Caty is an initiate of Tau Gamma chapter at Eastern Washington University in 2009. She currently advises for our Tau Gamma chapter as financial adviser. Caty lives in Shelton with her husband and two beautiful children. Why did you pledge AOII? I was looking for friendship. I was a VERY homesick freshman at EWU that didn't know many people. My close friend from high school, Tiffany, and I lost touch when she graduated, and we discovered we were both attending EWU together when we ran into each other in the cafeteria one day. At the time we found one another, she was going through formal recruitment, and later joined AOII. Next quarter, she brought me to a continuous recruitment event AOII was hosting. I immediately fell in love with so many of the members I met that night. Shortly after, I was extended a bid and it was one of the greatest moments of my life What has been your most memorable AOII experience? Tiffany, who later became my Big, was serving as Chapter President, during her first Ritual we both looked at each other and started crying. It was such an emotional moment for me to see my Big doing Ritual. It was that moment that really showed me what being an AOII was all about. I’m a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason and I knew that God purposely reunited us at the cafeteria that day, put us together in that moment during Ritual, purposely guided me to become an AOII, just so I could experience that perfect moment. I cherished my entire collegian experience and to this day, some of my closest friends are my Tau Gamma sisters. It is very amazing to see how far we have come since those college days. I know that my memorable experiences are far from over Why do you volunteer for AOII? I absolutely LOVE giving back to my chapter. The first and biggest reason being that I put forth my best in hopes that one day my daughters will join Tau Gamma. I love the feeling of knowing that I played a part in helping the chapter succeed and helped guide them, so that it will be there if/when my daughters decide to join AOII. When I first started as Financial Adviser for Tau Gamma, the entire group of women was desperate for help, wanted to understand what was going on with their finances and what they could do about it. It was a struggle to learn my new position because I knew NOTHING about the position, nor did I have a background in finances, but I was willing to learn the position through and through, while trying to guide these ladies at the same time. After a lot of hard work, it is incredible to see what it has become. It was extremely rewarding to receive thank yous from members AND their parents in my first year as FA, which was an amazing surprise. Once everyone finally had a good understanding about where their money was going and having a billing schedule that they could follow, it was amazing to see attitudes shift from finances being SO stressful to more relaxed because there was finally some clarity. To this very day, I still deeply love what I do for Tau Gamma as an adviser and hope to be one for many more years. What would you say to an alumna member interested in joining the SAC? What are you waiting for?! J I know for me personally, being involved as an alumna has given me a far different experience from when I was a collegian in so many great ways. Being an involved alumna just brings a whole new level of what being an AOII is all about; you’re not just focused on what’s happening with your chapter, but you find yourself looking more at the organization as a whole. It gives you an amazing opportunity to connect with other AOIIs around your area/the country. It really makes you see that AOII is for LIFE and doesn’t just stop at the college level. -- If you are interested in being our next sister spotlight or would like to nominate a sister, email Meghan Granito at aoiimeghan@outlook.com. Roses!
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