Alumnae Newsletter (Summer 2021)

Alumnae NEWSLETTER

Summer 2021 HOPE, JOY AND CONNECTION

ANNOUNCEMENT Learn more about the latest project from the NAAC - our alumnae website.

PARENTING THROUGH A PANDEMIC Learn from some of our alumnae and the ways in which parenting has changed due to the pandemic.

RECOMMENDATIONS As is our tradition we have assembled a fun bucket list activity and a list of recommendations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Chapter Highlights

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Motherhood: Parenting through a Pandemic

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Recommendations

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Previous Newsletters

Hear from some of our alumnae chapters and their hopes and goals for next year.

Many of our alumnae are parents who adapted to changing times during the pandemic, learn some of their stories.

From playlists to great books check out some of our recommendations and a cool bucket list.

View our previous newsletters and see our year in review.

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Announcement

We now have a website! Check it out in the link on page 24.

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Editor's Note This year I've had the distinct honor of working as editor for the alumnae newsletter.

I feel incredibly blessed to see the ways in which this project has blossomed. I would love to take this opportunity to highlight the incredible contributions of the alumnae newsletter subcommittee.

This year our core team, Damaris Garcia, Sherrill Ballesteros, Jennifer Rincones and Melitza Iglesias-Colon have made incredible contributions to each edition.

Our Director of Alumnae Affairs, Vice President of External Affairs and Executive Administrator have also provided insightful guidance to continue to make each newsletter special.

As the 2020-2021 Team gets ready go hand over the baton, we are thankful for the opportunity and trust deposited in us in the last year and look forward to the contributions of future generations of subcommittee members.

Darling Jimenez Alpha Rho Alumnae Chapter Spring 2016

Thank You Alumnae Newsletter Subcommittee!

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CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS Educators :Unsung Heroes

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Alpha Alpha Alumnae Chapter New Brunswick, NJ How do you feel your chapter supported your members this year through COVID-19?

We hosted a variety of virtual programs focused on self-care, emotional wellbeing, coping with stress and transition during the pandemic, job hunting during the

Share one event that your chapter held this year that you felt was very successful and received a lot of engagement.

What are three words you would use to describe your chapter? (If possible choose something different from your moniker)

We hosted two events on self-care: 1. "In

Creative, Ambitious and Enthusiastic

Love With Me" where we talked about the difference between self-love, self-care, and self-maintenance. We also created selflove/care tool kits and discussed pleasure, mindfulness, sexual health and female arousal response. and 2. "Mamas Matter

What is your chapter looking forward to in the coming year?

Too" which discussed the mental health challenges mothers experience in today's world and our goal of destigmatizing mental illness.

We look forward to returning to any semblance of normalcy! We look forward to delivering exciting and new

ALPHA ALPHA

pandemic, and many more.

programming, continuing recruitment and retention and supporting our undergraduate chapters!

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ALPHA RHO ALUMNAE CHAPTER Raleigh, NC

Throughout the year we held a number of events to facilitate support and bonding in the virtual environment. We hosted more than 8 workouts for our members as well as a few discussions on mental health that were very popular with our members.

Share one event that your chapter held this year that you felt was very successful and received a lot of engagement.

One of our most successful events we held this year was in combination with our nearby chapter Alpha Alpha Delta. We hosted a Vision Board Event to help release the bad and welcome in hopes and dreams for the future. It was a great opportunity to engage with sisters across areas, reconnect and reset for 2021.

What is your chapter looking forward to in the coming year?

This coming year we are looking forward to the possibility of being able to host inperson events and potentially welcoming a new line. This pandemic has definitely made things more difficult so we would love to be able to reconnect and see everyone in person again once it is save.

Authenticity - Partnership - Passion

ALPHA RHO

How do you feel your chapter supported your members this year through COVID-19?

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Alpha Phi Alumnae Chapter Dallas, TX How do you feel your chapter supported your members this year through COVID-19?

Share one event that your chapter held this year that you felt was very successful and received a lot of engagement.

