In the Spring of 2021, Alpha Phi Gamma at the University of Nevada – Reno was
re-established by the dedication and effort of the Iota “Poison Ivy” Class in the midst of
the pandemic. With the struggle of being restricted from physical contact and
gatherings, a number of our sisters did not get to experience many things that they
would have loved doing as an active. This month, we want to feature some alumni
sisters of Kappa chapter’s recharter class and get insight on things they wished they did
as an active before they graduated!

Firstly, we interviewed Alexis “ChiHEYro” Quisao. Alexis is a sister who was in
her last semester of college when she was initiated, therefore she was not able to
experience having an active semester. Despite that, she still found her way to being
involved in our organization by serving on National Board, being our chapter’s
alumnae advisor and a Big sister! Let’s hear about some things she wishes she had
done before she graduated!

1. Become President. I was President of our interest group and Captain
   of my line, and I hoped to bring that leadership going into active life.
   I’ve always been passionate about being a Sister and continued to serve
   APhiG by being part of National Board soon after crossing and Alumnae
   Advisor for Kappa Chapter. I feel that my passion and motivation for
   APhiG is contagious and inspiring in a way. I wanted to experience my
   leadership grow as President and provide guidance for our active house.
2. Have a new member presentation. Our process was virtual, including our
   interest group journey. It would have been so fun and exciting to have a
   reveal in person, especially because we were rechartering Kappa Chapter
   at the University of Nevada, Reno. It is something that all our classes have
   experienced except for ours. Most MGC organizations at UNR have a new
   member presentation. I also feel that it would’ve been a good way for
   other organizations to know who I am. It would have been a good way to
   integrate into Greek life!
3. Go through recruitment. Recruitment is such an exciting time to show off
   to interests why we love Alpha Phi Gamma, and I LOVE to let people
   know how much my organization means to me. It’s also such a fun way to
   connect with others and get to meet new people. It would have been nice
   to go through recruitment and meet my Little in person during recruitment events
   before we became big and little (even though my little and I have an amazing
   relationship already!!).
4. Become Mom/RC. Our Momsilog and Popsilog are so inspirational and
   such strong women in my life. I want to instill the
   values they emphasized for me into potential new members and help find their passion in
   APhiG as my parents did for me! I think they’re also very fitting positions
   for my personality and would love to have my own kiddos one day.
5. Participate in events. I would’ve loved the opportunity to participate in all
   events to connect more with Sisters and other organizations. I feel like I
   missed out on a lot by graduating right after crossing, moving out of Reno
   and pursuing pharmacy in Seattle. I looked forward to the Sisterhood and
   lifelong bonds when the thought of rechartering came up 2-3 years ago.
   The pandemic prolonged the interest group process and things did not
   work out the way I thought they would in terms of timing. I develop those
   bonds by visiting Kappa Chapter whenever I can and connect with Sisters
   that crossed after me and strengthen the bonds with my Line!

We also interviewed Janea “Enola” Santiago, who had graduated last semester;
she paved the way by taking up the positions of Director of Judicial Affairs, social chair,
philanthropy chair, and recruitment chair after the re-establishment of our chapter. While
Janea was able to experience one year of being an active sister, she still has things she
wished she had done before she graduated!

1. Become President. My line and our alumna worked so hard to recharter
   Alpha Phi Gamma back to UNR’s campus, that I wanted to be able to set
   a good foundation for our sorority to succeed. However, our past two
   presidents have done so well and exceeded all our expectations that I
   know that dream will come true.
2. Experience becoming RC. My Momsilog and Popsilong did such an
   amazing job raising 9 itlogs while miles away from us. They made sure we
   understood the “why’s” in our process while holding us to the highest
   regard and that itself strengthened my love for our sorority. I wanted to
   pass on that inspiration to other future sisters and show others why our
   sorority is the best!
3. Experience another year (or 2) of being a sister on campus. Even though
   it was very busy work, it was super fun work establishing Alpha Phi
   Gamma on campus. It was so comforting to see sisters almost everyday,
   and just being around them made all the stress go away. It was so inspiring as well seeing other multicultural sororities/fraternities support each other, and their respective events were always so much fun!

We are so proud of our sisters for graduating and setting the foundation for the
Kappa re-charter! It is also very interesting and fun to hear about what Alexis and Janea
wished to do as an active sister before graduating. Even though they did not have the
opportunity to become an active sister for more than a term or at all, we all still feel the
growing love and passion they have for their sisterhood as they continue to stay
involved in any way they can!