Name: Rachel Franceschino
Year: Junior
Major: Political Science, Labor Studies, and Employment Relations
Hometown: Yardley, PA
Meet Rachel, the new face of the Panhellenic Council that currently embodies 22 sororities. With a passion for leadership, she has big goals to improve our Greek Community during her term. Learn more about what Rachel’s position as Panhellenic President entails.
HC: Briefly describe your position as Panhellenic President:
Rachel: I oversee our Executive Board and work with the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life administration and people from the borough. I reach out to other organizations to represent the whole female Greek community. Also, I make sure the chapters are functioning as they should. I work a lot with chapter presidents to make sure their jobs are going well.
HC: What made you want to take on this position…Have you always wanted it?
Rachel: I was my sorority’s chapter president before and I was finishing up being president, and really wasn’t completely done with a leadership role. This really works well coming from being a chapter president because it’s really easy to relate to other chapter presidents. It just seemed like something that I thought I’d be a good fit for; I had some ideas for the position, so I decided to run for it!
HC: What goals do you plan to reach during your term?
Rachel: Having a successful new member period for the new girls from the spring classes is a more immediate one. Having a good fall recruitment and really continuing to increase our numbers because we’ve been doing so well is a bigger-picture goal. I’m also trying to work on creating mental health awareness programs for chapter presidents, getting them more comfortable with speaking to girls in their chapter that may have issues with that. Also, reaching out with other organizations and collaborating with them more; working with all four councils rather than just exclusively IFC.
HC: What created your interest in Greek Life?
Rachel: I really didn’t know what I wanted to do to get involved when I got here. My roommate was talking about going through recruitment, so I said “yeah, sure I’ll do it with you,” and then we both fell in love with it. We ended up in two different chapters but we’re still really good friends.
HC: So far, what has been your favorite part of being on the Panhellenic Council?
Rachel: Working with the Executive Board- it’s been awesome. Three of the girls
on the Executive Board were also chapter presidents when I was, so being able to work with them more, getting to know girls from other chapters, and getting to meet the chapter presidents because they’re all awesome this year and it’s been really great working with them.
HC: Is Panhellenic Exec something you would suggest for other people to get involved in, why?
Rachel: Yeah, Panhellenic Exec has been an awesome opportunity; I think everyone on the board would easily say that. It’s a really good chance to develop leadership skills and then take any ideas you have and make a changeable difference. It’s been a really great experience.