As a chapter we decided to find ways to continue to support St. Jude, therefore for the month of February we created the "Dare To Show Love" challenge to raise funds. Thank you to the support of our alumnae sisters in the area who helped to spread the word we were able to raise over $500 in donations.

What is your chapter looking forward to in the coming year?

The possibility to be able to host in person events and bring in a new line!

We have a couple interested members who are eager to take on this journey!

Passion, Support, & Initiative.

ALPHA PHI

Our chapter worked very hard to think outside the box to provide fun and creative virtual activities for sisters to connect and bond through COVID-19.

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ALPHA ALPHA BETA ALUMNAE CHAPTER How do you feel your chapter supported your members this year through COVID-19?

I feel we have done a very great job of providing space and community to one another during this past year of continued being virtual. We put on events and sister socials to keep up with each other and to not feel alone.

Share one event that your chapter held this year that you felt was very successful and received a lot of engagement.

Burgundy Table Talk, we had quite a few sisters show up and engage with our conversation. We put on the event to close out Women’s History Month.

What is your chapter looking forward to in the coming year?

To being together in person and hanging out, to hugging each other.

United, supportive, and dedicated.

ALPHA ALPHA BETA

San Diego, CA

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Alpha Gamma Alumnae Chapter Austin, TX How do you feel your chapter supported your members this year through COVID-19?

Our chapter board held frequent game nights and workshops throughout this past year to continue to engage our active always a great way to laugh and Jackbox game night was a BLAST! Highly recommend these two games for virtual fun.

Share one event that your chapter held this year that you felt was very successful and received a lot of engagement.

This semester our chapter board hosted "Sister/Sibling Date Night" for 12 ongoing

What are three words you would use to describe your chapter? (If possible choose something different from your moniker)

Diverse, Flexible, Autonomous What is your chapter looking forward to in the coming year?

weeks. This gave our active alumnae an opportunity to bond with each other and

The possibility to continue to foster our

continue to strive for the unity we all seek

relationships and grow our bond with in-

in our organizations. Based on the

person events.

feedback it has been an extremely successful engagement activity that has created deeper bonds between our members.

ALPHA GAMMA

members. Among Us game night was

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MOTHERHOOD Parenting Through a Pandemic

By Jennifer Rincones

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"I did it by the grace of God. A lot had to do with time management and organization. Used a calendar system.

Made sure she didn't overburden herself. Moms tend to spread themselves thin.

2020...It was a hard year that just kept getting harder.

It seemed as if an end was nowhere in sight, and just when some of us in states where restrictions were extremely tight saw a glimmer of hope, and numbers and rates started to decrease, the politics that played into COVID-19 caused things to take a turn. States like Michigan where the state Supreme Court overturned the governor’s mask mandate causing a detrimental increase in cases and deaths, made the turn of the year just an endless 2020.

Although 2021 brought us a new presidency with a goal of taking swift action towards ending the pandemic, millions of families had already been impacted.

On March 9th, 2020 COVID-19 would become a pandemic, and for many parents, especially those of school-aged children, within the next week, we would add additional titles to our job of Mother...including Teacher, Counselor, Social Worker, Lunch Lady, Janitor, pretty much the CEO of our households (I mean we pretty much are already so no big deal right???). That is not to diminish the great work of the teachers, social workers, counselors, and lunch ladies at our children’s schools. If anything, during this pandemic, many of us have probably found a greater appreciation for those individuals who play such important roles in our kids' lives.

While schools closed, then reopened, then closed again, parents scrambled for childcare, tutors, live-in help if they could afford it and could be trusted to quarantine with, especially if they were one of the thousands of essential workers who had to work in person. Millions of families lost their income and became full-fledged stay-at-home parents and full-time caregivers of ill family members while others lost loved ones, sometimes, more than one.

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Yet, in between the chaotic moments, there were also moments of clarity, joy, peaceful moments, a newfound appreciation for spending time with your family, and not having to be “on the go.” We asked Sisters (Members) to open up and share what parenting has been like for them during the pandemic and how, in their own ways, they have each learned to cope.

