Victoria Chan is one of the newest graduate assistant faces around the Center for Student Involvement , but her role as advisor of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), a council she is not a member of, is what makes her stick out most.
A Syracuse University graduate, Chan received her bachelors in Political Science and African-American studies and found her way from the cold, harsh weather of New York to the state of Georgia. “I wanted to do grad school somewhere warm,” said Chan.
A commoner to traveling, Chan’s career positions placed her all over. From Asia to London, her work stretched from working on the movie The Karate Kid, to aiding with R&B artist Usher’s nonprofit organization.
Chan crossed over into greek life in the fall of 2006 when she became a member of Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, which was founded in 1995. With the majority of the sorority’s chapters located on the east coast, Chan only has two other sorority sisters in the whole state of Georgia. Kappa Phi Lambda is built on sisterhood, service and social diversity. They are an Asian interest sorority, but not Asian exclusive.
“West Georgia it is,” said Chan. Her applicant process was a big contributor to her decision. “I received personal notes from UWG,” said Chan. “Instead of getting a letter saying ‘hey applicant’ I got ‘hey Victoria.”
Chan’s sorority is a mix of Pan-Hellenic and NPHC, embodying various cultural aspects. She recalled her sorority participating in a step show. “Some people liked that we stepped, some people didn’t.” Chan was gracious to the NPHC members who shared their artistic expression. It is that type of cultural sharing and acceptance Chan wishes to promote with her work on the UWG campus.
She wanted to go into student affairs because she had a good experience with greek life. It was her only outlet of involvement while she was in school.
Chan does not want to be on a campus that does not have good greek unity. ”When I first crossed there was no greek unity.” Organizations that Chan was close to on her campus were like ghost to her sorority sisters on other campuses. “I want to push potential members to know all about other organizations,” said Chan.
Chan is big on accountability. She is close to all the student presidents within her council. “I will get down and dirty for my organizations.” With this being her first year here, she listens to concerns that her students have and makes it her job to address those issues.
“When we’re out here, how do we want others to see us? If we’re having an event, what if the President shows up?” Her main goal for the year is to enhance the council’s image. Chan is big on events and wants to bring NPHC and Greek life together. “It’s all about relationships,” said Chan.
“Do I know you on a one on one basis, and do you know me like that.” This is Chan’s mindset for the semester and how she believes the greek life community should think. She is excited about the school term and the different contributions she can make on the UWG campus.
