You’ve walked down Greek row time and time again and seen Drexel University’s sorority houses lining 34th and Powelton streets, but have you ever wondered who is in charge of those sororities? This weeks campus celebrity, Mary Caparosa, a junior english major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the president of the Panhellenic Council and one of the women in charge of running the sororities. Along with being president of the PHC, Mary has a lot of other unique interests and hobbies that all point to one thing: Mary is making, and will continue to make, a difference in this world.
The PHC is the umbrella organization that oversees Drexel’s sororities and is in charge of events that are too large for sororities to coordinate by themselves, such as sorority recruitment and Greek Week. The PHC also puts together the High Heel Derby to benefit the council’s adopted philanthropy, the Circle of Sisterhood, which helps underprivileged women get an education. Mary also said that the PHC is very passionate about educating the public about sexual assault.
Mary originally got involved with the PHC executive board during her sophomore year when somebody suggested to her that it might be something she would enjoy. She served as secretary during her sophomore year, and she realized at the end of the year that she wanted to continue on the exec board, so she ran for president and got the position.
As president of the PHC, Mary has a lot of responsibilities. The main responsibility of her position is overseeing everybody else on the exec board and making sure that everybody is doing their job. She communicates with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Mary also communicates with the Interfraternity Council and the Multicultural Greek Council for things such as community service events.
Mary has to constantly stay on top of things. She has a running to-do list with at least fifteen things on it at all times, and if she doesn’t check her email one day, she’ll log on to find 75 new messages in her inbox!
Although it’s a lot of work, she loves her position as president of the PHC. Mary said the best part about her position is being involved in programs that empower women to be leaders and say no to sexism. “There’s this little corner of the world that I’m in charge of, and I’m going to make a difference in it,” Mary said about loving her position as PHC president. She also enjoys being able to hang out with the women in the organizations. The close-knit group of women on the executive board have become some of her best friends.
Mary has learned a lot from her position as president of the PHC. She’s learned about the importance of delegation and how to apply it in her role. Mary said her special skill is to “make others feel good about themselves,” and she believes that this skill has helped her delegate by making sure other members felt included and ensuring that the PHC is running smoothly. Mary also said she learned leadership skills working with the PHC that she could never have learned in the classroom.
Aside from her active involvement with Drexel’s PHC, Mary’s passions also extend beyond the organization. While she feels completely at home with the sorority community, she’s also found a place for herself in another community—the veteran community.
Before Mary switched her major to English during her sophomore year, she was a photography major. One day she met a veteran named Phil. According to Mary, Phil was an “incredible, incredible man” and she decided to photograph him for a school project. She and Phil talked for three hours, and Phil held nothing back. Mary became fascinated with the world that he brought her into.
In a quest to learn more about the lives of veterans, she started calling around veterans associations until one of them agreed to let her photograph the veterans. Now she photographs the members of the Drexel Veterans Association, The Veterans Group, the Philadelphia Veterans Comfort House, Pittsburgh’s The Veterans Breakfast Club and a few retirement home residents. Mary’s motto is “people matter,” and through photographing and writing about the veterans, she aims to focus on the soldiers and not the wars they were involved in.
In addition to her photography hobby, Mary is a part of Drexel’s Maya Literary Magazine and Drexel Women Entrepreneurs. She’s also involved with Aahana India, a nonprofit organization that helps build schools in India. She has a part time job writing for the Twenty-Five Faces of the College of Arts and Sciences. Also, she is a member of a sorority and acts as a sorority recruitment counselor.
Being president of the PHC has shown Mary that she loves working with women and is passionate about women’s issues. One thing that makes Mary extremely happy is knowing that she’s impacted a woman’s life. Her experiences working with women have made her think differently about gender roles and feminism. She enjoys being in a position where she can encourage women to be more than what society tells them to be.
Her positions on the PHC have led Mary to consider working in a nonprofit sector or any kind of field where she would have direct contact with women. She also would like to obtain some grants to continue her photography project with veterans. If she could get a job that combined all of her passions, she said it would be working with female veterans who have been victims of sexual assault. However, if that job doesn’t exist, she is considering going into publishing or writing.
Mary Caparosa is an inspiring woman and is truly deserving of the title “Campus Celebrity.” Not only is she the leader of Drexel’s Panhellenic Council, but she is also committed to making a difference in Drexel’s community and in the world. No matter what career path Mary ends up taking, she will continue being an inspiration and helping improve the lives of all those around her.