you've • got a1 Pi Theta Phi brought back old traditions and stayed connected by email over summer 2019. Shortly after being elected president of women's social club Pi Theta Phi (PTP) for the fall 2019 semester, junior Lindsey Bender received various boxes and binders passed down from president to president after the club's establishment in 2004. While perusing the materials, she came across multiple printed copies of emails from years before. After looking over the emails, she said she realized what made them special. The founders of PTP used email chains to communicate and keep up with one another. When the members were scattered all over the country and world, the women used email to stay connected with one another's lives. Fifteen years later, Bender decided to restore the old tradition and proposed using email chains again. "To me, it was a testament to the kind of community they had, and I thought it was so beautiful," Bender said. Bender said she wanted to reintroduce the concept to the club in 2019 and use it as a way to stay updated throughout the summer so they could make a seamless transition upon returning in the fall. Similar to the women in 2004, she wanted to use the emails as a mechanism for community building. "As it went on, you could see people being more vulnerable and talk about what was really going on," Bender said. Bender said the email chain was used to keep members informed of other's summer activities, and it turned into a platform for vulnerability and encouragement. She said the women opened up and shared more about the areas in which they struggled and needed prayer, and club members affirmed and validated these feelings. "A lot of the [women] were struggling with the same things over the summer," junior Emma Denson, PTP member, said. The women said the manner in which people opened up and responded to the authenticity was impressive and uplifting. Bender said she did not anticipate what would transpire when she originally proposed the idea, but she was moved by how the Lord worked through it. Junior Ally Anderson, PTP member, said it was interesting to see what her fellow club members were doing through social media, but the email chain was different because it allowed the women to dig deeper and share more than the highlights. "With the email, I got to hear from the girls who were just staying home and working, and it wasn't just, 'Hey I'm staying home and working,' it was all ofthese really cool things about their lives,"Anderson said. "One thing that is really cool about girls in PTP is that they're just good at being very real and very vulnerable all the time, so each email was just honest." The email chain made an impact during the summer and launched the club dynamic on a positive trajectory for the rest of the school year. "I think it set a very good tone for the school year because there was already that sense ofwanting to be with each other," Bender said. "I could see it at the first meeting - and the second meeting, too - of girls being so genuinely excited to be there because they already know that there's that sense of community from the email chain." Ultimately, Bender said the dated form of communication proved to be successful for the members of PTP. She said it created a platform for honesty and community across different parts of the world and launched the girls into deeper relationships for the semesters to come. story by Madison Scott social clubs 69
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