This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.
With her signature red hair and bright smile, Liz Glaser is hard to miss on campus. From Longmont, Colorado, Liz balances a lot on her plate while at American. She is the President of Phi Sigma Sigma, a Law and Society major, Sig Ep Sweetheart, and works at Luke’s Lobster. When she has time from her busy schedule, she loves to listen to live music! As a senior, all of Liz’s hard work paid off: next year, she will be moving to Nevada to work for Teach for America! Her Campus American grabbed an interview with the Phi Sigma Sigma president who tells us her plans for the rest of her senior year, the future, and some advice to girls planning to rush in the spring.
HCAU: What made you decided to rush a sorority?
Liz: In high school, I was involved in cheerleading and student council and I really enjoyed having those groups of friends along with a shared purpose. As my first semester in college progressed, I began to miss that aspect of my friendships and so I chose to go through recruitment in hopes of finding a group of women that shared a common goal and also wanted to have fun!
HCAU: How has your time in Phi Sigma Sigma changed and benefitted you during your time in college?
Liz: My very best friends have come from Phi Sig. I’ve learned a lot about how to work with people, even if we disagree, and what it really means to be a friend and value loyalty. I’ve also gained a ton of leadership experience, working on Panhellenic and as president, and through those experiences I really changed into the kind of person that seeks to work for the best of an organization. I’ve had a ton of fun along the way and enjoyed some truly unique and awesome experiences. I also attended the Undergraduate Interfraternity Insitutitue, which was truly life-changing, and that never would have happened without Phi Sig.
HCAU: What was your road to becoming President of Phi Sigma Sigma?
Liz: From the very beginning, I knew that I wanted to take on leadership roles in the sorority—I’ve never been a part of anything without wanting to step up. Because of that, I stepped onto e-council at the end of my freshman year. I joined the executive board of both Phi Sig and Panhellenic as secretary of Panhel my sophomore year, and the work I did that year made me realize that I really wanted to run for archon.
HCAU: Why did you decide to take the leadership role?
Liz: Deciding to run for president and take on that role came after some serious reflection, and after I spent some time thinking about the goals I had for my organization and the passion I had for seeing Phi Sig grow and develop I realized that the best role for me to enact these goals and spark change was as Archon.
HCAU: How do you balance school, being President, etc.?
Liz: I definitely learned about time management: in my time as Archon, I was also an RA and work at a restaurant, while maintaining a full course schedule. I got really close with my planner and started scheduling out my whole life, while also dedicating certain days to specific organizations so that each day I could fully devote myself to whatever it was I needed.
HCAU: Favorite Phi Sig memory?
Liz: Senior year hayride, or Big/Little reveal when I took my own little (even though she already knew it was me because I’m terrible at surprises) and we were instantly obsessed with each other.
HCAU: How do you feel about your term ending? What do you plan on doing after?
Liz: It’s a mixed feeling about my term ending. I’m happy to have accomplished my goals, and I’m so proud of the initiatives I took and the changes I made, and I love where our chapter is at right now (Chapter of the Year, holla!). I’m also ready to not be in charge—it can get exhausting and sometimes very difficult to remain positive and attentive. However, I’m sad to see my executive board go, and I’m sad to be leaving the role and knowing all the inner workings of our sorority. I’m just going to take it easy and be there to support the new Archon (Maddie Beard, you’re going to be AMAZING) and also be a little jealous because I have so much faith that the next executive board is going to do really great things for the chapter. Overall I’m at peace with the end of the term, but I always hate having to let things go.
HCAU: What is you advice for girls about to go through rush?
Liz: My advice for girls going through recruitment: relax and have fun! It’s an intense weekend and is definitely overwhelming, but both the new members and the sisters are looking for women that they want to spend the next four years with at the least—it’s a bond that lasts much longer. So if you just walk into it with a mindset of making a whole bunch of new friends and showing sorority women how awesome you are, you’ll be great. Have confidence and remember to trust the process.
HCAU: Do you do any other student activities, interests, hobbies?
Liz: I work for Housing and Dining, and for a restaurant called Luke’s Lobster which is awesome and so much fun. I’m one of the SigE Sweethearts, and that’s so fulfilling and wonderful. As for hobbies, I really like going to concerts because I love live music, and going out with girls in Phi Sig, SigEp boys, and my friends from Luke’s. I spend a lot of time Skyping my best friend who’s at law school in Las Vegas.
HCAU: How did you get involved with Teach for America?
Liz: I’ve always been interested in education sector, but I never knew if I could actually be a teacher or if I wanted to work more in policy or as a volunteer. Over the summer I decided that I definitely didn’t want to do law school (just thinking about the LSAT makes me nervous) and I looked into TFA a little more and decided that applying would be a great start in figuring out how to enter the education world! I was so lucky to have been selected, and the application process was nerve-wracking but it felt right, so I’ve officially committed and will be teaching in Las Vegas starting next fall.
HCAU: What are you going to do for Teach of America?
Liz: I’ll be teaching middle school English in Las Vegas, and I hope to volunteer as one of the student council teachers or coach a cheerleading team. I’m sure it’s going to be a real challenge, but I’m excited to take it on and see the difference I want to make.