Snaps and Phi Love to Our New Members!

Alpha Pi Phi welcomes our new AMPP's into our organization! We conducted our Cygnet Ceremony yesterday evening, and twelve new ladies were pinned to pledge our sisterhood! Congratulations Cassandre B., Vanessa H., Nicole M., Taylor H., Elizabeth H., Eleanor M., Korin M., Eva J-I., Danielle H., Laura J., Rebecca C. and Natasha M! Us sisters are so proud of our new Gamma's!

A Rush Story: The "Feels Right" Sorority

Choosing to rush a sorority is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I had personally always hoped to be part of a sorority one day. I guess that helped me choose Carleton for university, however the bigger problem was finding the right one to join.

I joined a couple facebook groups in Fall 2009 and talked to a couple other girls on my residence floor, who were going to one organization's "Meet and Greet" event. I decided it was a good idea to tag along with them, and find out more about this organization. Truth is, I never felt more out of place in my entire life. Conversation with the girls was forced and I felt like I was being judged the entire time. I was beginning to think this whole sorority thing wasn't actually going to work out, and was pretty disappointed.

That night I got a facebook message from a girl in another sorority - Alpha Pi Phi - saying she was bummed she didn't get to meet me, as a missed their "Meet and Greet". She also told me there was another "Meet and Greet" the following evening, and I should definitely try to come out. I figured may as well give it one last shot.

The next day, I was feeling indifferent about the sorority life, but I went anyways. That night changed my life forever. The girls I met at that "Meet and Greet" became my sisters and I was initiated into Alpha Pi Phi seven weeks later.

When you find the right sorority you get a feeling of belonging, of excitement, of strength because you just know it is where you belong. Alpha Pi Phi sorority is where I belong. The girl who messaged is now my big sister (Jessica D.) and we are best friends. I believe all the events leading up to meeting the girls of Alpha Pi Phi were hints in the treasure hunt. So if you are getting excited for rush, just keep an open mind and come out and meet the APP sisters, for this sisterhood is definitely a treasure.

-Ali P., Alpha Class, Chapter Treasurer and Creative Chair Fall 2010/Winter 2011

Fun Facts about Alpha Pi Phi!

About Our External Motto and Greek Letters

The Greek-Lettered Symbols "Alpha", "Pi" and "Phi" were not chosen by our founders accidentally. While they represent a number of values and meanings sacred to our Ritual, they also represent our external motto: Love, Loyalty and Friendship. If you take our external motto, translate it into greek, and take the first letter of each word, you'll find yourself with the greek letters "Alpha", "Pi" and "Phi". These letters signify as a reminder to our sisters and other members of the greek community that our sorority's name and external meaning literally stems from the qualities of "Love, Loyalty and Friendship" - the foundation of what our founders believed a true sisterhood should be created upon.

About Our AMPP (Pledging) Pin

Our AMPP, or Active Members in the Pledging Period, pin is in the shape of a golden cygnet (baby swan). This pin, which all AMPPs must wearing during their pledging period, symbolizes the growing and transformation which our new members make during their pledging period, in adjusting to life within our sisterhood. Our AMPPs receive their pin during the first part of Initiation (Cygnet Ceremony) a.k.a. "pinning", and the pin is returned to the chapter before being fully initiated into the sisterhood.

About Our AIM Pin

Our AIM, or Active Initiated Members, pin is a gold greek "Phi" symbol, studded with seed pearls around the exterior, and amethysts down the middle. The "Alpha" and "Pi" symbols are etched in gold on the inner left side of the "Phi" symbol, opposite a gold swan on the inner right side, over a black background. Click HERE to see a large-scale photo of our pin!

Only members who have been fully initiated into our sisterhood are allowed to own and wear this pin.

About Our Coat of Arms

Alpha Pi Phi decided to follow in fraternity and sorority tradition, and created a Coat of Arms. Our greek letters "Alpha", "Pi" and "Phi", along with our external motto, are incorporated into it.

Certain organizations choose not to have a coat of arms or crest, because they believe that coat of arms/crests/shields represent medieval or masonic traditions, and not that of greek heritage. Alpha Pi Phi feels that it is a tradition within the greek community, across North America, for an organization to have of coat of arms and we proudly bear ours!

