Sorority Council president will help build houses in Senegal for a week
While other students are relaxing on the beach or wasting away in cubicles, Riley Shipman is packing for a trip to Senegal.
The Sorority Council president has been chosen for a 13-woman trip to the African country, during which they will help build a school for young girls, funded by Circle of Sisterhood, a non-profit organization that partners with sorority women around the country to raise money for girls’ education.
Shipman will join sorority members from schools including the University of Alabama, Vanderbilt University and the University of Connecticut. For a week, she will live with a host family while helping construct the school.
“Through this experience, I know that I will also learn a lot about myself, as I will be pushed, physically and emotionally, further outside of my comfort zone than I have ever been before,” Shipman said.
Sorority Council began a partnership with Circle of Sisterhood in 2011, when it was named the council’s official philanthropy. Members chose it after seeing a presentation at the Southeastern Panhellenic Conference, a gathering of sorority leaders from around the Southeast.
“The council members at the time felt moved to act, and the presented the concept to the sorority chapter presidents at a council meeting,” said Katie Spell, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life and Sorority Council advisor.
“Everyone felt the same passion about the cause and knew that our community could have a great impact on women around the world.”
In the past year, Sorority Council coordinated the fundraising of more than $5,000 for Circle of Sisterhood, which qualified USC to have a representative chosen for the Senegal trip, the first of its kind that Sorority Council has had an opportunity to participate in. While Shipman was chosen randomly from a pool of representatives of schools who had raised at least $1,000 for the organization, USC’s high involvement with Circle of Sisterhood made her a prime candidate for the trip, Spell said.
“USC is regularly called on as an example of a school who is doing great things for Circle of Sisterhood and to serve as a role model for other sorority communities,” Spell said. “This trip will allow a member of our community to see the real life impact that philanthropy contributions can have on real people and connect philanthropic work with hands on community service.”
In the past year, Sorority Council’s Circle of Sisterhood committee has screened a documentary about the status of women in undeveloped and developing nations as well as worked with sorority chapters to raise funds throughout the year. Shipman, a fourth-year management student who also heads up the committee, looks forward to the trip enhancing her and USC’s relationship with the organization.
“Every day, I get to work with members of the sorority community who are so passionate about the Circle of Sisterhood and believe in empowering women and girls through education,” Shipman said. “We have some exciting ideas for the next year, and I look forward to continuing to raise funds and awareness for the cause at USC.”