The Ambassador: DOZ's Semesterly Newsletter Spring 2010 Edition

8/9/2019 The Ambassador: DOZ's Semesterly Newsletter Spring 2010 Edition

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With spring coming to a close and fall just aroundthe corner, summer arrives, allowing time to reflect on the

past and plan for the future.During the new DOZ Senior Week program at the

end of this spring, DOZ actives celebrated each senior asthey set off on their journeys in life after USC. With specialgifts and surprises, a pancake breakfast, and a bar tab atthe 901 Bar and Grill, the program’s activities added someextra fun to the week as seniors prepared to graduate. DOZlove felt as strong as ever at chapter as seniors impartedwisdom and advice on the actives in their goodbyespeeches. The week ended with the senior banquet wherethe Senior Slideshow and the Senior Gift-giving Ceremonyallowed DOZ to bid farewell to many cherished brothersand sisters of the fraternity as they set off on their journeyas DOZ alumni in the working world.

While the seniors transitioned from actives toalumni, the Epsilon class also moved from journeymen toactives. The journeyman process this semester developedeven further as a week of reflection added meaning and allowed the journeymen to observe the impactof the journeyman process before the initiation ceremony.

In addition to advances in the Journeyman Program, DOZ active life also experiencedtransformation as the Luminary Program opened new doors and explored new ways of challengingactives through different lenses.

With spring rush centered on the image of a compass, DOZ seemed geared towards finding adirection, or a path to follow. At the end of the semester with a further defined and clearer direction inmind, DOZ prepares to charge ahead full force. Looking forward, the communications team chose tocenter fall rush on the image of a kaleidoscope through which DOZ may see the path it follows fromall different colors and angles. Fall semester, like looking into a kaleidoscope, will focus on changingperspectives. DOZ hopes to provide actives and journeymen alike with the ability to change the waythey see the world. The continuously changing and diverse new programming strategy will focus on

experiencing all facets of leadership, and will challenge actives like never before.I encourage you to take the time to read the following pages for a more in depth look at how

DOZ has grown and developed over the past semester, and to stay updated on the change and growthto come with DOZ this fall.

Loyally,

Claire E. George

Alpha Chapter President 2010

Delta Omicron Zeta

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Greetings from the President» Claire George, Gamma Class



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DOZ Rush Spring 2010

Information sessions» Julia Allyn, Delta Class

This year we started off Spring 2010 Rush with information sessions tha

drew over a hundred potential members. The sessions centered around thSpring rush theme: “Where does your compass point?” The open meetingset the standard for an enthusiastic and eventful rush. Speakers includefounders Mike Thomsen and Jeff Okita, whose heartfelt speeches remindeus all of why we are so proud to be part of DOZ. Curious potential membehad a chance to mingle with actives after the event.









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DOZ Rush, continued





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Meet the Epsilon class

“The Journeyman semester fostered not only leadership development, but also the growth obonds between individuals who are passionate about a wide spectrum of issues, and who valugreatly the opportunity to learn from each other.”

» Noa Oldak, Epsilon Class

“The Journeyman Program has truly changed my perspective on life, given me the opportunitto discover myself, and most of all spend it with 18 of the most insightful and inspiring peoplon campus. My Journeymen semester was a symbolic representation of my transition fromstudent to leader. Essentially, the Journeyman Program has exposed me to a life time worth o

challenges and experiences that I will be able to apply to my future at USC in organizations anshare with young and aspiring leaders.”

» Michael Soh, Epsilon Class

“The Journeyman semester literally changed my outlook on life. It made me widen my perspectiveand reflect not just on the day-to-day things about life, but broader topics such as where mmoral compass points. This semester also provided me with a loving and caring family. I cherisall of them immensely.”

» Charlene Clee, Epsilon Class





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A DOZen Roses Party» Katie Kittrell, Delta Class

About 30 DOZ actives and journeymen came together to express their love for DOZ aneach other. On February 12th, 2010 we had a DOZen Roses Valentine’s Party. Despite ththree day weekend that enticed others with trips, a great number of DOZers showeup for the get together that fell on the actual day of our fraternity’s founding!





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Epsilon Big Sib Night» Diana Smith, Delta Class

Excitement fluttered through the DOZ hoas the Epsilons, Deltas, Abhinay and Kabir aiously awaited the most important news of semester--their big and little matches!

Using preferences, personality assesmand a little bit of magic, Chenu, our VP of Mebership, found the perfect big sibs for the nEpsilons. After the sibling reveal, the bigs induced the newest members of their founfamilies to the rest of their lines.