About Our Nicknames

Alpha Pi Phi has two nicknames which were developed at the beginning of our founding. "APP" is our most obvious one, taking the first letters of "Alpha", "Pi" and "Phi" in English.

Our other nickname is "Apple Pies", given to us by the fraternity men of the Carleton-Ottawa greek community. It started off as a joke, probably because if you say "Alpha Pi Phi" quickly, it can come out sounding like "Apple Pi Phi". When one particular fraternity man was questioned as to why he called us "Apple Pies", he straightforwardly replied, "Because you girls are sweet, like Apple Pie." And he sure is right!

Looking Back On This Past Year...

Although being Carleton's newest greek organization, Alpha Pi Phi Sorority has accomplished a lot this past academic year! Here's a little recap of what we were up to during the Fall 2009/Winter 2010 academic terms!

In September 2009, Alpha Pi Phi rushed for its very first class of initiates, our Alpha Class! Our six founding mothers Paz Arias, Lauren Crosby, Jessica Doyle, Laura Kell, Heather McBride and Lesley Walker worked hard to plan numerous exciting rush events, from philanthropies to sisterhoods to mixers with fraternities. Over fifty undergraduate women expressed interested in joining Alpha Pi Phi, yet only a handful of bids (invitations to join our organization) were handed out to a select few of Carleton's talented and bright, young women. Special thanks goes out to Lesley Walker, Alpha Pi Phi's Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Rush Chair for creating such a memorable and successful recruitment period. One of our most memorable moments throughout rush was decorating and selling cupcakes with Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (TKE), to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society of Canada, a philanthropy which Alpha Pi Phi and TKE have in common!

Yummy cupcakes helped us raise money for the Alzheimer's Society of Canada!

In late September Alpha Pi Phi held its first, monthly study sessions at Carleton University's MacOdrum Library. This was a fantastic time for our sisters to get together, and help one and other study for upcoming mid-terms. Sisters who were in the same program were able to work together and help each other study for upcoming exams!

October was Alpha Pi Phi's social month; we held a "Moulin Rouge" themed Mixer with Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Everyone showed up in their best, French attire and we all had a blast meeting, mingling and dancing the night away. Closer to Halloween, Alpha Pi Phi held a costume party themed mixer with Acacia Fraternity. Some of the costumes present at mixer included Poison Ivy and the Joker from the Batman movie series, Elmo from Seasame Street, 1930's flapper girls, butterflies and the Mad-Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.

In November, Alpha Pi Phi proudly initiated ten, young women into our organization. Our Initiation was preceded by our Lockdown Sisterhood, where our sisters and upcoming initiates spent a fun, sisterhood evening of bonding with one and other, thanks to Paz Arias, our Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Sisterhood Chair. On Sunday, November 15th, 2009 Melisa C., Jaime F., Rebecca Re., Pamela S., Rachael S., Anastasia T., Meghan Ashley C., Ali P., Rebecca Ra. and Robyn G. were formally initiated into the sisterhood of Alpha Pi Phi, as our Alpha Class. This was an extremely special and touching moment for everyone, and cemented the bonds of sisterhood within our sorority. Initiation reminded all of us what it meant to be a sister of Alpha Pi Phi, what we valued as an organization and why we were founded on the principles of "Love, Loyalty and Friendship" (our external motto).

Our "alpha girls" Alpha Class!

In early December, Alpha Pi Phi hosted its "Sweetheart Semi Formal" at Vittoria Trattoria, one of the tastiest restaurants in Ottawa's Market. Jamie Atyeo, a brother of TKE Fraternity, was awarded Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Alpha Pi Phi Sweetheart! Jamie has always been very supportive of our organization from Day One, and the sisters of Alpha Pi Phi felt the need to acknowledge his support. And after a delightful meal and some socializing, we exchanged our Secret Santa gifts! We also teamed up with Kappa Sigma Fraternity, to raise money for AIDS Awareness, right on Carleton University's Campus. K-Sig and APP "sold" care packages of gum, temporary tattoos and AIDS Awareness Pamphlets for a minimum donation of 1$. Throughout the course of one day, we were able to raise over 800$ for AIDS Awareness and AIDS causes. Congratulations to all the hard work everyone put in to raise money for this awesome cause!