Natalie Prawdzik Alpha Alpha Alumnae Chapter, Fall 2019 #2

Natalie, Alpha Alpha Alumnae Chapter, Fall 2019 #2, is a single mother of 3 children; Jon (17 y/o) her oldest, an 11th grader, Sophia (11 y/o) a 5th-grade student who recently began to identify themselves as non-binary (they/them) and Anthony (7 y/o), a 2nd grader. She shares that she is single and parents her children alone with the support of her mother. Natalie identifies herself as an Autism Mom as her sons, Jon and Anthony are both autistic and are high functioning. When the pandemic began, Natalie, who works as a permanency worker for the state of New Jersey, was going into the office daily. Also as an essential worker for the state’s Health and Human Services Department, she was used to meeting clients both in the office and in the field in person, however, when COVID hit in March 2020, things changed very quickly. Natalie was soon working from home (and is still working from home) where she would have to meet with clients virtually. This presented some slight frustration as her job would become highly dependent on technology that she had to bring to her home; which was not always functional.

Jon, Sophia and Anthony’s school would shut down in March 2020, so not only did Natalie have to bring her work technology home, but all three of her children would end up bringing their technology home as well. Although Jon would return back to his private school in October 2020, and her youngest children in March 2021 to their neighborhood public school; virtual learning would impact her household in many ways. When asked if virtual learning impacted her household mentally, emotionally, and/or physically, Natalie described the impact as follows: “Mentally it was definitely a shock to all of us of having to adjust to this new realm of technology.

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Especially where I’m ok with technology use, but my kids I guess were abusing it. I was even telling the school before the pandemic, how do I limit the technology use. So for me, it was very frustrating because it was all technology, all day long. Physically it definitely impacted us because I think we all became nomads. We lost track of days and times, and things like that. Sleeping in - I know with my oldest his sleep was definitely off. I was having difficulties sleeping during the midst of the pandemic, just my anxiety was so high with everything going on… I lost sleep, my anxiety was so high; it was very stressful.”

Natalie's children, while they didn’t have a hard time adjusting to the use of technology, Sophia struggled the most with adapting to the new concept of virtual learning and throughout the pandemic. They didn’t want to be on camera, and although they knew how to use the technology and platforms, their anxiety made it difficult to maintain the consistency of logging on. Her son Anthony, the youngest, had difficulties with staying on task due to his hyperactivity. Both honor roll students prior to the pandemic, she says they struggled immensely with virtual learning and were not doing well. So much so that Natalie had to adjust her work schedule so that she could work with them during the mornings to help them “identify their emotions and frustrations” when things got stressful with their assignments.

I did it by the grace of God. I think a lot had to do with definitely time management and organization; making sure I put everything on every calendar, on every announcement to remind me."

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The family only had one space to work in, their kitchen, which presented a lot of distractions with everyone being in one space. Natalie was living in an apartment building during this time, but at the end of last year, bought a house just 2 minutes away from her brother and the kids' cousins.

She shares that “once they went back to in-person in March, it was a total 180. It was back to that normalcy, that routine, I could see them, they were energized and they were full of life again.”

When asked how she managed her work/school/mom life balance, Natalie shared very matter of factly “I did it by the grace of God. Umm, I think a lot had to do with definitely time management and organization; making sure I put everything on every calendar, on every announcement to remind me. And making sure that I didn't burden myself cause I have that habit and I think all of us mothers, we tend to spread ourselves thin.” Natalie shared that her support system included her mother, her kids and her LTA sisters.

