Alexa Higley is a junior here at UNH. She’s actively involved with her sorority, Chi Omega, and Greek InterVarsity. Her Campus UNH interviewed Alexa about her involvement with InterVaristy and trip to New Orleans!
How did you get involved with Greek InterVarsity? Can you explain to the HC readers what Greek IV is?
I started off at UNH as a pretty lonely freshman. I didn’t know very many people, but I desperately wanted to find my “niche” on what seemed like such a big campus. I grew up going to church and found a lot of comfort in my youth group there and wanted to find something similar at college. However, I also had people telling me I should go through sorority recruitment, which seemed like two very different things at the time. My biological sister who was a junior at UNH and in a sorority told me about an organization called Greek InterVarsity (Greek IV) which is a Christian organization within the Greek system. I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but decided to go to a freshman interest meeting. When I got there all of the people were so welcoming and I really felt at home. They told me that their mission was a movement of Greeks who experience God and change the world. This seemed like a pretty far out mission to me, but I wanted to learn more. Since then there has been no turning back for me. I joined the sorority Chi Omega and started to holding a G.I.G. (group investigating God) at my chapter house. It seemed like a daunting thing at first, but has ended up being very successful. 5-10 girls usually come each week as we dig deeper in our relationships and talk about the relevance of God in our day-to-day lives as Greeks. I have also had the opportunity to go to three Greek conferences, two in Southern California and 1 in Upstate NY. Greek conference is a weekend get-away for Greeks all over the US who want to know more about how God can fit into their lives as Greeks. I also had the opportunity to go to Uganda in Africa this past summer for 2 weeks through an InterVarsity Global missions project to work with women who have been child soldiers.
What is KRUP and what do you do during the week?
Katrina Relief Urban Plunge (KRUP) is an alternative spring break trip that I have gone on the past three years through InterVarsity. This trip has been going on for six years and each year it grows more and more. This is a time for us college students to take a long bus ride down to New Orleans and experience what life has been like since the devastating hurricane Katrina. The thing that surprises me year after year is how much work still needs to be done. After almost 6 years there is still so much devastation and rebuilding that is needed.
During KRUP students get a tour of New Orleans to see first-hand how the hurricane affected the area that we stay and in the city. We also get to experience the culture of New Orleans by spending an afternoon and evening in the French quarter. Monday through Friday we work with different organizations like Habitat For Humanity, Teach for America, Arkansas Baptist Builders, and for the wons that we are staying in to help with whatever needs to be done. This is not a trip for someone who wants a tan and to relax all break. It is hard work and it is definitely not comfortable. The living arrangements at the camp we stay at are less than private and there is almost always a line for the showers, however what we experience in that short week is not even a fraction of what the people who suffered from Katrina went through, which is something I have to remind myself of often.
During the evenings we discuss what the relevance of God is amidst the brokness we are faced with. You find a lot of the families you are helping telling you “God Bless” or “we could not have survived if it wasn’t for God” which seems absolutely crazy, however their faith is incredibly inspiring and something we take time to talk about each night. This is one of my favorite parts about the trip because we don’t have very many opportunities in college to really open up and talk about real life things to a small group of people. The friendships that you walk away with after this trip truly incredible because you have learned so much about each other through these nights.
What’s your most memorable KRUP experience?
My most memorable experience this past year was simple the community that was built at the end of the week. I walked away with a number of great new friends from different sororities and fraternities and different organizations from campus, people I would have never given the chance otherwise. We sat around a fire on the beach the last night and just reflected about the week and how we could bring the feeling we had back to campus which was a truly inspiring moment.
Is KRUP just for Greeks?
Non Greeks definitely can come on KRUP. InterVarsity has three different chapters including undergraduates, Greeks, and athletes which ALL go on KRUP. So no matter what you do on campus, or who you know you are welcome to come to KRUP.
How do you sign up for KRUP?
You can sign up for KRUP by talking to anyone from InterVarsity or InterVarsity staff workers, or me!
How do you get involved with Greek IV?
Students can get involved in Greek IV by coming to our Core meeting every Tuesday in MUB rm 232 where we talk about events that we are holding, do a devotional, and talk about what is going on in our lives. We also hold large groups at different chapter houses with different speakers and we are going to start doing services projects like we did on KRUP so look out for those! You can also talk with me, I am always up for a coffee date and to get to know new people! My e-mail is alexa.higley@gmail.com