This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Carleton chapter.
It is nearly impossible to get an accurate description of what a ‘stereotypical’ sorority girl is these days, unfortunately the days of Sydney White and House Bunny are long over. But when it comes to the president of Carleton’s Panhellenic Council, Valerie Hinson, she is an accurate representation of what every sorority woman should strive to be. In her final year at Carleton as a political science student, Valerie balances her time studying for her LSATs, being an active member in Alpha Omicron Pi, being involved with Sock N’ Buskin productions and being a residence fellow. While she may have a lot on her plate, she also has time to be a great friend and role model, while pulling off the largest Panhellenic Recruitment period Carleton has ever seen.
When Valerie came to meet me, she bounced up in her traditional black blazer, AOII badge fastened securely on her lapel, with a big bow in her hair. Her cheery personality and positivity comes across immediately, and she is a very personable character. She came to Ottawa from Toronto in order to be closer to the political heart in Canada. When asked why she chose to study political science, she replied with a laugh: “I want to be prime minister.”
Valerie first came out to recruitment in the fall of 2011 and was initiated into Alpha Omicron Pi that November. She decided to participate in recruitment because she had noticed all of the Greeks on campus participating in many events and she decided that she wanted to be a part of a larger organization to make a difference both on and off of campus. She said that when she first met the women of AOII, she was struck by their drive and passion and knew that she wanted to be a part of that sisterhood. Upon initiation, Valerie was elected into the position of vice president of chapter development, where she was responsible for organizing internal events within the chapter such as sisterhoods and other events. With her infectious positivity, she was perfect for the job.
During that time she was also vice president of programming on the Panhellenic Council committee which involved her planning events and fundraisers for the women in the Council. This stepping stone led Valerie to see the internal workings of the Council and inspired her to go for bigger things — in fact, the biggest thing. She decided to run for president because she knew that four sororities on campus working together would make a difference, as well as eliminate the competitive edge that existed and is blown out of proportion by the stereotypes.
“The idea of the Panhellenic Council is to project the best qualities of sorority women, and to prove that we are more than just social, drinking clubs,” she said. She recognizes that the Council receives a lot of heat, but knows that the organizations involved keep their best interests in mind and work together to improve and better each other. This has definitely been proved this past recruitment period, where each organization grew substantially.
While Valerie is dedicated to her studies, her res fellowing and her Ravens teams, she saves a lot of passion, love and dedication for both her own sorority sisters and her Panhellenic ones. She is a driven, bubbly, outspoken, passionate, friendly individual who is devoted to taking Carleton University’s Panhellenic Council even further through the rest of the year and into its future years on campus. Look out for this one, because she’s going somewhere, hair bow and all.