Alissa Johnston, Delta Gamma Sorority Santa Clara University, Class of 2014 Major: Bioengineering

November 5, 2012 Dear South Bay Alumnae Panhellenic, Chapter Presidents, Advisors, and Potential Scholarship Applicants: This past year I had the honor of receiving the South Bay Alumnae Panhellenic Athena Scholarship. From preparing my application to attending the award luncheon, my personal experience was extremely smooth and gratifying and therefore I would highly recommend all who are interested to apply. The Athena Scholarship came to my attention in early January when I received an informative email from my sororities Director of Scholarship with the application attached. At first I was hesitant because most scholarship applications require long personal essays and multiple letters of recommendation; however, in reviewing the content of the Athena application it appeared very clear and concise asking questions that I could answer with passion and conviction such as my involvement in the sorority and how it had thus far enhanced my college experience. Because of the manageable application requirements and contestant pool limited to only Santa Clara and San Jose State Greek women, I became attracted to the scholarship and motivated to apply. Completing the application only took a couple of hours and a few days of revision to tweak and perfect. About two weeks before the submission date, I asked a former employer and my current boss to write my two letters of recommendation and printed out an unofficial transcript. Having multiple sources available to write the letters eased my application process immensely. The following week at Chapter I asked my sorority advisor to write my final letter of recommendation. Although she was new to the position and I didnt know her that well, it only took a short conversation to introduce myself and become fairly well acquainted. This may have been the most intimidating part - but the motivation created by the application process provided me a great way to get to know my new advisor! Although the physical application didnt take that long, I think it is important to give those writing your letters of recommendation ample time and therefore I would advocate starting the application AT LEAST three weeks before the submission date. I was so elated when I heard that I had been awarded the scholarship. Little did I know that I would be honored with much more than a financial prize from the South Bay Alumnae Panhellenic. The award luncheon was perhaps my favorite part of the whole experience. All of the South Bay women were so welcoming and seemed genuinely excited to meet ME; I felt like a celebrity even though it was the Greek alums that had worked so hard to build the scholarship and deserved the attention. Although I had spoken to the Scholarship Chair Jacqueline Vo numerous times, I was very anxious for our first face-to-face meeting, as she had helped make my experience so pleasurable. In addition, I met countless amazing and inspiring Greek women who all epitomized the perfect alumnae, the type of person I aspire to one day become. Growing up I had seen my Fathers fraternity bonds last throughout the years, but it was extremely gratifying and motivating to see firsthand women of all ages surrounded by old and new friends they had met through the Greek alumnae system. After giving a short acceptance and thank you speech, I was even given business cards from women with careers relating to my major, which made me feel all the more special and privileged. As you can see, from start to finish my experience with the Athena Scholarship and South Bay Alumnae Panhellenic was totally positive. I would highly encourage anyone interested to take the short amount of time to apply and compile all the necessary documents because the rewards they can reap are invaluable. I now hope to one day become active in my local panhellenic and have the ability to recognize and honor Greek collegians just like the South Bay Alumnae. Sincerely, Alissa Johnston, Delta Gamma Sorority Athena Scholarship Recipient 2012