Doing Good at the Lewis Institute

Hello! My name is Erika Lakkides and I am a rising Junior at Michigan State studying in the James Madison College with a major in Social Relations and Policies. Within the Beta Xi chapter at MSU, I am the current Director of Rituals meaning I get to assist with any ritual or ceremony that we perform during the year. I lead the chapter to understand the meanings and history of what makes us Delta Gamma members. I was invited to attend the Lewis Institute's 10th anniversary in Delaware, Ohio at Ohio Wesleyan University.

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The Lewis Institute is a leadership convention that members of Delta Gamma from across the United States and even Canada attend. I was an attendee of the first session for the 2024 year along with about 70 other Delta Gamma collegiates and a team of facilitators that helped with our learning process and development. 

Over the 5 day conference, we learned leadership skills including: personal strengths, conflict resolution, and made lasting friendships with other collegiate members from campuses.

There were two main aspects to our convention which were small groups and large groups. The small group sessions were around 7-10 members with facilitators who helped guide discussions and prompt questions. Whereas in the large group session, everyone who was in attendance was led by two lead facilitators, Dee and Justin. My small group was for the chapters of larger size and included girls from the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, University of Iowa, University of Alabama, Louisiana State University, University of Missouri, University of Tampa, University of Kentucky, Villanova University, and University of Nebraska. These girls and I spent days together learning about each other's chapters along with how each person is a strong leader. I learned many skills and uncovered ones I wasn’t sure I had. I also was lucky to have Baelee, an alumni member and advisor to Region 4 which includes the Beta Xi chapter as one of my small group facilitators. 

A crucial memory made was during a station-like activity on action plan development skills. First, I got to write thank you notes to foundation and alumni members who helped fund Lewis and made it possible for myself and others to attend. Then, I received one-on-one training from a facilitator to talk about my plan of action for when I returned to MSU Beta-Xi. I got to ask questions and get guidance in areas I was curious about and I got helpful advice for things to better our chapter. Also, I got to hear testimonials from the interns of Lewis who had attended it the year before. They shared how their experiences at Lewis became full circle when they returned to their chapters and it made me confident that the process and learning is applicable. Finally, the day ended with a sisterhood event with the large group. We threw a birthday party for the Lewis Institute since it was 10 years old. There were photo boards, food, and bracelet making stations. We also got to socialize with the group and facilitators throughout the night. 

Attending Lewis was a great honor and I am so excited to return to MSU with my newly learned skills and strengths. A sister at Lewis described the experience simply and beautifully; it was a leadership learning conference combined with the feels of summer camp. I now have many sisters from across the United States with whom I keep contact and can share my experiences, goals, and accomplishments. My Delta Gamma membership only got stronger!

ITB <3, 

Erika Lakkides