her sorority.
“Gaining the experience, as well as giving back to my sorority as an alumna is what makes this opportunity so amazing,” Barnett said.
Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Shannon Sumerlin said other Greek students applied for similar positions through their fraternity and sorority offices to visit chapters across the country and provide oversight and education for members.
Delta Tau Delta senior Blake Hartle, who also applied for and was accepted to the leadership consultant position, said he shared Barnett’s sentiments.
“I have always been really passionate about my fraternity, so I figured I would give it a try and see what happens,” Hartle said.
Barnett said she thought her participation in many campus organizations helped her advance in the application process.
“[Sigma Kappa interviewers] liked to see how our different experiences outside of our sorority helped us to become the leaders we are today,” Barnett said.
Barnett said her application was due in January. After the three-step process is complete, Sigma Kappa would contact her in the first week of March, Barnett said.
Sumerlin said the application process differed for each Greek organization.
Hartle said most applications consisted of an online application, written essays, a phone interview and an in-person interview. He said that after a two-month, four-step process, Delta Tau Delta asked him to be a leadership consultant for the fraternity.
He said the process for Delta Tau Delta was competitive — out of about 50 applicants, Delta Tau Delta only accepted eight to nine applicants, and Hartle was one of those accepted, he said.
Hartle said he would move to Indianapolis in June to begin training as a leadership consultant for Delta Tau Delta. After training and the fraternity’s convention, the new consultants would be assigned a region. Hartle said he hoped to stay in Texas or elsewhere in the South.
Sumerlin said that apart from Barnett and Hartle, four other students applied for the leadership consultant positions with their Greek organizations and that three students have been accepted so far.
Leadership consultants are recent college graduates who travel around the country visiting other chapters of their fraternities or sororities. Consultants create workshops for their Greek organization, assist in recruitment activities, educate members on Greek rituals, provide risk management training and overview the chapters they are assigned, Sumerlin said.
“Not only are these students recognized as outstanding leaders and scholars on our campus, but they represent the best of student leaders across the country,” Sumerlin said.
