Sara Elgart left an impact on Elon Univeristy through her various leadership roles. As a Leadership Fellow, Omicron Delta Kappa member, LEAD Program participant, and former Sigma Kappa President, Sara’s goal was to work toward a greater purpose and better the Elon community. Her passion for Greek Life carried over into her formation of the Officer Leadership Academy, which was implemented to work as a resource for Elon’s Greek leaders to improve their leadership skills and develop the Greek community. Keep reading to learn more about Sara’s varios accomplishments as a leader at Elon University.
Name: Sara Elgart
Hometown: Alpharetta, Georgia
Age: 21
Year: Senior
Major: Management
Minor: Leadership Studies, Sport & Event Management
Where do you see yourself after graduation? I’m still trying to figure this out! I love corporate event planning and would love to see myself pursuing a career in meeting and events. However I am also interested in a few other opportunities so it is a work in progress. Hopefully wherever I end up, I will be able to combine my passions and love of working with others to work toward a greater purpose/mission and better our community.
What are you involved in on campus? I am a Leadership Fellow, Omicron Delta Kappa member, LEAD Program participant and sister of Sigma Kappa!
What was your favorite part about being the former Sigma Kappa President? Having the chance to serve as the past President for Sigma Kappa was such an incredible opportunity to begin with that I loved so many parts about my experience! If I had to say, my favorite part was definitely the opportunities that I had to build connections outside of Elon as a representative of our chapter, but also to strengthen relationships with so many sisters in our chapter and beyond. I loved being a resource for sisters and felt honored to serve as a support to so many sisters during my time as President. Now, it’s exciting to sit back and watch the incredible things our new Executive Council will accomplish!
What do you feel is your best accomplishment within this previous position? I think my proudest accomplishment while serving as President was at the end of my term. Thinking back on the year, there were so many structural/functional changes that my EC implemented over the year, and by the end of the year it was evident where different areas of our chapter had been strengthened. It’s fun to look back and know that we had a part in making those changes and moving our chapter forward!
What inspired you for the OLA Conference? Why did you decide to start it? I first came up with the concept for Officer Leadership Academy as a part of my common good project for the LEAD Program. For this project, we were asked to take a global issue and address it on our Elon campus. They encouraged us to think of things we were passionate about making a difference in – so for me that issue was Leadership in Fraternity and Sorority Life, and more specifically the impact that student leaders have to make a difference and encourage positive behavior in their respective organizations. So, I addressed this issue on Elon’s campus by creating OLA! But more so, I think this first started when I saw a need for something like OLA last spring when I was serving as President of Sigma Kappa. I realized that Greek leaders need resources, training and leadership development within our own campus community because so many of our national organizations provide these opportunities but Elon does not. Even more so, I think there is so much opportunity for us to learn from each other within our own community and to bridge the gaps between and within councils. After realizing this, and through many, many conversations with FSL staff and other student leaders, OLA was created. My hope for everyone who attended was that they would take advantage of each session that was offered to bring back valuable resources to apply in their own chapters and councils and make positive change in their communities!
How did you feel watching it implemented? It was such an incredible experience to watch OLA happen for the very first time and to see students really walking away with so much from the conference. I loved popping into each breakout session to hear a little bit of each presenters’ workshop, and having the chance to talk to various Greek student leaders over the course of the day. And I really valued the chance to hear the feedback from students during the day as well. There is already so much that can be changed and improved for next year!