The night was filled with games, revgift-giving and competition, a perfect waywelcome the Epsilons to the DOZ family.





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First LEAD Challenge» Diana Smith, Delta Class

Divided into groups by the seven founder families, actives and journeymeembarked on DOZ’s first ever LEAD CHALLENGE.

Organized by the Leadership Development team, family groups participatein seven feats of leadership, from performing an interpretive dance to a sonthey didn’t know to strategizing how to get out of tight situations, the leadebonded as families and had a great deal of fun. The event culminated with a gant family relay race and a celebratory meal at Rosso’s pizza to beat the rain.

Congratulations to the Cass family, winners of the 2010 DOZ Lead Challeng





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Speaker Series 2010

Dr. Art Bartner, Spirit of Troy Director

» Elise Welch, Alpha ClassIn February, we added another notable leader to our list of guest speakers

Dr. Arthur C. Bartner, director of the USC Trojan Marching Band, spoke tDOZ about his forty years of experience as a college band director. He discussethe leadership dynamics and hierarchy in the band, how he manages to run band of 300 college students, and about the qualities he values in a good leade

He shared with us many amusing anecdotes, as well as some great wisdomabout leadership and life in general. The group truly benefitted from his impresive and enthusiastic insight.





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DOZ Spring Invite» Diana Smith, Delta Class

Dressed to impress, DOZ actives and journeymen grabbed a date and dancethrough the night, exposing many new faces to the fact that this family of leaders knows how to work the floor.





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DOZ Do(e)z Relay for Life

» Laura Nelson, Epsilon ClassWe all know DOZ loves camping. Normally, we pitc

our tents in the mountains or on the beach, but in Apr

we set up camp at Cromwell Field during USC’s 25th annual Relay for Life. We played football and volleyball, lluminarias to honor loved ones with cancer, shared lot of good music and didn’t sleep much — but in thend, we raised more than $1,000 for cancer research.

Team fundraisers included two bake sales at 28tand University, featuring homemade baked goodmacaroons for Passover and tofu-based banana brea

for the resident vegans.





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More Epsilon ProjectsA day at Casa de Rosas Women’s Shelter» Jessica Youseffi, Epsilon Class

“Though it’s not incumbent upon you to complete the task, neither are you free desist from it.”

I was reminded of this Jewish proverb while working on my journeyman grouproject. We organized a volunteer day on April 18 to fix up the neglected and ovegrown garden at Casa de Rosas, a shelter for battered and homeless women, locate

right on USC’s doorstep.Shaimaa and I visited the shelter earlier in the semester to suss out what neede

to be done. During that visit we met an old lady sitting timidly in the corner of a roomI smiled at her and said hi, but she avoided my eye contact and nervously lookearound the room.

After walking outside we were told that a staff worker found her earlier in thmorning crying by the bus stop; she was beaten and kicked out of her house by hchildren.

Later as we were leaving, that very same lady fell on our shoulders crying, anrepeatedly told us that it was the worse day of her life. Shaimaa and I looked at eacother for a long period of silence, trying to process what we just saw.

“If we ever needed a reason to do this, that was it right there,” Shaimaa said.

That encounter put our visit into perspective; Casa de Rosas was no longer just aother shelter or volunteer project--it was something we felt attached to and for whicwe felt responsible. Though we struggled to come up with a plan of action, since anthing we could do would fall short of the magnitude of work that was needed, w

knew that for now we had to do whatever we could.On the day of the event, our strong group of volunteers made a significant diffe

ence to the garden in less than five hours of hard manual labor under a relentless su

As we merrily hacked, plucked, dug and planted away, multiple women from thshelter walked by thanking us for our work.

They all seemed touched that we were there and cared--that was all that reamattered. Though our work wasn’t even a fraction of what was needed, still we canndesist from our responsibility of fixing this broken world.





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Epsilon Class Initiation» Laura Nelson, Epsilon Class

Getting to initiation might have been one of the hardest parts of the semester: many of thEpsilons got hopelessly lost in the twisting roads of the Angeles Forest. But after a healtdose of tent-pitching – it is DOZ, after all – we began our initaiton process. Crossing ovwas bittersweet: despite the workload, our journeyman semester had been magical. Repcating what we learned and experienced will be impossible. But any sadness was washeaway as the actives finally, offially, welcomed us with open arms into the DOZ family.











Documents

The Ambassador: DOZ's Semesterly Newsletter Spring 2010 Edition