If the pandemic didn't stop Natalie from dealing with all of life’s parenting woes during quarantine, neither could cancer. A “kidney cancer warrior” is what she calls herself. Exactly one year from the start of the pandemic, on March 9 Natalie would undergo a robotic partial nephrectomy in her left kidney and doctors would confirm that she had stage 1, grade 2 renal cell carcinoma. Natale shares that what prompted her to go see a doctor was that she felt a sharp pain in her chest above her gut, after doing something many of us mothers do... yell at our kids. She went to the doctor for a routine checkup and shared with her doctor that she had experienced this pain. After having to fight for a CT scan due to insurance issues, on World Cancer Day, February 4th, Natalie received the phone call that a 3-4 cm mass was seen on her kidney and that she would need to see a Urologist. The very next day it was confirmed she had kidney cancer.

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Natalie recalled having to tell her mother, close friends and sisters, and how emotional it was - a mother’s greatest fear is leaving her babies and wondering who would take care of them. She shares that she knew that she would beat this and she had a great support system. Natalie would take 6 weeks off work to recover and says that physically, she still does not feel 100%. And although her chapter sisters would remind her that it is ok to rest, she says her response to this is “as a single mom, one day of rest becomes 3 days of work.” Natalie further shared that as she journeyed through her healing process, LTA provided a much needed distraction. Being a part of the LLEAD, NLDS, and participating in orientation was so helpful because it allowed her to forget. She shared that “COVID was a curse and blessing… the blessing is that we were able to connect with so many sisters, in any other platform we probably wouldn’t have.”

When asked what is one lesson you learned about yourself as a Mother during this pandemic, Natalie shared “that it’s ok not to be strong all the time.” Natalie was asked to reflect on one or more positive things to come out of quarantine for her and her family; she stated “my children, their resiliency has become my resiliency. During this pandemic, my child at 11 years old is aware of their truth and has been confident.” Natalie continued by saying “my daughter says to me ‘thank you mommy for moving us because I’m a part of the softball team and they accept me for who I am.’” The move for Natalie and her family has been a blessing, she reflects as she sits in her backyard during the interview, because her family needed the space, to be surrounded by family, her support system, her mother.

Natalie leaves the following advice for parents as they continue to parent during this difficult time as we try and return back to a new normal, is to ask for help and receive the help. Teaming with others and reaching out to child behavioral health services in your area and don’t be afraid to ask for help and receive it when you need it.

Teaming with others and reaching out to child behavioral health services in your area and don’t be afraid to ask for help and receive it when you need it.

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Spring of 1996, Epsilon Chapter

CLAUDIA PEREZ Claudia is a lifetime member who became a sister in the Spring of 1996 at Epsilon Chapter. She is married to Kenny and has 3 children, Marcello (15 y/o) a 9th grader and twin girls, Adriana & Elisa (13 y/o) who are in 7th grade. An essential worker with the local school district in Jersey City, NJ, Claudia was working in person and when telling her about the thought process behind this article, as soon as “Parenting through the Pandemic” was mentioned, Claudia muttered the words “God that was hard!”

Like everyone else, school shut down for her and her children in March 2020. Claudia describes the virtual learning process for her household as exhausting. She would multi-task, conducting a meeting and cooking breakfast for her children at the same time. Claudia serves as the Media Literacy Coach and also provides IT support for her school. She described the time between March 2020 and September 2020 as “mentally draining” as she helped her colleagues navigate the use of technology platforms. She would receive calls all day and even into the nighttime. Her school district resumed in April 2021 and her kid's school district resumed in September 2020 but they did not physically return until March. Claudia does get to work from home once per week.

Claudia was asked how the virtual learning impacted her family, she shared that her two teenage daughters are seeing a therapist now and she isn't sure if it is because of the pandemic or just being at the age they are at. She isn’t sure if one attributes to the other but knows that her children have been socially impacted. She observed that her kids started developing an addiction to the use of screen time because of their need to socialize with their peers.

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She had to put them on a time restriction for use of their phones. During the last part of the 2019-20 academic year when COVID hit, her kids adjusted well because the virtual learning was self-paced. But when September hit, it was rougher since her kids had to actually sit in front of the computer for live virtual classes.