In January, Alpha Pi Phi embarked on its Winter 2010 Rush endeavors! Everyone's favourite event was our "Winter Wonderland" Sisterhood, where we divided into teams and spent an evening playing sports and games outside in the snow. We topped the evening events off with some hot chocolate and a discussion about sisterhood, and what it meant to be a sister in Alpha Pi Phi.

January 23rd marked the "All Women's Sorority Day", headed by Phi Sigma Sigma's Aliza V. Alpha Pi Phi's Fall 2009/Winter 2010 President, Laura Kell, significantly helped Aliza with the planning of the day, by securing a location for the venue and aiding Alexa S. from Xi Delta Theta with the making and storage of the goodie bags for the participants. The "All Women's Sorority Day", held on Carleton Campus, was acompletely success; our sisters enjoyed an afternoon of mingling with the other women of Ottawa's greek community, a self-defense course, motivational speaker and slideshow.

On January 31st, 2010 Alpha Pi Phi participated in Ottawa's "Walk for the Memories" for the Alzheimer's Society of Canada alongside TKE Fraternity; some of our sisters volunteered their time to make sure the walk ran smoothy, while others participated in the actual walk themselves. Congratulations to Jessica Doyle, our Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Social Chair, who made sure our APP sisters were successful in helping out with the walk!

Us with the lovely gentlemen of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, at "Walk for Memories".

February 26th, 2010 was the first year anniversary of Alpha Pi Phi Sorority's Founding! Our sisters and sisters in their pledging period all met up at Lesley Walker, Paz Arias and Rebecca Ra.'s house for an evening of sisterhood fun, over delicious food and drinks! It was an extremely touching event for our founding mothers and Alpha class alike, after being faced with so many obstacles to overcome within the past year, in order to make our sisterhood strong and successful.

Some of our sisters at our Anniversary Sisterhood!

The following day, Alpha Pi Phi participated in Sigma Pi Fraternity's Annual "Tundra Bowl", where we played powderpuff football against Ottawa's other organizations. We were one of two sororities which participated in Tundra Bowel, along Nu Sigma Pi Sorority. Our girls really got into the Tundra Bowl spirit, painting their faces with purple and white face paint!

At Tundra Bowl, our faces all painted up!

In early March, we were invited to participate in (what was titled) BEKTA, an exclusive Ottawa greek social event. Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and Beta Theta Pi Fraternity invited us, along with two other sororities, to participate in an afternoon of sports and games! We thoroughly enjoyed mingling with everyone and making new friends, while playing road hockey, soccer and football. Alpha Pi Phi also hosted its first fundraiser pubnight in March, appropriately themed "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" at Ottawa's The Drink club/lounge! Thanks to everyone who came out to support!

The end of March marked our "Amethyst Ball" Formal Date party, which gave all us APP's an excuse to get dolled up and dance the night away! The event was held at Ottawa's Delta Hotel and after a delicious meal, our sisters enjoyed an evening of awards, speeches and good music, thanks to DJ Robert Hawley! Lesley Walker put in special effort to make this night a success, and the Sorority thanks her for her hardwork!

Us "Swans" All Glammed Up at Amethyst Ball!

Lastly, before term ended, on March 27th, 2010 Alpha Pi Phi initiated eight beautiful, young women as its Beta class. Initiation was again preceded by our Lockdown Sisterhood, a complete success thanks to Anastasia T! Alpha Pi Phi welcomed with open arms Angie A., Shannon H., Andrea J., Melissa M., Mandy P., Perri V., Meaghan Z., and Taylor W. into our sisterhood. Congratulations, Beta class!

Our Beautiful Beta Class!

As you can clearly see, Alpha Pi Phi had an amazing Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Academic Year, and cannot wait to continue to flourish and excel as an organization this upcoming Fall 2010!

Welcome!

Welcome to Alpha Pi Phi's Blog! We are a Carleton University-based sorority, located in Canada's lovely capital, Ottawa! Our blog is currently under construction! Check back late for updates!

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life."
- Isadora James