Although school returned to in-person learning in September for her children, she kept them home and tried to adhere to a regular schedule as if they were in person; but when she decided to send them back in person this spring. Claudia says her kids were initially “pissed” because they had gotten used to rolling out of bed and eating while they were “in class.” Her son Marcello, who takes honors classes, later acknowledged that returning back to school was helpful since his grades were impacted during the beginning months of the pandemic.

Her girls who were opposite of each other, the older twin did not have many issues but her youngest twin struggled the most with virtual learning. After about 3 days after returning to school, her children thanked her for letting them resume in-person learning and that made her feel good about her decision.

She laughed and responded “I think I did terrible!” when asked how she managed work/school/mom/wife life balance. Claudia says she considers herself very lucky because she quarantined with her parents and her sister lives very close. So the “person Claudia” was able to let loose and vent to her sister and family about everyday issues.

She shares that the “mom Claudia” was all over the place; “All the things we work so hard to teach these kids as a parent has gone out the window, I don’t even know how we’re gonna get back to it.” She shared that “wife Claudia” that that relationship has suffered the most.

“You can't be good at everything, you can't be a good mom, a good wife, a good sister.” Claudia shares that she is a “friend person,” someone who needs her girls and that all came to a halt because of COVID.

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As a Mother, Claudia shares that the lesson she learned was that she always felt like she was forgiving of herself, but quickly realized that she always said it herself but never actually did it.

Now that she has acknowledged that she wasn’t as forgiving of herself, she is practicing it more and giving herself grace. As a wife of almost 17 years, the lesson that she learned during this pandemic, is to ignore the stupid things to avoid getting angry (she laughed as she said this). The positive thing that has come out of quarantine for Claudia and her family was the opportunity for her family to play board games. Between Parcheese, Uno or Win, Lose or Draw, the family time was a lot of fun. Additionally, she got to bake a lot with her twin girls.

The things she learned about her children during quarantine were even more meaningful.

Claudia became more aware of her children’s personalities, including understanding one of her daughter’s anxieties a little bit more. She was able to see firsthand what and why her daughter would become anxious about. Her son, who says he is a well rounded and creative person; someone who plays sports, is very smart, and he also likes the arts, including music. She was able to see and hear how her son taught himself how to play the piano and write music. The one thing she would share with the sisterhood about parenting through the pandemic would be that she has found talking and checking in with people she cares about, those conversations have helped her get through the pandemic.

Understanding that it isn’t just her and her family going through it.

She was able to see and hear how her son taught himself how to play the piano and write music.

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RECOMMENDATIONS & ACTIVITY

03

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Music

Summer Vibes Listen Now

Latin Beach Party

Books

THE POET X

by Elizabeth Acevedo

Listen Now

YOU HAD ME AT HOLA

By Alexis Daria

JULIET TAKES A BREATH

By Gabby Rivera

SABRINA & CORINA

By Kali Fajardo-Anstine

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LTA is not only where you find community. It is where you can bring your skills and gain new ones along the way.

Thoughts

NAJA L. MUHAMMAD, DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE AFFAIRS

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Checkout Our Previous Newsletters

Fall 2020

Winter 2020

Click Here to View

Click Here to View

Spring 2021 Summer 2021 Click Here to View

You are Reading It!

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Coming soon...

Alumnae Website Log-In to CampusGroups and visit this link:

https://bit.ly/LTAalumnae

LTA Alumnae from Alpha Delta Alumnae Chapter at 2019 LTA Convention in Colorado.

is home Alumnae AT 2019 NCA1 Area Meeting

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THANK YOU! Thank you for reading our Alumnae Newsletter and a huge thank you to all alumnae and chapters who participated by sharing their thoughts and knowledge!

Looking to get spotlighted?

Chapter & Alumnae Spotlights:

Looking for Sister Businesses?

Check out the listing here.

Do you have any feedback or inquiries?

Email the NAAC Newsletter Subcommittee at daa.assistant1@lambdalady.org

Special Thank You to the Alumnae

Melitza Iglesias-Colon Damaris Garcia Darling Jimenez Newsletter Subcommittee Members: Jennifer Rincones Sherrill Cuison Ballesteros Page 26